Bill Brant is best known as a rugby and cricket player with Llangwm a few years ago but even some of his former team mates might be surprised to learn that since Bill left this area for pastures new about nine years ago he has represented Wales in rowing and played international rugby for Hong Kong.

Bill was recently back at Pill Parks watching his former cricketing colleagues play a cup match whilst he was on holiday from his work in Hong Kong, where he is head of PE at the International Montessori School, which caters primarily for about 420 primary school children and 400 in their kindergarten - and has a waiting list of a similar number.

"The oldest are 11  and I love my sporting involvement as we not only look at the traditional ball games but also encourage a range of athletic events, set challenges in terms of outward-bound activities, develop skills and an ethos of team work, health and fitness, gym work and dance."

He has now been teaching for nine years and readily admits that his involvement is made even better because there are very few discipline problems so he also has time to be involved in aesthetic things like Art and Music, plus IT.

Outside of his teaching, Bill has played rugby at a high level after starting out as a nipper at Pill Parks alongside Dan Morgan, James Lewis and Jonathan Brock - and then played at under 16 with Pembroke Dock Harlequins because The Wasps didn't have a team.

"Then it was back to youth rugby and a senior start with Llangwm," said Bill, “and then it was off to UWIC and the chance to develop my game as a flanker at a higher level.

"When I eventually moved to Hong Kong I was introduced to rugby at Hong Kong Cricket Club by Johnny Jones, and was made very welcome as a player in a club which was very posh and had a social membership waiting list of ten years.

"It was an exciting time and since then I have also played for the Valley Rugby Club which has players from the English Premiership and Championship Divisions, plus others from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the Friendly Isles and some Welsh Sevens players like Dafydd James.

"We were coached by Deacon Manu, who played prop for the Scarlets, and I played there until last season, when I took a bit of a break because I had three concussions, so decided it might be time to call it a day at that level.

"It was brilliant to win two league titles and make appearances in two cup finals - but the undoubted highlight was being selected to play for Hong Kong and ending up with 13 caps against the likes of Japan (twice), the UAE in Dubai, Korea, The Philippines and Uruguay, who sadly beat us to earn a tie against Wales in the World Cup."

"As well as starting out with Llangwm Rugby, I also played cricket at Pill Parks, mainly for the second and third teams alongside genuine characters like Ian and big Frankie Thomas. I picked up a runners-up medal in the Ormond Youth Cup and had a top score of 176 in the third XI.

"Since moving to Hong Kong I have also developed an interest in Australian Rules Football and Gaelic Football and who knows, one day I might be able to try my hand at them too!"

But as well as his rugby, Bill also developed a huge interest in rowing, which he began as a pup in his home village at nearby Black Tar, joining the likes of Dan Morgan, Sean Waller and Daniel Hughes in some high jinks on the Cleddau and then taking part in the local longboat club which won the Welsh League at under 18 level.

My father Paul got me started in sea rowing and step-mum Helen is still involved,” Bill told us," and my younger brother Paul also played sport in the village - and our mother Alison was a terrific taxi driver when we wanted to go off somewhere.

"We quickly developed as a team and with races handicapped on age and experience we also took part in the Thames River Race in London and surprised ourselves by winning the 20-mile race."

When Bill moved to Cardiff he began to take up the sport even more seriously as he rowed in college fours and eights, and even tried the more difficult sculling, which put him in mind of the number of times he fell in icy water back home at Black Tar!

"Whilst at University I rowed for college and at Cardiff Rowing Club, often in races of five or six miles long," said Bill, "and competed on the Olympic rowing course at Holme Pierrepoint, Cardiff Bay and on a lake in Nottingham - and one of the biggest challenges was when we rowed across the Irish Sea from Arklow to Aberystwyth, which was physically daunting, to say the least!

"Being picked to row for Wales a couple of times was a huge honour and although it's had to take a back seat in Hong Kong I hope to return to it some day because it is great for camaraderie and facing challenges."

So now Bill is off again on his holiday travels, aiming to visit Italy next with his girl-friend Daphne, who hails from Hong Kong.

"It's been great to be back home for a short while and I've loved visiting my old pals at Pill Parks again for a bit of a walk down Memory Lane."

They clearly enjoyed his company and so did we as we met up with this modest and unassuming young man whom we hadn't seen for a decade but we were delighted to catch up with and discover what an impact he is making across the other side of the world!