The South Wales Scorpions, known as the South Wales Ironmen in 2017, were a semi-professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

club based in South Wales. They played in the third tier of the

British rugby league system The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League. There is no system of automatic promotion and relegation between all five tiers although teams have moved between them in the past. Since ...

(currently known as League 1) between 2010 and 2017. The team initially played at

The Gnoll The Gnoll ( cy, Y Gnol) in Neath, Wales is a sports ground, with a capacity of 6,000 (formerly 15,000). It is used primarily for rugby union and rugby league, although it has also been used previously for association football and cricket. The sta ...

in Neath, before spells at Caerphilly,

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mounta ...

Maesteg Maesteg is a town and community (Wales), community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English ...

, and Merthyr Tydfil. Under new ownership, the club relocated to

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

effective immediately in July 2017. The following season, they began competing as

West Wales Raiders The West Wales Raiders were a semi-professional rugby league club based in Llanelli, Wales. They competed in RFL League 1, League 1, the third tier of the British rugby league system, from 2018 until 2022. The club was founded in 2015 as an ama ...

History

In December 2009, South Wales RLFC was admitted into Championship One for the 2010 season. This followed the relocation of Super League club Crusaders RL from

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 ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. The Scorpions moniker was announced on 22 December.

Wales Rugby League Wales Rugby League is the national governing body for rugby league football in Wales. In 1907 The Welsh Northern Rugby Football Union was formed in Wrexham, but the English Northern Rugby Football Union refused it affiliation as they wanted th ...

agreed to take over the running of the Scorpions for the 2014 season after club owner Phil Davies decided to step down. In 2014, the Scorpions played at Llynfi Road in

. The club relocated the following year, to Parc Dyffryn Pennar in

, which also served as a training ground. In 2016, the team played at Virginia Park in Caerphilly. The club was renamed South Wales Ironmen for the 2017 season, coinciding with their move to The Wern, Merthyr Tydfil. In July 2017, the club was bought by Andrew Thorne, owner of amateur club

. The Scorpions began using

's Stebonheath Park as their home ground for the remainder of the season. The club were rebranded as the West Wales Raiders and remained in League 1 in 2018 - and, as such, the Raiders can be regarded as a continuation of the Ironmen club, and their previous incarnation the South Wales Scorpions.

Seasons

References

External links

Wales Rugby League Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Wales Scorpions Rugby league in Wales Welsh rugby league teams Sport in Neath Sport in Llanelli 2009 establishments in Wales 2017 disestablishments in Wales Rugby clubs established in 2009