IT has been quite an eventful half-term holiday for Llandovery College’s Patagonian pupil Glyn Gareth Williams, writes Huw S Thomas.

The 17-year-old Argentine – a fluent Welsh speaker – is on a term-long visit to the Carmarthenshire independent school as a beneficiary of the annual Tom Gravell Patagonia Scholarship.

And thanks to the generous support of the Llandovery College Parents Association and Llandovery Rotary Club – and the organisational skills of former college master Glyn Evans, young Glyn Gareth was invited to Cardiff to see the Blues play Connacht at the Arms Park.

Glyn Gareth then got to see Wales take on Scotland in the Six Nations at the Millennium Stadium.

The Blues’ media manager, Gwydion Griffiths, accompanied him to see the Blues beat the Irish region, and one of Wales’ coaches, Robin McBryde saw to it that Glyn Gareth enjoyed a great day out at the national stadium.

Not only did the young rugby-playing Patagonian have the thrill of watching Wales beat Scotland 27-13 in a fine free-flowing game, but he also got to meet some of Wales’s greatest former players in Gareth Edwards and Gareth Davies.

Coach McBryde had been warmly welcomed by the youngster’s family during the Welsh team’s tour of Patagonia back in 2006, and the former Scarlets and national team hooker was delighted to be able to reciprocate the hospitality back in Wales.

At McBryde’s personal invitation, Glyn Gareth attended a Welsh team run out, where he met some of the current Wales stars, including Old Llandoverian George North.

To round off a very hectic week, Glyn Gareth then rushed up to Aberystwyth for a meeting of the Wales- Patagonian Society before arriving back in Llandovery on Sunday night ready for the second half of the Easter term.

“It was a whole week of excitement and an unforgettable experience “ said Glyn Gareth.

“And I am so grateful and proud of my Welsh heritage.”

“I’d like to say a big thankyou to all the people attached to the college who made the week go so smoothly – Diolch o galon i chi gyd am eich cyfeillgarwch a chefnogaeth.”