Wyatt was in on the ground floor of the last big cross-border development in UK and Irish rugby, the Heineken Cup, and now the 33-year-old wing has gone back to his former stomping ground to try to inspire more great days for Pontypridd in the British and Irish Cup.
Wyatt was among the try scorers last weekend as Ponty made it two out of two in Pool D with a 33-12 home win over Ayr – albeit at the rearranged venue of Glamorgan Wanderers – and he is hoping to add to his tally when Birmingham & Solihull travel to Sardis Road on Saturday.
“I played in the British and Irish Cup for Newport last season and it is a brilliant competition for the Welsh clubs. We went to Dublin and beat Leinster A, just lost out to the Cornish Pirates, who eventually won the cup, and had a great time,” admitted Wyatt.
“But I decided to head back to my first club, Pontypridd, this season and it has been great coming home. Paul John and Dale McIntosh keep the standards and enthusiasm high and there are some very talented youngsters at the club.
“There is a similar buzz around the club as when I came out of the youth team back in 1996 and the beauty of the B&I Cup is that it gives us something different to focus on. There is a chance to meet new opposition, for the fans to enjoy some travel and for the players to test themselves against full time professionals.
“There is no doubt that when you are training every day you can play to a higher standard, but I still believe the Welsh clubs can do well in this Cup because they aren’t playing against the English and Irish pros week-in, week-out.
“We got a great start by beating Llandovery away. That was vital because we’ve only got two away games this season and three at home.
“Ayr were a strong side, but we came good in the end. We know a little bit about Birmingham & Solihull having played them in a pre-season friendly and we are expecting a tough and physical challenge.”
Wyatt, a veteran of 45 Heineken Cup ties and 22 Amlin Challenge Cup games, won the Welsh Premier Division title with Ponty in his first season out of youth rugby and then helped them to win the WRU Challenge Cup and reach the final of the European Challenge Cup.
When Regions were formed, he moved on to the Celtic Warriors and then joined Newport Gwent Dragons. Nowadays the ‘senior pro’ at Sardis Road, he has been very impressed at the talent available to the club.
“There is a lot of talent and there is a lot of ambition among the players. Even though we are top of the Principality Premiership we don’t feel we’ve reached a full playing potential yet.
“Every game there is something we know we can improve on and that is a good thing,” he added.
Welsh Clubs in British & Irish Cup action this weekend
Saturday, 18 December
Ayr v Llandovery (3pm)
Llanelli v Nottingham (3.30pm)
London Welsh v Swansea (1.00 pm)
Pontypridd v Birmingham & Solihull (2.30pm)
Plymouth Albion v Newport (3pm)
Sunday, 19 December
Neath v Bedford Blues (2.30pm)
