Rhian first linked up with Sporting Marvels in August 2008.

The former Miss Wales contestant and Welsh international rugby player was working in JJB in Merthyr pondering whether she should get on a plane and fly off to California! 

Then someone told her about Sporting Marvels and she resolved to check it out. She arrived at the Gatehouse Church one Sunday morning. A quick conversation with Clive and Phil and she was allowed to attend the team’s pre-season Boot Camp held in Llanelli later that summer.

She made such a favourable impression that she was offered a traineeship that would start in January 2009.

After training at Porth County, she was promoted to full Marvel in September and is now based full-time at Treorchy where her effervescent personality and wide-ranging sports skills are proving a big hit with staff and pupils alike.

“My life has changed dramatically since being with the Marvels,” she said. “My character has been developed, my faith levels have risen and my sense of meaning and purpose have increased tremendously. I love being part of Sporting Marvels. The team is fantastic and I consider them my best friends! I love working in Treorchy. The PE Department is really focused and the welcome I’ve had has made it very easy to settle in. has been wonderful  been very easy settling in.”

“Rhian is a great asset”, Clive told us. “As a Wales rugby international she has plenty of talent and wears the ‘Marvels’ badge very easily. But her greatest attributes are her roll-your-sleeves-up willingness and servant heart. Rhian’s quickly made herself an invaluable member of the team and I can’t help thinking that if she’d gone to California she could easily have been cast in the lead role for a Wonderwoman remake!!”