Tributes have been paid to an “icon” of Welsh rugby and “one of the greatest ever players” to have played for Pontypridd RFC.
The club has announced the death of Bob Penberthy who wore the Ponty shirt on a record 877 occasions between 1961 and 1985.
Born and bred in Pontypridd second row Bob also represented the Barbarians.
He was 82. For the latest Pontypridd news, sign up to our newsletter here.
The club said in a statement on Monday evening: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of one of Pontypridd RFC’s greatest ever players, our record appearance holder and a true club icon, Bob Penberthy.
“The term ‘club icon’ can only be applied to a revered few but it is a fitting description of the granite hard second rower who played an unequalled 877 games in the black and white of Ponty.
“After hanging up his boots Bob continued to follow the club that he had served so well, often seen amongst the crowd in Ponty games home and away for many years.
“His unequalled service to Pontypridd RFC and to Welsh rugby was duly honoured on his birthday in 2013 as a tribute dinner was held at Sardis Road attended by many of the game’s greats and organised by the Welsh Charitables RFC.
“Words can hardly express the contribution made by Bob Penberthy over the decades, standing out as a true icon of an era that is gone but can never be forgotten.
“He was a gentle giant, a genial and unassuming man in contrast to his dogged physicality on the field of play.
“His legacy will live on in the statistics that will never be surpassed, the naming of the Lounge Bar after him, in the ‘Golden Bob’ grogg given to Pontypridd man of the match award winners, in the stone engraving of the wiry lock, elbow to the fore, hanging on the clubhouse wall, but most of all in the collective memory of those who pledge their allegiance, as he emphatically did, to Pontypridd RFC.
“The thoughts of everyone at the club are now with the family and close friends of Bob Penberthy in their time of loss.”
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