Proud St Helen’s the heart and soul of Swansea rugby

St Helen’s Rugby and Cricket Ground catches the eye as you drive down the coastal stretch that is Swansea’s Mumbles Road. A relic of times past, it is watched over by four archaic floodlights and its hotchpotch of stands and terraces sit gloriously at odds with each other like a bad set of teeth.

It is magnificently old school. The pitch is still pristine and plays host to the local club, which now fields a semi-professional side. Local rugby, football and cricket schools teams are regular guests while Ireland’s Women nilled Wales there last season after the home team had shocked the English world champions.

The scoreboard at one end looks old enough to be deemed a listed structure, but it is the clubhouse that looks out on to the shimmering Swansea Bay that is the real gem. Musty rooms, cracked paint and faded carpets abound and the walls are all but papered with memorabilia.