There was a very familiar look to the Pontypridd line-up last weekend with a No 8 called McIntosh on duty.
Yet this wasn’t a comeback for Sardis Road legend Dale - the man known throughout the game as The Chief - but rather a debut for his 20-year-old son Logan.
On permit from Brecon, where he is coached by his dad, the sizeable young back row came off the bench during the Welsh Premiership clash with RGC up in Colwyn Bay.
Dale, who made 454 appearances for the club between 1989 and 2007, couldn’t be there for the occasion as he was in New Zealand where his mother June sadly passed away last week.
But he takes comfort from knowing his mum would have been so proud at her grandson taking his bow for her beloved Ponty.
Logan, who is 6ft 4ins and 17st 7lbs, has been playing alongside his fly-half brother Dion at Division 1 East outfit Brecon this season, having made the move from Ynysybwl.
Then, last week, he received the call from Ponty, which meant getting hold of his dad in Rotorua to get his blessing.
Dale takes up the story.
“I had a phone call from him at 4 o’clock in the morning and I was thinking ‘What’s going on here?’
“I rang him back and he was sitting in Sardis Road car park.
“I said ‘What are you doing mate?’. He said ‘I didn’t want to go into training until you gave me the go-ahead’.
“I said ‘I’m not going to stop you mate, just do us a favour, put a shift in, work hard and walk out of there with a bit of respect and integrity. That’s all I ask. Not because of me, but because that’s what the jersey deserves’.”
Dale is now back in Wales following the Maori funeral in Waikato of his mother, who passed away aged 76. He knows just how proud she would have been of Logan.
“She would have loved it. She loved Pontypridd with all her heart. It was her club, no matter what,” he said.
“It would have been a really, really proud day for her and I am gutted she just missed it by a couple of days.
“But I know she would be looking down on him thinking ‘Go on boy’”
Logan has been a regular for Brecon this season and his dad has been pleased with his progress.
“He thoroughly enjoys it, he thinks the world of the boys, the club,” said head coach Dale.
“He plays the game how he sees it, which is huge. He’s not scared to try things, which is how I felt I played the game. He is very assertive and understands detail, which is very important. He is very spatially aware.
“He’s not as aggressive as I used to be, but he does play hard, he is physical. He has picked up a couple of yellow cards here and there and a red card. He doesn’t start anything, but if any of his team-mates get into a fracas, he is in there.
“I try to say to him in my day we could do it, but in this day and age you lift your pinky and you are walking! In the old days, you could just go and lay somebody out. In this day and age, you can’t.”
As for what the future holds for Logan, who turns 21 next month, it’s back to the promotion battle with Brecon now. They lie third in the table, but have five games in hand on second-placed Brynmawr.
“He was absolutely over the moon with playing for Ponty and I know he would love to do it again,” says Dale.
“I would never hold anyone back, whether it’s my son or not. If it’s convenient, I am not going to stop him playing at a higher level, but it’s going to have to suit us purely because we have got a job to do. We set out at the beginning of the year to achieve promotion and we are still in the mix, so we need to work hard towards that. We’ve got a busy end to the season, so it’s all hands on deck.”
The former Wales international added: “I know what Logan is capable of. He has got a lot of work to do, but I think he is on the right track.”
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