Four Welsh brothers have all started in a rugby match together in the Rhondda.
The Huntley boys are from Clydach Vale and do their egg-chasing for Cambrian Welfare RFC, all plying their trade in the back line. Jonah, Julian, Steele and Jackson were part of the winning team against Dinas Powys last weekend, helping the team notch up a 20-5 victory.
Julian was captain and started at fly-half, Steele was on the wing, Jackson played at inside centre and Jonah slotted in at full-back, with the surname Huntley taking up a strong proportion of the team sheet.
Steele, 19, was actually a last-minute team addition, with Cambrian having struggled to get backs for the game. "Steele has been training for a couple of months but has only played 15 minutes of senior rugby and that was in a second team fixture," said Julian, 37. "Myself and the coaches had a chat and decided let's go with him, he's been training regularly. "We took a gamble putting him in the team against a very experienced Dinas Powys back line but thankfully on the day that gamble paid off and he did the badge proud."
Julian, Jackson and Jonah have been playing together for a few years already, so it was only a matter of time before Steele made it a quartet. Their parents weren't able to attend the game due to a holiday, but will hopefully have another chance to watch their sons in action together.
The four brothers, who also have two sisters aged 32 and 22, have a great connection on the field, and Jackson puts that down to playing together and "hitting the hell out of each other" when they were children.
While the brothers were united in their cause for Cambrian, they humbly declined to name the best player among them.
Julian said: "It wouldn't be me because I'm the oldest now and I'm getting on!"
Steele said: "All brothers have different attributes, so it's hard to call on. The best player depends on what attribute is classed as the best.
"What a question to ask! I can't answer that one - not me anyway!" Jonah added.
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Jackson — the backs' man of the match on the day — broke down the brothers' skillsets, saying that Jonah is the fastest, Julian has the most sensible head, Steele is the freshest and Jackson himself is the roughest. Jonah, who bagged a try on the day, said Jackson was easily the best player in the match: "His defence was better than my try."
Gaynor Price, Jackson's mother-in-law, said of the occasion: "When I saw the photo, I was extremely proud because Jackson is 28, my daughter is 25, they've been together since she was 14, so he's like a son to me. I'm close to all the other brothers as well. For them to play a match together and have a win was really special for us all."
Cambrian Welfare RFC, which has recently renovated its clubhouse at The Bush Hotel, is credited with being part of a strong sporting community which keeps children on the right track.
"Our rugby club is the heart of the community," Jackson added. "With no youth club in the village, the club is one of the only investments along with Cambrian football in keeping children on the right track, being around sport and away from other bad things - thanks to many volunteers."
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