Two cup finals, two man of the match awards, five tries and 32 points – Jake Crockett loves playing at Principality Stadium.
Seven years ago he scored a stunning hat-trick as Brecon beat Bonymaen 23-21 to win the Admiral Plate Final and he was at it again in the Division 5 Cup final at the ‘Go Compare Road to Principality 2026’ series with two more tries and 17 points overall at Brecon Athletics beat Bargoed Athletic 49-5
“It’s a bit of a common theme me scoring here, although it’s a shame I didn’t get another hat-trick. But two more tries at Principality Stadium is good enough for me,” said Crockett.
“It’s just amazing to be able to play here again. I came here first in 2019 when Andy Powell was coaching Brecon and now I’ve dropped down to the second team.
“It’s just nice to now be able to play with all the local lads. We’ve got a lot of youngsters in this team, and it was great for them to be part of a high scoring game because it’s such an amazing feeling to be doing that at Principality Stadium.
“I’ve had so many highs with Brecon down the years winning league titles and cups. Now it’s nice to be able to give a bit back in the second team, and I’ve also got nieces and nephews that I want to do some coaching with.”
Back in 2019, Powell arranged a hay ride and tractor ride around Brecon for his team to celebrate the victory, although Crockett isn’t counting on anything similar this time.
“Only Andy could have pulled off something like that. We’ll head back to the club and enjoy celebrating together – I’ve taken Monday off work,” said Crockett.
“That last interception try was the most enjoyable try of the five I’ve scored here, although they are all pretty special to me. I was slowing down by the end of the run, but I managed to get to the posts.”
Crockett was one of five players who played in the victorious 2019 Brecon side at the home of Welsh rugby who are now playing in the Athletic team – and there seems to be no stopping them!
“I stepped down from the first team two years ago after taking a heavy knock in a Championship game at Crymach,” added Crockett.
“We’ve had a second team at Brecon for a long time and there are some very good players have played for the side. Now they’ve got the chance to play in the WRU league structure and bid for a chance to play in a cup final like this at the home of Welsh rugby.
“That’s fantastic for the game as a whole in Wales and the cup competitions bring communities together. We brought six bus loads down with us and I don’t think there is a farm or lambing shed with a farmer in them.”
It wasn’t the day Bargoed were hoping for but skipper and outside half Ben Jones is now focusing on winning the Division 5 East league title.
“It has been a great day despite the score and I’d just like to thank all our supporters for turning out in such force – and to the Principality Stadium staff for making us feel so welcome,” said Jones.
“We’ve got two games to look forward to next week, an unbeaten record to protect in the league and a title to secure. That’s got to be our focus now.”