Caerphilly Rugby Football Club is a

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 peopl ...

rugby union team founded in 1887. Their home ground is Virginia Park in

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...

and their nickname is ''The Cheesemen''. Caerphilly RFC currently play in the WRU Division Two East Central and are a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons. Caerphilly RFC also run a thriving Mini and Junior Section with teams from Under 6's up to Youth. The Youth compete in the Dragons A League whilst the Seconds (known as the Diamonds) compete in a mid district 2nds league. Caerphilly Rugby Football Club is the largest Community Rugby Club in Wales by participation numbers

History

The club was formed on 17 August 1887, and their first reported match was played on 20 October 1887, when Caerphilly played away to St. Andrew's (Cardiff), winning by 1 goal and 2 minors to 2 tries and 1 minor. Caerphilly played 25 matches in their first season, winning 12, drawing 8, and losing 5. Since then Caerphilly RFC have spent many years in the top divisions of Welsh league rugby. Caerphilly has twice been admitted as members of the WRU, once in 1900 and again in 1955 after the club had disbanded and then reformed.

Home ground

Their home ground, The Mollex Stadium (Virginia Park,) is a small

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

with all-seated stands on either side of the pitch and a non-seated stand at one end of the pitch. The ground has a maximum capacity 6,000. In World War II, German planes bombed Virginia Park, as they incorrectly believed it was being used as an airfield. On 6 May 2018 Caerphilly played host to the PRO 12 match between the

Dragons (rugby union) 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 ...

and the

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

which was switched from Rodney Parade. The match finished 26–24 to the Blues.

Recent success

Caerphilly made the national Bowl final in the principality stadium on 16 April 2017. The side lost to Shane Williams' Amman Unite
43-31

have featured in two recent cup finals, the European Shield Final 2003 (losing to

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

team

Castres Olympique Castres Olympique () is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They play at the Sta ...

) & the

Welsh Cup Final The Football Association of Wales Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Welsh Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Welsh football, organised by the Football Association of Wales (the FAW). It is the third-oldest association football competitio ...

in 2004 (losing to Neath RFC). The club were also narrow runners up in Division One East in 2007/2008 season. The club made it to the final of the Worthingtons Mid-District Bowl Final for the 2014/15 season, the final being held at Beddau RFC. Caerphilly lost to Porth RFC 29–23.

References

Caerphilly Rugby clubs established in 1887 Welsh rugby union teams Sport in Caerphilly County Borough {{Wales-rugbyunion-team-stub