Machen 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 its m ...

club based in

Machen Machen (from Welsh language, Welsh ' "place (of)" + ', a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly borough within the Historic counties of Wales, ...

, near the city of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

. Machen RFC is a member 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 ...

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

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. Rugby football was played in Machen from the early 1870s, but Machen RFC can be placed as playing as a club from the early 1880s. One of the club's earliest and most notable players was Frank Purdon, who would later go on to play from

and

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 ...

. The club also has two notable local rivalries with

Risca Risca ( cy, Rhisga) is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough and the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. Risca has a railway station, opened on the Ebbw Valley Railway in February 2008, after a gap of 46 years. It is spl ...

and

Bedwas Bedwas is a town situated two miles north-east of Caerphilly, south Wales, situated in the Caerphilly county borough, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Bedwas neighbours Trethomas, Graig-y-Rhacca and Machen, and forms a council ...

Former notable players

Bill Everson William Aaron Everson (15 March 1906 – 26 April 1966)Bill Everson Newpo ...

* Frank Purdon (4 caps)''Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981'', David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pg 470 *

Mel Rosser Melville "Mel" Aaron Rosser sometimes recorded as Melvin and Melvyn (18 April 1901 – 8 September 1988) was a Welsh international rugby centre who played rugby union for Penarth and Cardiff and later turned to professional rugby league joining ...

References

Rugby union teams in Wales {{wales-rugbyunion-team-stub