Pontyclun Rugby Football Club is a Welsh

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

Pontyclun Pontyclun (or Pont-y-clun) is a village and community located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Like the surrounding towns, it has seen a sharp increase in its population in the last ten years as people migrate south from the S ...

, Wales. Pontyclun RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Early history

Although it is believed that rugby had been played in Pontyclun from the early 1880s; a game between a team from Pontyclun and

Pentyrch Pentyrch ( cy, Pen-tyrch) is a village and community located on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The village gives its name to a Cardiff local authority electoral ward, Pentyrch, which covers the village and immediat ...

was called off after crowd trouble in 1884,David (1987), pg 21. it is thought the rugby club was not created until 1886.''Pontyclun and Talygarn, a History & Topography'', J. Barry Davies The club accepts its creation date as 1887 as proof that Pontyclun played as a RFC during the 1887/88 season, recorded in the Pontypridd Chronicle on 11 November 1887. The match was recorded as Pontypridd Juniors against Pontyclown (a common misspelling of the town during the late 1800s) which Pontyclun won. There is also a report in the South Wales Daily News for 12 November 1888 of a match between

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

and Pontyclown which was news-worthy due to Pontyclun taking offence at the referee, resulting in the team leaving the pitch eight minutes before the end of the match. In September 1887 Pontyclun RFC applied for membership to the Welsh Rugby Union along with

Llandovery Llandovery (; cy, Llanymddyfri ) is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and west of Brecon. Hi ...

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...

and

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

. The membership was granted in a meeting held at the Queen's Hotel in Cardiff later that year. Unfortunately for Pontyclun in 1886 the WRU appointed a new secretary, Walter E. Rees, and he brought an element of financial stability to an organisation that was once wasteful. Where clubs were once able to miss membership subscription fees with little reprise, Rees ensured that this was no longer the case and Pontylcun lost their WRU membership in 1888 due to missed subscriptions.David (1987), pg 24. Pontyclun RFC re-applied for Welsh Rugby Union membership in 1919 along with Llanharan and

Taffs Well Taff's Well () is a semi-rural village, community and electoral ward located at the south easterly tip of Rhondda Cynon Taf, to the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Known locally as the 'Gates to the Valleys', it is separated from ...

. All three clubs were awarded membership on 22 August of that year, but were told to "put your grounds in order".David (1987), pg 28. The club first played on a field which is now the site of local school, Y Pant School (Ysgol y Pant); until moving to Mill Fields.

Falcons

The falcons were formed in 1998 and are one of the longest running Women's team in Wales. They currently play in the Welsh premiership and were league winners for the 2015 / 2016 & 2018 / 2019 seasons. They have been Super Cup Finalists in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015 & 2019 and were winners of the Plate in 2009. Several players have represented Wales at senior level including Gem Hallett, Laura Prosser, Cerys Hale, Rafiuke Taylor, Vicky Owens, Mel Clay, Lisa Newton, Georgia Evans & Megan Webb

Notable former players

* Tommy Rees (4 caps) * Cliff Jones (13 caps) * Gemma Hallett (35 caps)

Club honours

* 2008/09 WRU Division Five South East - Champions

Bibliography

References

{{Rugby Wales links Rugby clubs established in 1887 Rugby union teams in Wales Pontyclun