Our History

The Eighties - Further Progress (part 2)

Not only the 1st XV enjoyed a successful 1981/2 season, but the 2nd XV played 20 games – won 11, drew 1 and lost 8, scoring 213 pts and conceding 209 – a 57.5% record.  Amazingly 58 players turned out for the seconds, including 20 who played only one game.

As in the 70’s, players connected with the club were to gain representative honours.  Clive Jones played for Wales U15’s against Scotland and Italy in 1980/81, also playing for East Gwent against the South African Schoolboys in 1984.  Mike Boycott won Secondary School caps for Wales and toured Canada with the Welsh team in 1982/3.

Having visited Ashford and Hohne in previous seasons, Monmouth, having hosted Caen previously, accepted an invitation from Caen to play in their Easter tournament in 1984.  Monmouth travelled by coach and ferry and arrived in the evening to be told there had been a mix up over accommodation.  As a result, Monmouth were to be housed in a historic chateau a few miles outside the city.  However, the hospitality extended by the Caen club was excellent.  Among the teams participating in the tournament were Crawley, Caen, a Normandy XV, a German team, Chateroux and Monmouth.  The ground was bone dry and Monmouth came under particular attention, the team to beat, as they were the only Welsh team which took its toll on the squad.  For the 3rd/4th team play off, Monmouth had only 12 players standing (and some of them were carrying injuries). However, reinforced by a couple of Frenchmen and a Belgian international prop, Monmouth fulfilled the fixture.  For the final night all the teams attended a banquet at the Great Hall in Caen Castle which proved to be a raucous and very enjoyable night/morning!  Another splendid tour came to an end!

Off the field, the club was ‘outgrowing’ its clubhouse which remained the same  since its purchase in 1969.  The issue was a point of great debate and, eventually, the 80’s was to see a further development of the clubhouse.  One stumbling block to renovation was that the outdoor toilet was supposedly ‘listed’ having been constructed of ‘Monmouth Brick’ - a topic of much mirth!  However, an impromptu visit by the then MP, John Stradling-Thomas, led to some progress on the matter after he contacted the authorities on the club’s behalf.  Members participated in fund raising and were encouraged to ‘Buy a Brick’.  The club was able to court the interest of several breweries and secured financial assistance from William Youngers.  Plans were drawn up by Byron Hapgood
(whose contribution will deserve special mention later) and 1983/4 saw the demolition of the toilet and the building of a new lounge and changing rooms.  To mark the opening of the new facilities a special match was arranged against a Monmouthshire County XV.