Mumbles 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 ...

team based in

Mumbles Mumbles ( cy, Mwmbwls) is a headland sited on the western edge of Swansea Bay on the southern coast of Wales. Toponym Mumbles has been noted for its unusual place name. The headland is thought by some to have been named by French sailors, ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, south

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 ...

. Mumbles 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

Ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

. They compete in the WRU Division Two West, the fifth tier of rugby in Wales.

Club history

Mumbles RFC was founded in 1887 and over the years has produced a large number of rugby players. Many have played at a higher level with neighbouring first-class teams. Their best-known rugby product is

Geoff Wheel Geoff Wheel (born 30 June 1951, in Swansea) is a former Wales international rugby union player who attained 32 international caps. A lock-forward, he played club rugby for Mumbles RFC and then Swansea RFC Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Wels ...

, who captained

Swansea RFC Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premiership. The club play at St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea and are also known as ''The Whites,'' in reference to their home kit colours. History ...

and was the cornerstone of the Welsh pack in the successful national side of the 1970s. Mumbles RFC has established a reputation for hosting touring rugby teams from all over the world. The first team has also toured other countries, including England, Ireland, Europe, the United States, and Canada.

The Clubhouse

On November 10, 2014, Mumbles RFC were granted planning permission by Swansea council to build a clubhouse next to Underhill Park. Traditionally Mumbles RFC clubhouse has a waterfront location on Swansea bay about five miles from Swansea City centre. The ground is nearby in Underhill Park. Mumbles RFC clubhouse has a wide range of rugby memorabilia.

Glory days 2012-present

At the end of the 2012–13 season Mumbles RFC were crowned champions of the

WRU Division Three West The Welsh Rugby Union Division Three West (also called the SWALEC Division Three West for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales. Competition format and sponsorship Competition There are 12 clubs in the WRU Division Three West. Du ...

, gaining promotion to the

WRU Division Two West The Welsh Rugby Union League 2 West (also called the SWALEC League 2 West for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales. Competition format and sponsorship Competition There are 12 clubs in the WRU League 2 West. During the course o ...

. After their first campaign in the 2013-14

Mumbles finished mid table. Throughout the 2013–14 season plans of a re-organisation of the WRU leagues had been submitted, ready for the start of the 2014–15 season. The WRU voted that Mumbles should play the 2014–15 season in the newly formed Division One West Central, only three levels below the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

. Mumbles recent success has seen them gain a fantastic relationship with

and

. Several Mumbles players have a dual contract with Swansea and many go on to play for the Ospreys, most recently Aled Jenkins. Because of the close relationship between the clubs they often play friendlies against each other, the last time the clubs met it finished 14 - 55 to Swansea in front of a bumper crowd at Underhill Park.

Rivalries

The club has a fierce rivalry with

South Gower RFC South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

Notable past players

* Billy Hullin (1 cap, while at

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 ...

) * Geoff Wheel ( Swansea) * Ben Lewis (

) * Sam Lewis (

) * Kieran Murphy (

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 75 ...

) * Aled Jenkins (

) *

Rhys Ruddock Rhys Ruddock (born 13 November 1990) is a professional rugby union player. He currently plays for St Mary's College RFC and Leinster Rugby, Leinster. He plays in the backrow, at 6 or 8. In the 2009/2010 season, he captained the Irish U20s to winn ...

(

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

) 1972 Roger Davies. Full Back for the Scarlets (Llanelli RFC) when they beat the All Blacks.

Club honours

* 2006/07

WRU Division Three South West The Welsh Rugby Union Division Three South West (also called the SWALEC Division Three South West for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales. Competition format and sponsorship Competition There are 12 clubs in the WRU Division ...

- Champions * 2012/13

- Champions * 2013/14

- Promoted

External links

Official webpage

References

{{Rugby Wales links Rugby clubs established in 1887 Rugby union in Swansea Welsh rugby union teams