Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

has been played on an organised basis in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

since 2007, Mae pêl-droed Rheolau Awstralaidd yn cael ei chwarae ar faes hirgrwn. Mae deunaw ddewisol bob ochr. with the league and representative teams run and managed by the Welsh Australian Rules Football League (WARFL, cy, Cynghrair Pêl-droed Rheolau Awstralaidd Cymru) who is the controlling body of the sport in the country. All six senior teams in the WARFL are named after clubs in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

. Prior to 2007 some clubs played in the BARFL but the rising popularity of Australian Football demanded the creation of a Welsh league.

History

was first played in Wales in 1944 when the 462 Squadron played against the second Sunderland Squadron formed teams based on

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

(

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

) to play a match at

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock ( cy, Doc Penfro) is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following ...

. Regular competition in Wales began with the formation of Aussie Rules Wales in September 2006. Thereafter three teams were formed in 2007 being Cardiff Double Blues, South Cardiff Panthers and Swansea Magpies and competed in a 9-a-side format with modified rules in the Welsh division (WAFL) of the ARUK National league. Also the Swindon Devils from England's

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

competed as a guest fourth side. The season concluded with the Swindon Devils defeating South Cardiff by 71 points to win the inaugural (and only) WAFL Premiership. Aussie Rules Wales then ceased trading in January 2008 and was replaced by the independently run WARFL, which seeks to become the national governing body of the sport in Wales. The inaugural WARFL Premiership season kicked off in May 2008, with the Cardiff Double Blues, South Cardiff Panthers and Swansea Magpies competing in 9 rounds in 9-a-side format with full AFL rules. The Cardiff Double Blues eventually defeated South Cardiff Panthers by 94 points to win the inaugural 2008 WARFL Premiership. South Cardiff Panthers' David James was awarded best on ground. In 2009 Gwent Tigers based in Newport joined the league in a 12 round competition with the 9-a-side format unchanged. Also that year the WARFL introduced a pre-season competition known as the Cymru Clwb Cup played at Waunarlwydd RFC in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

where the three foundation clubs competed. The Cardiff Double Blues won the tournament winning both of their round robin matches. At the end of the Premiership South Cardiff Panthers played Swansea Magpies at

Llandaff Fields Llandaff Fields is a large parkland spanning parts of central and northern Cardiff, Wales. The park is owned by Cardiff Council and managed by its Parks department. The parkland is highly visible and accessed from local communities. The parkland ...

in Cardiff where South Cardiff won by two points to win their first Premiership after being runners up in 2007 and 2008. Swansea Magpies' Matthew Hopkins was awarded best on ground. 2010 saw further expansion of the league with the Vale Warriors based at

Barry RFC Barry Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Barry in Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Club honours *WRU Division Five South East 2009/10 - Champions Notable former players * Geoff Beckingham * Barry Davies * Dai Evans David " ...

entering. The second Cymru Clwb Challenge was played at Llandaff Fields with all WARFL clubs playing except for Gwent Tigers who did not field a team due to player unavailability. South Cardiff Panthers won all their matches winning the competition with Cardiff Doubles Blues player Rhys Morgan awarded player of the tournament. That year the league ran as a 10 round competition with each team playing 8 matches and having 2 byes and continuing in the 9-a-side format. On 24 July the top of the league South Cardiff Panthers played against Swansea Magpies at Barry RFC where South Cardiff won by 71 points to be the first club in WARFL history to win consecutive Premierships. South Cardiff Panthers' ruckman Chris James was awarded best on ground. The Bridgend Eagles and Bristol Dockers joined the league in 2011 with Gwent Tigers not fielding a team that year.

Notable Welsh players

WARFL Clubs

The league is organised in a similar fashion to the SANFL, with the top two teams at the end of the "home and away" season playing off in the Grand Final for the Premiership Cup.

WARFL League & Grand Final Results

WARFL Player Awards

League and National representative teams

Two representative sides are organised by the WARFL, one to represent the national league which is an all-stars side known as the "WARFL Red Devils" drawn solely from the WARFL regardless of nationality. The other representative team organised by the WARFL is the Welsh national team known as the "Cymru Red Dragons". The Red Dragons is primarily made up of players from the WARFL, however does include Welsh players from other leagues around the world. WARFL Red Devils The Red Devils first played in the 2007

AFL Britain AFL Britain, also referred to as AFL Great Britain was established in 1989 as the governing body for Australian rules football in England, Wales and Scotland. It was formed in 2008, replacing the British Australian Rules Football League (BARFL) a ...

National Championships known as the

Brit Cup Brit, Brits or BRIT may refer to: People Nicknames * British people, people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies, and their descendants * Brit Hume (born 1943), American TV journalist * B ...

, representing the first Welsh side in the tournament's history. Thereafter the Red Devils have played in every Brit Cup including the 2010 tournament but 2012 was the year the Brit Cup made Wales its home for next 12 months as the Devils made the Grand Final that year beating the Favourites the Midland Tigers taking top spot and making history. The Red Devils have also appeared at the 2008 "Haggis Cup" the first time a Welsh team had played in Scotland and again in 2009 but did not field a team in 2010. Cymru Red Dragons In November 2007, the Red Dragons became the first all-Welsh representative team when they hosted the England Dragonslayers in Cardiff for the "Dragon Cup", England winning by 30 points. In the second series of the Dragon Cup, the Cymru Red Dragons defeated 2008 EU Cup champions England Dragonslayers in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and Newport by 92 points (aggregate score over two tests) to win the Dragon Cup for the first time. However in September 2009 England defeated Wales in Cardiff and London to regain the Dragon Cup. The inaugural "Bute Series" for the Crichton-Stuart Cup with Scotland Clansmen (which was also Scotland's first ever Australian Rules football international) was played in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

over two tests in October 2009. The Cymru Red Dragons won the series on aggregate of 30 points with Scotland winning the first test and Wales winning at home in Cardiff the following week.

National Team Results

Wales Player Awards

Great Britain Bulldogs

As of 2013, 15 players from the WARFL have been selected to represent the

Great Britain Bulldogs Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, these being: Andrew Atack (Cardiff Panthers), Tim Atkins (Swansea Magpies), David Carpenter (Cardiff Double Blues), Liam Corbett (Cardiff Panthers), Joshua Davey (Cardiff Panthers), Ed Doe (Cardiff Panthers), Tom Gillard (Cardiff Double Blues), Mark Horsman (Cardiff Panthers), Chris James (Cardiff Panthers) David James (Cardiff Panthers), Tom Judson (Cardiff Double Blues), David Saunders (Cardiff Panthers), Gareth Sturge (Cardiff Double Blues), Jon Saunders (South Cardiff Panthers), Owain Ryland (South Cardiff Panthers) & Eliot Rich (South Cardiff Panthers).

References

External links

WARFL websiteBridgend Eagles websiteBristol Dockers websiteCardiff Double Blues websiteGwent Tigers websiteSouth Cardiff Panthers websiteSwansea Magpies websiteVale Warriors websiteSANFL website
{{Aussie Rules Playing Nations links Australian rules football governing bodies outside Australia Welsh Australian