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Several honours for Alex Wilson
Jonathon Hill11 Jan 2024 - 19:32
Several honours for Alex Wilson
Several Honours for Alex Wilson
It has been an eventful few weeks for Alex Wilson, Pontefract’s seventeen year-old back row forward.
Firstly, he lined up in the second row alongside his father, Brain, in the annual Boxing Day game between a combined Pontefract XV against a Farmer Copley’s XV. There are a few ‘father-and-son compatriots in amateur cricket, but rarely do you see it on the rugby field. (Well done, Brian – same again next year?)
Secondly, Alex made his debut for the Club’s First XV in their Regional One league fixture against Driffield last weekend when he came off the bench to play blindside flanker for the final 30 minutes of the game. Although Pontefract lost the encounter, Alex was not phased by the physicality of senior rugby. ‘Its not easy for a seventeen-year-old to play in the forward pack in rugby union at this level’, explains Craig Fawcett, Pontefract’s head coach. ‘However, Alex is a strong tackler and powerful ball carrier and handled the intensity of the game with a maturity beyond his years’.
Finally, justifying his outstanding and consistent performances for the colts this season, Alex was selected for Yorkshire Under 18s in their county game against Cheshire last weekend, alongside two other Pontefract players, Ethan Grant and Alfie Abbot. Although Yorkshire narrowly lost, Alex scored a well-taken try and the experience was another step forward in his rugby career.
Off the field, Alex is an apprentice plumber, in his second year of part-time study at Wakefield Skills College. He celebrates his eighteenth birthday in a couple of weeks and is looking forward to a trip to Lisbon. Musically, like his girlfriend, Ivie (and his father perhaps?), he’s a fan of old-skool Brit Pop. What could be a better combination? Rugby and Brit Pop?
It has been an eventful few weeks for Alex Wilson, Pontefract’s seventeen year-old back row forward.
Firstly, he lined up in the second row alongside his father, Brain, in the annual Boxing Day game between a combined Pontefract XV against a Farmer Copley’s XV. There are a few ‘father-and-son compatriots in amateur cricket, but rarely do you see it on the rugby field. (Well done, Brian – same again next year?)
Secondly, Alex made his debut for the Club’s First XV in their Regional One league fixture against Driffield last weekend when he came off the bench to play blindside flanker for the final 30 minutes of the game. Although Pontefract lost the encounter, Alex was not phased by the physicality of senior rugby. ‘Its not easy for a seventeen-year-old to play in the forward pack in rugby union at this level’, explains Craig Fawcett, Pontefract’s head coach. ‘However, Alex is a strong tackler and powerful ball carrier and handled the intensity of the game with a maturity beyond his years’.
Finally, justifying his outstanding and consistent performances for the colts this season, Alex was selected for Yorkshire Under 18s in their county game against Cheshire last weekend, alongside two other Pontefract players, Ethan Grant and Alfie Abbot. Although Yorkshire narrowly lost, Alex scored a well-taken try and the experience was another step forward in his rugby career.
Off the field, Alex is an apprentice plumber, in his second year of part-time study at Wakefield Skills College. He celebrates his eighteenth birthday in a couple of weeks and is looking forward to a trip to Lisbon. Musically, like his girlfriend, Ivie (and his father perhaps?), he’s a fan of old-skool Brit Pop. What could be a better combination? Rugby and Brit Pop?
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