Former Wales international, Harlequin, Osprey and now Head Coach of Bridgend Ravens Scott Baldwin has explained the clubs vision to become the first carbon-neutral rugby team in Wales. Bridgend Ravens are working in Partnership with Electrify Cymru, part of Electrify Britain, who are now the ground’s sponsor, to bring in renewable energy to bring down the costs to the club.
Baldwin was speaking to Richard Parks, also a former Welsh international, on the new podcast Beyond the Breakdown which interviews legends of the game in local clubs they have a connection to.
Former Wales international, Harlequin and now Head Coach of Bridgend Ravens Scott Baldwin talking exclusively on the Beyond the Breakdown podcast, said:
“We’re so governed by the weather…the way climate is changing. [What] we’re looking to do here… is get a portable wind turbine in, to be the first carbon-neutral rugby team in Wales for a match. So [we’re] looking into innovative things like that.
“You look at rugby clubs, they get 26 days a year where they’re in business really. Like you look at the Brewery Field, we get 20 games a year, okay, if we’re lucky. So, those are the days, you’ve got to be innovative around that, and how you generate finances outside of that, whether it’s having a darts night in the club, whether it’s having minis and juniors running festivals, tournaments, and as I said having like the wind turbines in.
“Working with someone like Electrify [Cymru] is huge with that because of their innovation and how their minds work…It’s something we haven’t experienced before.”
Essential outgoings on floodlights, bars and showers have hit the budgets of clubs like Bridgend and have forced smaller clubs to close their doors. Paul James, Clubhouse Manager of Neath RFC said, on episode 3 of the podcast: “…one of the killers of Welsh clubs at the moment, things like energy…it’s a wonder you can’t see my breath at the moment, it’s cold here, it’s daytime, we’re not open, we don’t put the heating on. Fuel bills are about 4,000 pounds a month. So we’ve got to… have events here constantly. and people must think we’re raking it in, but we’ve got to thrive to survive.”
The Beyond the Breakdown podcast is hosted by former rugby international turned record- breaking polar athlete Richard Parks and links Welsh rugby greats with the local clubs that made them.
After years spent conquering the world’s most extreme environments – and fresh from guiding Will Smith to the South Pole for Disney+ series Pole to Pole – Richard Parks returns to Welsh rugby to ask what the future holds for local clubs and the communities they represent. Local clubs are struggling to keep their doors open as they face challenges like rising energy bills and cancelled games due to waterlogged pitches and extreme weather, with some clubs even struggling to heat showers for players.
Camilla Born MBE, CEO of Electrify Britain said:
“Rich Parks is a pioneer, he’s done something really important with his inspiring new series. By shining a light on clubs like the Bridgend Ravens, he shows what these places mean to people and why the struggles they face matter.
“Energy bills shouldn’t ever cost communities their clubs. Every club, every ground and every fan deserves easy access to affordable, clean energy.
“That’s why we are proud to sponsor The Electric Brewery Field, and excited to be working with partners to explore the best way to bring cheap electrified energy to the ground.
“This is the energy that can deliver warmer homes, lower bills and yes, better rugby.”
Richard Parks, host of the new Beyond the Breakdown podcast, said:
“So many of us are worried about the future of Welsh Rugby. There’s so much noise around the game in Wales at the moment, yet nobody seems to be talking enough about what makes our game tick, our clubs. Without our local rugby clubs, there is no game in Wales. At the heart of our communities so often sit our clubs, places where we go to play, celebrate, mourn, or just be there for one another.
“Yet I’ve spoken to clubs that are struggling to heat their showers, because they can’t afford their energy bills, and extreme weather is causing games to be called off up and down Wales.
“Every club I visit is powered by incredible humans, mostly given their time voluntarily, that’s one constant in our game….the people and passion underpinning it. Whilst I have concerns, I’m also hopeful as I see the appetite to find new ways of sustaining the game.”
The podcast not only focuses on in-depth interviews with greats from the game but also focuses on the community level of the game and the local clubs that keep the sport going. Shane Williams talks about the importance of Amman United in the first episode, Jon Fox Davies talks about his time at Whitland RFC, St.Clears RFC, Laugharne RFC and just how many clubs there are in Carmarthenshire including Carmarthen Athletic who display a pair of his boots in the second episode and in the latest episode Adam Jones talks about how much his home club of Abercraf and his first professional club of Neath means to him.
But this isn’t a nostalgic walk down memory lane. Parks is raising a question that strikes at the heart of Welsh rugby’s future: can the game survive without the grassroots clubs that produced its greatest players?
