There was not much fuss made on the day Tata Steel conceded their thousandth point in the league this season. Maybe no one even noticed at the time.
It happened against Neath earlier this month when the Welsh All Blacks ran up their 21st point en route to winning 58-7. That was the 10th time this term that Tata had conceded a half-century of points or more in a Welsh Championship match. A subsequent 79-7 loss to Ystrad Rhondda took the tally to 11.
They are now up to 1,142 points shipped and 179 tries leaked over the campaign. But here’s the thing: the club which helped nurture Wales internationals James Hook and Stuart Evans have never given up.
Trailing 42-10 to Glamorgan Wanderers last weekend, they had the last word by demolishing the opposition scrum before forcing a penalty try after a deliberate knock-on.
They lost 100-6 to Cross Keys in October and over two games against Pontypool in March they shipped 155 points and scored just three.
But they have made a determined effort to fulfil their fixtures and have already started to look ahead to next season. Not for a minute have they felt sorry for themselves.
Their secretary and coaching co-ordinator Mark Williams said: “Look, at the end of the day, it’s a game, isn’t it? It’s not the be-all and end-all.
“I have been involved with the club on and off since 1976. I remember playing in a game where we had 90-odd points put on us. But when you are back in the club after and you have a few drinks, you forget about it.
“I’ve also been on the other end when we’ve put 90-odd points on someone. You just have to keep going.
“Boys are disappointed after they lose, and especially if they lose heavily, but you just have to sit down with them after the next training night and remind them how they are improving and can get better if they work on this or that.
“That’s all you can do. There’s no point screaming and shouting. The results don’t always reflect our performances. Our pack has been performing well in games and when we played Bargoed with a full set of backs we scored four tries and picked up a bonus point.
“People are doing their best and this season we have had a lot of bumps and are still dealing with problems on that front. Over the past few weeks we’ve picked up some big injuries. Our first 10 did his knee ligaments against Neath, then we have another boy who has a back injury and two scrum-halves are injured. But you just have to keep going.”
The Championship is viewed by some as Wales' toughest league, with 'clubs with comparatively big budgets playing alongside clubs with next to no budgets', according to one observer.
But despite the challenges Tata have faced, Williams insists there are signs of improvement at the club.
“We have some good young players coming through,” he said. “And we can see them improving. We need to hold onto those.
"Obviously it’s hard for all the boys when we are conceding as many points as we’ve conceded, but you can’t criticise the attitude. The players have continued to turn up for training and we have 32 on our books. Work commitments will always be a challenge for a semi-professional club with people having to put in shifts, but the atmosphere at Tata is good and we have a few boys from Swansea University playing for us who have made a mark.
“We knew from the start this term would be tough but the Championship is being reorganised next season and our aim will be to strengthen and see where it takes us. What's good is that despite the losses we haven’t let our heads drop.”
Tata can almost see the finish post on their season but they are in no hurry for matters to end. “You have to try to enjoy it,” said Williams.
“We played Glamorgan Wanderers last week and they had a few of our past players playing for them. But there were no hard feelings when the boys left and we had a beer with them after the game on Saturday.
“Rugby has ups and downs. Hopefully, next season will be better.”
Plenty will hope that proves the case.
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