Dale 'Chief' McIntosh: We understood we weren’t just playing for ourselves

In our fifth episode we are talking to Dale ‘Chief’ McIntosh. Chief made 454 appearances for Pontypridd RFC, and went on to coach for Wales and the Cardiff Blues among many other clubs like Brecon RFC and Pontypool RFC. Chief and Rich played together at Pontypridd, Rich’s place of birth, with Rich playing 4 seasons there, 3 wearing the black and white of the club and 1 wearing a blue, black and white jersey of the Celtic Warriors.

Ponty has been at the coal face of Welsh culture and industry for centuries. It’s a town, set in the steep sides of the Rhondda Cynnon Taf, at the confluence of the River Taff and River Rhondda, about 12 miles north of Wales’ capital, Cardiff. And it has forged some of rugby’s greatest players and legends.

Pontypridd RFC was founded in 1876, making it one of Wales’ oldest clubs and their home is at Sardis Road, affectionately known as The House of Pain. Beyond Wales, Ponty is also part of rugby legend. It’s earned a reputation as one of Europe's toughest and most passionate teams. And that’s just the fans! Ponty is the epitome of Welsh rugby.

And no one sums that up more than Chief. Being able to chat to him for this episode about his lengthy career both on the field as a player and alongside it as a coach was really special. Two former Ponty players and teammates sat in the clubhouse talking about what made playing for Ponty special and what is important about rugby. We got to explore with Chief the highs and lows of his own career but also his reflections on the challenges facing the game and our clubs today.

As a player he was a big brother to everyone in the team, a talisman. And it was an honour to sit with him and talk about the game that gave him so much, and all that he gave to us, the fans. We hope you enjoy this special conversation.