Cross Keys RFC: From flooding heartache to Premiership Cup dream
A rugby team forced to play on primary school pitches because their home ground was flooded will run out at the Principality Stadium at the weekend after a rollercoaster season.Storm Bert wreaked havoc at Cross Keys RFC in Caerphilly county, with the pitch and clubhouse under 6ft (2m) of water.But the dedication of volunteers, players and coaching staff has seen "devastation" turn to dreams of silverware, as the team prepare to take on Pontypridd in the final of the Premiership Cup.Captain Corey Nicholls said a win would "put Cross Keys back on the map".
"It was absolutely heartbreaking," said club secretary, Angie Prangell, remembering the scene in November 2024."We put our heart and soul into the club - it's like your home - and when we opened the doors, we were very, very close to tears. It was so emotional."Once the water had gone, there was thick mud everywhere that had to be cleaned, filling three skips.
Ms Prangell said the damage meant the clubhouse could not open for three weeks, but "everyone pulled together" to fix it, including people from the local community."The amount of work was unbelievable."We are normally open seven nights a week, so we had no income. But you still have your bills to pay."We had to have humidifiers everywhere, so the electric bill went sky-high."
It was the second time the club had faced major flooding, after Storm Dennis caused extensive damage in 2020.Getting the clubhouse back up and running was just one of the hurdles this time and, with the pitch unplayable for two months, the team had to find alternatives for training.
That meant journeys of up to an hour to Cardiff, as well as sessions at local primary schools on small, 3G pitches, which was "not ideal", according to Morgan Stoddart, former Wales international and director of rugby at Cross Keys."It was up to us to motivate the boys to train away from the club - with longer travelling," he said."And to be fair all the boys got on with it, which served us good for the second part of the season. It's now about using the emotion in a positive way."
The game on Saturday will be a rerun of the 2014 Swalec Cup final which saw Pontypridd beat Cross Keys 21-8, and comes after Cross Keys shocked Merthyr with a 36-31 win to reach the final.But for players like back row Harvey Reader, 28, just having the chance to play at the Principality is a dream come true."We are probably going in as underdogs, but I don't see why we can't do it," he said."If we did, it would be incredible. To play in the stadium is a privilege, and if we were to win, that's something that would stay with me for the rest of my life."
Captain Corey Nicholls, 29, said there would be a big party if they were to win."It would be great to put Cross Keys back on the map."We've had a tough couple of seasons - it would be nice to get the village behind us again."We always say, there's only one set of traffic lights in Cross Keys, it's a tiny village so it's nice to get everyone's support again."
You can watch the Premiership Cup final on S4C at 17:15 BST on Saturday 5 April.
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