Cwmgwrach 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 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 it ...

team based in

Cwmgwrach Blaengwrach ( ; ) is a community near Glynneath and Resolven in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It is also the name of an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, which is a larger area than the Community. The principal ...

, Swansea,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union 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 Ospreys. Photographic evidence of the existence of Cwmgwrach RFC places the team as playing during the 1909/10 season, though it is believed the team first played three or four years before this date. There was no clubhouse during this period, so the team used local public houses as a meeting point and switched between eight different local playing grounds; until after losing their final local ground to developers played all matches away for six years. When the team finally secured a temporary playing ground in 1926 they hosted Llangarw. In the early 1930s it was suggested the team gained their own permanent ground, which took the leveling of a side of one of the local hills to achieve. This was completed in 1934, and a clubhouse was added in 1937. In 1949 the club applied for, and was successful in gaining, membership to the Welsh Rugby Union. After joining the West Wales Rugby Union in the 1987/88 season the club quickly moved through the divisions until after yet another league change by the WRU, Cwmgwrach found themselves in the

WRU Division Six Central The Welsh Rugby Union Division Six Central (also called the SWALEC Division Six Central for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England ...

League. The club holds very close ties with Scottish team

Lasswade Rugby Football Club Lasswade Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, Scotland. Established in 1921, the club plays at Hawthornden in Lasswade parish and competes in . History In 2003 the club sold one of its three pitches to ...

, with whom they play an annual home and away friendly between the two clubs. This has occurred since the 1963/64 season and continues to this day.

Notable past players

* David Richards (rugby player) Lyn Powell (Swansea), Clive Williams (Aberavon, WALES Youth),

Club honours

* Glamorgan County Silver Ball Trophy 1965/66 - Winners * Welsh Brewers League Bowl 1991/92 - Winners

References

Welsh rugby union teams {{Wales-rugbyunion-team-stub