There was a great deal of bewilderment as the Quins travelled to London for the fixture against the Wasps second string. Coach Alan Evans went AWOL and there was much talk of his walking away from his post less than a week into the season. The rumours proved accurate.
The huge gulf in class between the teams wasn’t really transposed to the scoreboard. Although this was a heavy defeat, a number of the Quins team had had a more chastising experiences in defeat such as the 75 – 0 drubbing at the hands of Pontypridd Athletic a year this very week.
After the match, Wasps openly spoke of the wisdom of arranging this ‘unchallenging’ fixture. They were, of course, quite right. Yet there was the arrogance you would expect from those from that part of the world which was discourteous to say the least.
Not only did the Quins lose a coach, but this was to be the last appearance by captain for the first two games Peter Jenkins. He was another who walked away, trying his luck with Glyncorrwg.
Nevertheless a good night was had in Sudbury, the then home of what was London Wasps.
On the longer journey home Craig Whelan made the elementary error of falling into a deep, alcohol fuelled slumber.
Craig’s eyebrows were shaved off by none other than his father - Terry, while a couple of mischievous front-row forwards produced some boot polish to smear Whelan junior’s face. Peter Jenkins then appeared with some talcum powder which was liberally dashed over his phizog. Combined with the blue waxy polish, it gave the victim's complextion a rather leafy green hue.
There was one final stop for a comfort break and everyone left the bus, including Craig. As he walked through the service station, Craig wondered why everyone seemed to be staring at him in disbelief and a number of children even run away from him screaming. Little did he realise that without his eyebrows, along with the boot polish and talcum powder mixture which combined to give his skin a convincing, delicate green hue, he frighteningly resembled some form of reptilian species from the series ‘V’. Nobody associated with the Quins let on what was wrong and Craig did not discover his reptilian appearance until he washed his hands after visiting the toilets and catching a glimpse of himself in a mirror.
Unfortunately it took another two days to fully clear the Quins facial.
15. Mark Page 14. Craig Whelan 13. John Tidball 12. Jonathon Vincent 11. Mark Powys
10. Andrew Lewis 9. Geraint Jones
1. Andrew Kidger 2. Shane Williams 3. Dai Berry 4. Steven Bassett 5. Terry Adams
6. Lyn Davies 8. David Pzcencynj 7. Peter Jenkins (c)
1960 – 1961 (Wed)
(Glamorgan Advertiser 13-09-1960)
Quins much too good for Tondu
Quins were in excellent fettle last Wednesday evening when they overwhelmed Tondu by 24pts (three goals, one try and two penalties) to nil. Tondu had previously defeated the strong Bridgend Sports XV, but turned up for this fixture three men short.
The Quins were able to lend a helping hand. Hector Lewis, Cyril John and Alwyn Treharne putting up a sterling performance for the visiting side.
Quins put away their three-quarters at every opportunity and a score was inevitable. Centre G. Williams went over in the corner and Alun Griffiths converted.
There was no further score up to the break but Quins swung into top gear shortly after half-time. Centre Gwyn Williams cleverly cross kicked and caught Tondu napping, allowing Alf Bowen to score a try and Griffiths converted.
Elwyn Jones, Colin Nicholls and Conrad Hawes worked like Trojans in both the tight and loose, while Don Wareham and Wyndham Thomas were also particularly active.
Clyde Williams took a final pass off Williams who scored and Griffiths again converted. Gwyn Williams scored another try to round off an excellent personal performance. Griffiths again converted and he kicked two penalties.
NB:
This was a big victory. Alun Griffiths was a prolific goal-kicker. Possibly the second [chronologically] in the club's history, after Rhys Davies. He later went on to play for Maesteg Celtic and can be found walking his dog in the lower reaches of the valley.
Don Warehan, a fine all-round sportsman particularly cricket, now lives in Mountain Ash.
Conrad Hawes, who presented the club with the Player of the Year trophy, lives in Porthcawl and Alf Bowen is a regular follower both home and away. Clyde Williams held a senior teaching position at Loughborough College and prop, wyndham Thomas resides in Brynna.
Of the three who sportingly played for Tondu: outstanding clubman Hector Lewis is sadly no longer with us. Cyril John can still be padding up and down the touchline on Saturday afternoons, that's when his Mayoral duties in Goa don't intervene and Alwyn Treharne still clocks in to work every day at his electronics factory in Merthyr. You can also see Alwyn supping a few in the Railway on the odd occasion.
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