On Saturday Old Penarthians play their next league fixture against Treherbert hoping to reverse the losing scoreline earlier in the season. It was a match notable for the fact that Jonathan Crimp make his 250th appearance for the 1st XV.
Jon made his debut for the club in a defeat, away to Deri in January 2008 under the captaincy of Mark Smart. He played one other game that season whilst at university before starting his career properly in the 2010/11 season when he played 25 games, forging a formidable centre pairing with Mark Sadler
Since that time, he has been a regular member of the 1st XV playing at centre, full back and outside half, with an occasional visit to the wing. In his career he has scored 895 points from 24 tries, 200 conversions and 125 penalties. In the promotion season of 2015/16 under the captaincy of Lloyd Devy he scored 196 points, and he still regrets the decision to give Chad Wilson two conversions in a game against Sully Sports that prevented him reaching 200 points in a season.
Jon has also captained the 1st XV on three occasions in seasons 2016/17, 2022/23 (taking over after Chris Poole’s retirement) and again in 2023/24.
He has now played an incredible 253 games for the Old Penarthians 1st XV and is only the 20th player in the 102 year history of the Club to have passed the landmark figure of 250 games. It is also a target that few players who follow him are likely to achieve because of the fewer games that are played in a season.
Hopefully Jon’s next match will end on a positive note with a win as he adds to his tally of appearances.
