A FINAL update has been given on the redevelopment of Pontypool Park. Pontypool RFC s chief executive officer Ben Jeffreys says the work, which began in January, is around 95 per cent complete. The plans to renovate the newly-named Ray Prosser Stand at Pontypool Park have been in the works since the club’s long-term future at the ground was secured in December 2019. The renovated grandstand will include new seating, side screens, a digital scoreboard and new player dugouts, as well as improvements to the outside and roof of the stand and drainage. It will also include signage paying tribute to Ray Prosser, as well as a plaque in memory of club volunteer and supporter Pat Shephard on the steps the players climb making their way on to the pitch.
However, due to the pandemic, the remainder of the 2019-20 season, as well as the 2020-21 season, were called off, meaning the club could move straight ahead with the renovation plans. The plans for the renovated grandstand include new seating, side screens to protect fans from the elements, a digital scoreboard and new player dugouts, as well as improvements to the outside and roof of the stand and drainage. The newly renovated stand will include signage paying tribute to Ray Prosser, as well as a plaque in memory of club volunteer and supporter Pat Shepphard on the steps the players climb making their way on to the pitch.
Ray Prosser, prop forward for Wales who became a revered coach at Pontypool – obituary
A bulldozing prop, he was part of a victorious Lions squad in New Zealand and went on to become one of the greatest club coaches
Ray Prosser
Credit: Jeff Morgan 02/Alamy
Ray Prosser, who has died aged 93, had an outstanding record as a rugby player, winning 22 caps as a rugged prop forward for Wales and playing in a winning British and Irish Lions team in New Zealand; but he will be chiefly remembered as one of the greatest coaches of the amateur era. His name will always be synonymous with Pontypool, where he transformed the town’s reputation in the rugby world by lifting the club out of the doldrums into the champions of Wales.