Llandaff Rugby Football Club is a

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

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...

, a district of

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 ...

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 ...

. They presently play in 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 ...

WRU League 3 East Central B.

History

Llandaff RFC was formed in 1876 by

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

graduate Illtyd Thomas, and these links are reflected in the team still playing in

Cambridge blue A blue is an award of sporting colours earned by athletes at some universities and schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of blues began at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. They are now awarded at a number of other ...

. It is believed that Llandaff were one of nine teams that were represented at the Tenby Hotel in 1880, in an early attempt to found the Welsh Rugby Union. In 1881 Llandaff RFC player,

Leonard Watkins Leonard Watkins (7 December 1859 - 7 February 1901) was a Welsh international rugby union half-back who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club and international rugby for Wales. He won just a single game for Wales when he was selected ...

, played in the first Welsh international, against England. For the 1887/1888 season. Llandaff's record was; Played 18, Won 13, Drew 3, Lost 2. Llandaff had drawn 2 matches with Penarth RFC and won against Cardiff RFC 2nds. The following season, 1888/1889, Llandaff's record was; Played 22, Won 11, Drew 6, Lost 5. The 2nd XV's also won 10 out of 12 matches. Llandaff also reached the Cardiff District Challenge Cup final, losing to Penarth by 2 goals, 1 try and 3 minors to 1 minor on 13 March 1889 at the Cardiff Arms Park. Playing against other South Wales club sides, they gained early success winning the South Wales Challenge Cup during the 1891/92 season. Unusual for a Welsh rugby team, Llandaff have played their rugby on the same pitch, Bishop's Field, since their inception, though like all clubs in Wales the team ceased playing during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The team reformed after the war but lost their WRU status, and could not play in official competitions. It wasn't until 1948 that Llandaff reapplied and were successful in regaining membership of the WRU.

Club honours

* 2008/09

WRU Division Four East The Welsh Rugby Union Division Four East (also called the SWALEC Division Four East for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales. Competition There are 12 clubs in the WRU Division Four East. During the course of a season (which las ...

- Champions

Notable former players

Chris Czekaj Chris Czekaj (born 14 December 1985) is a retired Wales international rugby union player, who played fullback or wing. He most recently played for Merthyr RFC, and spent most of his career with Cardiff Blues. He represented Wales and Wales U21. ...

(6 caps) *

(1 cap 1881)''Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981'', David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pg473 *

Rex Willis William Rex Willis (25 October 1924 – 19 January 2000) was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Cardiff and invitational rugby for the Barbarians. He won 21 caps for Wales and was selected to play in the Brit ...

(21 caps) *

Louis Rees-Zammit Louis Rees-Zammit (; born 2 February 2001) is a Welsh rugby union wing who currently plays for Gloucester in the English Premiership and for Wales at national level. In 2021, Rees-Zammit was selected to tour with the British and Irish Lions. E ...

(7 caps)

References

External links

*http://www.llandaffrugby.com/ Official Site Sport in Cardiff Rugby clubs established in 1876 Welsh rugby union teams Llandaff 1876 establishments in Wales {{wales-rugbyunion-team-stub

History

Club honours

Notable former players

See also

References

External links