Before anything else, I want to share the most important news:
Cai is now just one month away from celebrating his 21st birthday. He is happy, healthy, and thriving.
What follows is our family’s story; one that shows not only the profound impact Ospreys Rugby has had on our lives, but also what the loss of our region could mean for generations of local children who look to the team for inspiration, hope, and identity.
My husband and I have supported the Ospreys since the region was founded. Naturally, when Cai was born in 2005, he was raised in black and white. He and his friends idolised Shane Williams — copying his sidestep in under 8s rugby at Morriston RFC and dreaming of one day pulling on the Ospreys jersey themselves.
We were season ticket holders, attended every match we could, and Cai loved spending his school holidays at the Ospreys rugby camps. For him, the Ospreys weren’t just a team. They were heroes.
In November 2013, when Cai was only eight years old, our world changed. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour and admitted to hospital in Cardiff. He endured a major operation to remove the tumour, followed by six weeks of daily radiotherapy and a full year of chemotherapy. The treatment was gruelling. The days were long. The uncertainty was terrifying. But throughout this darkest period of his young life, something shone through the fear: rugby, and the Ospreys in particular, gave Cai hope.
Several charities stepped in to grant Cai wishes during treatment – and every single wish he made was rugby-related. His first wish was to attend an Ospreys training session. He even asked if a friend he’d made on the paediatric oncology ward, another young Ospreys supporter, could join him.
On that day, the players presented Cai with signed jerseys and photos. Later, he met more of the squad during a Wales training camp at the Vale. To adults, these moments might seem small — but to a sick eight year old boy fighting for his life, they were everything. These players weren’t just athletes. They were heroes who made him smile at a time when smiling was difficult. They gave him something to focus on — something to look forward to – when his life revolved around hospital beds and treatment schedules.
Sixteen months after his diagnosis, Cai was finally able to return to school. Although he still needed scans, medication, and regular hospital visits, he began to reclaim something close to a normal childhood. He was unable to return to playing rugby, but that didn’t stop him finding his place in the sport he loved. When he regained his strength, Cai proudly modelled the Ospreys’ new kit at a season launch, and he was later honoured with a Child of Courage award, with video tributes from several Ospreys players. We will never forget the kindness behind those messages. He later became a water/ball boy at his dad’s home club, Brynaman RFC, and is now the first team “physio” while studying for a degree in Sports Science at UWTSD.
We are still Ospreys supporters today — and like so many families, we are heartbroken at the thought of losing our region. For us, this is not about sport alone. It is personal. The Ospreys gave my son a reason to keep fighting. They gave him moments of joy during unbearable hardship. They gave him role models, hope, and pride in his community.
If the region disappears, what will children like Cai — and thousands of others across Swansea Bay and beyond — have to look up to? Who will inspire them? Who will give them that sense of belonging, identity, and local pride?
This is about far more than rugby.
It is about the future of our young people.
Joanne Evans
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