Thanks for the memory, Joe Smith
Thanks for the memory
A few days ago we learned of the passing of Joe Smith, former player, coach, and loyal supporter of this club until the very end of his life. As the club’s historian and statistician, I have at my fingertips all the statistics of Joe’s career, and I will go through some of them in a moment. However, in recent years I was privileged to get to know Joe the man, and these memories are far more important to me than the cold statistics of his career.
Here are the statistics then. Joe played 336 games for Pontypridd and scored 51 tries and 161 points. The first of his games came on 7th September 1963, almost exactly 60 years ago. It was away at Llanelli, and we won by nine points to six, a great start to a long career. Joe captained the side in 1967-68 and 1969-70, and his last full season came in 1972-73. The following season he became the club’s coach, but you couldn’t keep him off the park completely, and he went on to play a few more games. His last game came on 26 April 1978, against Penygraig, and we won that one too, by 23 points to 10.
Joe took over the coaching role from Sam Simon in the 1973-74 season, and this was the dawn of a golden era for Pontypridd. Although things were difficult for him at the start of his coaching career, better players started to arrive at the club, and in the 1974-75 season we moved to our new ground at Sardis Road. Then, in the 1975-76 season the club celebrated its centenary, with Joe in charge of the team, and now it was gold all the way!
Here are some of the cold statistics again. Joe was coach to the club between 1973 and 1980, when we played 365 matches, winning 262 and drawing nine, for a success rate of 73%. Between 1975 and 1980 Joe was in charge of 265 games, and of these, we won 213 and drew 7, for a success rate of 82%. For every opposition try scored against us, we scored more than three against them. Joe would be the first to acknowledge that he was blessed with a superb squad of players, but his quiet man-management behind the scenes was crucial to our success.
Everybody I know who played with or was coached by Joe has been full of praise for him, and never a bad word. A long time ago a former youth player told me of the time that he came out of the youth, hoping to progress to the senior squad. However, Joe took him to one side, and explained why he was unlikely to make the squad. He told me that what might have been a very painful experience was handled so well that he left with a few regrets but little pain. That was Joe Smith the man at work.
Joe was part of the reason why I bought my first season ticket for Pontypridd back in 1975, although he never knew it. A good friend of mine, Malcolm Bowen, worked with and was a friend of Joe, and he had persuaded Malcolm to support the club. Malcolm was excited by the prospect of a successful centenary season and persuaded me to join him. This was the start of my long association with this wonderful club of ours, and Joe was partly to blame!
As I said at the beginning of this piece, I was privileged to get to know Joe fairly well in recent years. He was part of the gang that meet after a game in the corner by the bar of what is now the Bob Penberthy lounge. To hear his comments on what went wrong and what went right was always enlightening, although he never criticised players or coaches. To be able to rub shoulders with people like Joe is an honour, although they probably have little idea of the esteem with which they are regarded by us who can only stand and watch. We have missed him of late, as his health declined, and will lift a glass to him after the next home game. Thanks for the memory, Joe!
Alun Granfield
