Bridgend Athletic RFC are 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 it ...

club based in

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 ...

in South Wales. They are members of the Welsh Rugby Union playing in the National League Division 1 West and are a feeder club for the Ospreys.

History

Bridgend Athletic RFC was reformed in 1972, after the Bridgend Youth team members in that year wanted to form a senior team so they didn't have to go their separate ways into senior rugby, hence the formation of the club which had previously existed up to 1939. The club become full members of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1983. 1989 saw the creation of the club's mini and junior section which is renowned for being among the best in the country. The club were promoted from Division 5 Central in 2001, were

WRU Division Four East The Welsh Rugby Union Division Four East (also called the SWALEC Division Four East for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales. Competition There are 12 clubs in the WRU Division Four East. During the course of a season (which las ...

Champions in 2002, were then promoted from Division 3 to

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 ...

in 2003 through the league organisation and were promoted to Division 1 in 2004. They have suffered relegation from that league once, but recovered in 2009, winning

. In 2012 they were included in the newly formed Swalec Championship, where they narrowly lost their opening game 28-29 to Bonymaen.

Club honours

* 2001-02

- Champions * 2008-09

- Champions * 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 16 - Champions * 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 15 - Champions * 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 14 - Champions * 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 13 - Champions * 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 12 - Champions * 2014-15 Ospreys Cup)Under 15 - Champions * 2015-16 National Youth Cup)Youth - Champions

Notable players

Lee Byrne Lee Byrne (born 1 June 1980) is a Welsh former professional rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. Club career Byrne started his career playing rugby union for Bridgend Athletic RFC; and Tondu RFC, as a ful ...

- British & Irish Lions, Wales RU, Ospreys, Clermont Auvergne, Dragons *

Rhys Webb Rhys Webb (born 9 December 1988) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Ospreys. Born in Bridgend, he is a product of the Ospreys academy and played club rugby for Bridgend RFC and Aberavon RFC before breaking into the regi ...

- Ospreys & Wales RU, British & Irish Lions *

Scott Baldwin Scott "Scotty" Baldwin is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' and its now-defunct spinoff ''Port Charles''. The character debuted played by child actors in the 1960s until Kin Shriner assumed the role in 1977. Sc ...

- Ospreys & Wales RU * Phil Price- Dragons * Tom Habberfield - Ospreys / Wales U20/Wales 7s * Matthew Morgan - Ospreys / Wales U20. Wales RU *

Luke Morgan Luke Morgan is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Gary Lucy. He was introduced by the show's creator Phil Redmond as part of the Morgan family, and made his first appearance on 29 March 1999. The ...

- Ospreys / Wales U20 / Wales 7s * Nicky Griffiths - Wales 7s * Lloyd Evans - Wales 7s * Adrian Durston -Bridgend & Wales RU * Matt Jones - Ospreys & Wales RU *

Tom Prydie Tom Prydie (born 23 February 1992) is a Welsh rugby union player. A fullback who can also play on the wing, Prydie is the youngest player ever to represent the Wales national team and the youngest player in the history of Europe's top rugby ...

- Dragons & Wales RU *

Josh Navidi Josh Navidi (born 30 December 1990) is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays for the Cardiff Rugby, Wales and British and Irish Lions. He has previously captained Wales U20. Personal life Navidi's father is Iranian and his mother ...

- Cardiff Blues & Wales RU, British & Irish Lions

Coaches

* Director of Coaching: John Apsee * Technical Consultant: Gerald Williams * Backs Coach: Stuart Morris * Forwards Coach: Dai Williams

References

Bridgend Athletic RFC
Rugby clubs established in 1939 Welsh rugby union teams 1939 establishments in Wales {{wales-rugbyunion-team-stub