Dyfed Powys Police men’s rugby team are aiming to go one step further and reach the final of a national competition after a semi-final defeat in each of the past three seasons.

Sergeant Darren Morgan, club secretary, said the squad cannot wait to get going in their last four clash with Scottish Thistles in the Police Sport UK (PSUK) cup competition.

The game takes place at Heywood Road, the home Sale FC Rugby, in Greater Manchester tomorrow (Wednesday 2 April). Kick-off is at 5pm.

Scottish Thistles beat Dyfed Powys in the semi-finals of last season’s competition.

Darren said: “We’re really looking forward to the game.

“We’ve got a strong squad going up, so it’s exciting times.

“We played them in the semi-final last year.

“The last few season we've tended to stumble at the last hurdle.

Semi-final agony

“We’ve been knocked  out in the semi-final three years on the trot now, so we want to go that next step.”

Darren has been involved with Dyfed Powys Police men’s rugby for more than a quarter of a century.

“Dyfed Powys has a massive history in the competition, and it is really close to my heart,” he said. “When I joined, we won it three years on the trot.

“It’s huge for the organisation.”

Darren was a second row during his playing days. “I wish I was a scrum-half with the way my joints are now,” he joked.

He played semi-professionally for Llanelli and also represented British Police before retiring five years ago, shortly before the pandemic.

Llanelli

Now the 49-year-old co-ordinates the Dyfed Powys Police team.

The team player pool has grown from 20 to 70 in the past few years, but Darren is encouraging more people in the Force to get involved.

“You need the depth of player pool because of the shift patterns of everybody and then a few injuries here and there,” he said.

“It’s a bit like a Barbarians set up. We don't really train. It's all rugby players who play for different teams and we come together to play.

“We tend to share the games around the different areas of the Force.

“Our last game was in Llanelli. We've had games in Tenby, and at St Clears RFC.

“We tend to move it around to promote the game, promote the team, and promote what we do. We’re always looking for more people to get involved.”

Darren is supported in his role by treasurer, DC Lawrence Holcombe. Sergeant Kevin Allen, who was capped more than 50 times by British Police, coaches the forwards, while former semi-professional outside-half Gareth James, who coaches Ystalyfera in the Championship West, is the backs coach.

Sponsors

Darren said the team also gets a lot of support from inside and outside the Force.

“We get supported by the organisation to have time to play, which is great and makes a big difference,” he said.

“We've got our sports association, which will fund our traveling and bits and pieces for kit.

“And we’ve got really supportive sponsors. Castell Howell have supported us for years.

“We've recently got Axon on board, and with them we’ve just purchased some new jackets for the players.

“We've got Police Pass, an educational company which trains officers for promotion, and Kingdom, who are the cleaning agency for the organisation. They have come on board this season

“Through those sponsorships we've now got after-match attire with shirts and ties and we've got off- field leisurewear.

“The boys commit their time, which impacts on family, and also play for their clubs at the weekends, so it's something we try to reward them with.”

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