Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
club based in the town of
Blaenavon
Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community (Wales), community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshi ...
,
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. Blaenavon RFC is one of the older members of the
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running ...
founded in 1877 in the Iron and
coal town
A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch, is a type of company town or mining community established by the employer, a mining company, which imports workers to the site to work the mineral find. The company develops it and provides residen ...
of Blaenavon and is a
feeder club
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
for the
Newport Gwent Dragons
Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...
.
Blaenavon RFC first game was against local rivals Abergavenny on Thursday 8 November 1877 and ended in a draw. An infamous event in the history of Blaenavon RFC was during the final of the Godfrey Jones Cup in April 1926. The competition had been devised 'to improve Welsh rugby via the running game'.
In December 1947 a combined
Pontypool
Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970.
Location
It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...
,
Talywain
Talywain () is situated in Garndiffaith, Abersychan and Pentwyn in Torfaen in south east Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.
Old mining area
It is a semi rural area that has a long heritage in coal mining. The old British C ...
and Blaenavon side played against the Australian national team at Pontypool Park as part of a post-war rebuilding tour. The game ended with Australia winning 9–7. A photo and a programme are displayed in Blaenavon R.F.C. club house
Blaenavon Rugby Football Club was founded in 1877, and over the past 130 years, we have provided, many players for the W.R.U. and Premier divisions.
1962 - 1963 Season. Blaenavon RFC become Ben Francis Cup Winners against Talywain. The First team now play in the W.R.U. League Division 1 East after gaining promotion in the 2013/14 season, and winning the Ben Francis cup for the second time in 2015 season beating Risca RFC in the final at Blackwood.
Notable former players
*
Reg Skrimshire
Reginald Truscott Skrimshire (30 January 1878 – 20 September 1963) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby for Kent. He won three caps for Wales and was the only Welsh representative o ...
1899 Wales (3 caps) and British Lions.
* Cecil Pritchard 1928-1929 Wales (4 caps)
*
Bert Day
Hubert Charles Day (8 May 1908 – 27 June 1977) was a rugby hooker who played rugby union for Newport and rugby league for Salford. He was awarded five caps for Wales under union rules and was part of the Welsh side that won the 1931 Five Na ...
1930-1931 Wales (5 caps)
* Ken Jones - 1947-1957 Wales (45 caps) British Lions, Barbarians, Newport and Empire Games medalist.
* Allan Lewis - 1966-1967 Wales (6 caps) and British Lions, Abertillery.
*
Allen Forward
Allen Forward (4 June 1921 – 1 January 1994) was a Welsh rugby union forward who favoured the position of flanker. Forward played club rugby for Pontypool and various Police teams. He played in six internationals for Wales and was part of the ...
- Wales and Pontypool
* Fenton Coles - 1960 Wales (3 caps) & Pontypool
* Colin Evans - 1960 Wales (rugby union) (1 cap), 1963-1969 Wales (rugby league) (2 caps)
*
Terry Cobner
Terence John Cobner (born 10 January 1946) Scrum.com is a former
John Perkins - Wales and Pontypool.
* Laurie Daniel - 1970 Wales (1 cap)
* Mark Taylor - Wales, Barbarians and Swansea. Mark scored the first international try at the Millennium Stadium against South Africa.
* Chris Huish - Wales B, Barbarians and Pontypool.
Blaenavon RFC have also provided many player over the years, that have gone on to play for Newport RFC without obtaining international status:
* Ivor Taylor - Played in the side that beat Australia in 1966
* Keith Poole - Played in the team that beat the All Blacks in 1963, and went on to play in the winning Newport RFC sides against Australia and South Africa and were never on a losing side playing against the Southern Hemisphere tourists.
* Tommy Deans played for Cardiff RFC and Glamorgan County
* F Dibble - Somerset 1909
* R Dibble - Somerset 1910
* Noel Williams - Played for Pontypool RFc & Cardiff RFC
* Numerous players went on to play for Monmouthshire County and Monmouthshire Union teams.
In 1960 Blaenavon R.F.C. had provided all three scrum halves for the three Welsh teams that year
Colin Evans - Wales Senior Cap
Allen Lewis - Wales Youth Cap
Owen Freeman - Wales Schoolboy Cap
They were all three international scrum halves that year and had all played for Blaenavon R.F.C. at scrum half.
Notable current players
''See also :Blaenavon RFC players
* James Selway- Captain
* Kieran Jenkins- Vice Captain
* Jordan Williams- Forwards Coach
* Luke Harwood- Defence Coach
* Tom Edwards- Backs Coach, autumn
* Nolan Nicklin- D.O.R (Director of Rugby)
* Daniel Butler
* Deri Whitehead,
* Taine Reardon, London
* Tan Vatinutu
* Marcus Jones,
* Billy Guy
* Brandon Kent
* Craig Lewis
* Ryan Clarke, half a man
* Anton Wells
* Christopher Davies
* Rhys Williams
* Matthew Billings
* Jonny Verrier
* Jordan Davies
* Kieran Davies
* Pumpkin Picker Da Sulka Leddington