News

Congratulations go out to Abercynon RFC product Ben Breakspear, who on Friday night, 10th March was part of the refereeing contingent who officiated the Six Nations game between Wales and Ireland at the Principality stadium. 

Ben, is a well known character throughout the Abercynon community and has been involved with the club since he started playing with the mini section, for our Under7s. Ben is also a keen cricketer and keeps active during the summer months by representing Abercynon cricket club at Y Parc. When Ben does have free time, he can also be seen working behind the bar in our clubhouse.

Ben, also a very talented player, chose a different and brave approach to the world of rugby at a very young age and has proven that the structure is in place to allow young promising referees to excel and gain experiences at the top end of the game. Ben has achieved so much in such a short space of time in the refereeing world that he has a bright future ahead of him.

Whilst speaking to Ben in the clubhouse, he commented;-

“The last few months have been incredible. Looking back to where I was this time last year, I never would have thought I’d have achieved all this in such a short space of time. The opportunity of being able to fulfill a childhood dream of singing the national anthem in a packed principality stadium is something I’ll never forget. Being part of the academy system has been a big step in my refereeing career as it has provided me with the support and tools i need to maintain a high level of performance. To be given opportunities I have been given by the WRU when competition for games is tough is very rewarding and gives you the motivation to keep working hard. A Big thank you to family/friends and everyone at YG Rhydywaun and Abercynon RFC for their continued support ever since day one. Hopefully with all your continued support and a lot of hard work, these opportunities will continue to be available to me and hopefully we will get to see some more young referees develop from within our club ” 

 Abercynon RFC, family and friends are very proud of Ben's achievements to date and we would like to wish Ben all the very best in his future refereeing career aspirations/goals.  For anybody thinking of following in Ben's footsteps or working alongside Ben, he would like to point out there are opportunities available to those interested. Please click on link below or contact Ben.

http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/referees/courses/wru_level_one_refereeing_course.php 

Profile

Started playing at outside half with Abercynon aged 7

Started refereeing September 2015

Premiership and academy referee within WRU

Studying pharmacy at Cardiff university

Achievements

First Prem game:- Bridgend v Newport in February 2017

AR5 Wales v South Africa in November 2016

AR5 Wales v Ireland in 6 nations March 2017

Ref U18 regional final Ospreys v Dragons in February 2017

Ref U16 International France v Italy in  April 2016 

as well as involvement in the Anglo welsh cup and Guinness pro 12

Short term goals in 2017

U18 international

Maintain premiership grade for next season

Aspirations

Continue to progress up the ladder in to Pro12 and European competitions with the hope that one day I’ll be lucky enough to go and officiate at a RWC