Tonna 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 it ...
team from the village of
Tonna,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. Tonna RFC is a member of the
Welsh Rugby Union 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.
History
Although it is believed that Tonna RFC existed before 1888, the club was first mentioned during the 1887/88 season, when the Cambria Daily Reader stated that Tonna RFC were drawn to play
Mynydd-bach
Mynydd-Bach or Mynydd-bach is a suburban district and Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, It falls within the coterminous Mynydd-Bach (electoral ward), Mynydd-Bach ward. The name Mynydd-Bach ("little mountain") ...
in the local
Neath cup challenge. It is therefore regarded that Tonna RFC came into being on 28 February 1888.
Tonna RFC's first international player was
David Harris Davies. Although he played for
Neath RFC
Neath Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Castell-Nedd) is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the WRU Championship. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with onl ...
at the time of his one and only
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
against Scotland in 1904, he came through the playing ranks of Tonna.
The club disbanded after the outbreak of 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 ...
, but reformed as Dulais United after the war ended. This team was an amalgamation of local villages Tonna,
Aberdulais
Aberdulais is a village and electoral ward in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, lying on the River Neath, in the community of Blaenhonddan. The village grew around the Aberdulais Falls, the site of successive industries and now a hydro-electric statio ...
,
Cadoxton, and Cilfrew but the team was still housed in Tonna.
Notable players
Full Senior Internationals
*
David Harris Davies - Neath RFC (1 cap)
[''Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981'', David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pp464 ]
*
Arthur Lemon - Neath RFC (13 caps)
*
Martyn Davies - Neath RFC (1 Cap)
*
Alan Edmunds- Aberavon RFC,Neath RFC (2 caps)
*
Craig Mitchell Neath RFC, Ospreys, Exeter Chiefs, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Bath (15 caps)
*
Leigh Davies Neath RFC, Cardiff RFC, Bristol RFC, Ospreys, Llanelli Scarlets (Captain) - 21 Caps
*
*
Doug Phillips (rugby) Douglas V Phillips Rugby League International Oldham RLFC, Broughton Park Rangers RLFC Belle Vue RLFC. 9 Wales RL Caps & 4 Great Britain Caps (including 1950 Series win in Australia)
*
*
Barbarians RFC Martyn Davies (Neath RFC), Chris Gittins (Aberavon RFC)
References
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20130206182838/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/tonnarfc
{{Rugby Wales links
Welsh rugby union teams
1888 establishments in Wales
Rugby clubs established in 1888
Rugby union in Neath Port Talbot