A chip off the old block? Richard Scannell had a first-hand opportunity to assess if that was the case when he came up against son Mason on a rugby field on Saturday.
Generations crossed paths at Coedback Park when Pontarddulais RFC Seconds hosted their Bonymaen RFC counterparts.
Bonymaen chairman Richard had answered an SOS to feature in the second row for the visitors at the age of 47.
Twenty-year-old Mason packed down in the front row for The Bont.
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The family affair made for a memorable occasion. “We enjoyed it,” said Richard.
“Mason plays regularly for Pontarddulais, while our numbers were a bit low and a rallying cry was put out to some of older boys to see if we could help.
“I ended up starting.
“I’d had a little run out for the seconds a few weeks ago against Dunvant but I haven’t played regularly for five or six years.”
Powerfully built, trainee accountant Mason isn’t easy to shift in the scrums and takes some stopping when running with ball in hand.
Did different generations of the Scannell family come into direct contact at any point in the game. “At a couple of rucks,” said Richard.
“In fairness, he carried a bit of ball, and, luckily, I wasn’t in the area where he was running, so I didn’t have to tackle him.
“I would never have lived it down if he’d gone past me or run over the top of me.
“Seriously, it was great fun and nice to have a beer in the club afterwards.
“There were actually three lads playing for Pontarddulais, Mason included, who I coached at U12s level or U13s for Hendy.”
The great golfer Jack Nicklaus once noted the “older you get the stronger the wind gets — and it’s always in your face”.
In rugby terms, the same sentiment can still apply.
But Scannell senior has turned out a couple of times for his club this season, striking a blow for veterans everywhere.
Does he train to stay trim? “Not half as much as I should do,” he laughed.
“The game allows rolling subs now, which helps. You can play for 25 minutes and maybe come off for a blow, and if needed you can maybe go back on for the last quarter-of-an-hour. If I’d gone there on Saturday thinking I was going to have to play 80 minutes I would probably have made a different decision.
“Ironically, the game went on a bit, starting at 2.30pm and finishing at 4.29pm. It felt like I played about 30 minutes of the first half and around 25 minutes of the second half.”
Bonymaen won the encounter 24-12.
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