The Prince William Cup was created in 2007 by 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 celebrates 100 years of rugby union history between
Wales and
South Africa. It is named after the Vice Royal Patron of the WRU,
the Prince of Wales, who presented the cup, at the inaugural match, held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 24 November 2007.
The Trophy
The trophy was chosen by Prince William, from three different designs presented by specialist jewellers. Mari Thomas, from
Llanelli, and Nicola Palterman, from
Neath
Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...
won the commission to create the cup.
The pair, who have exhibited their jewellery around the world from
London to
New York City, claim the creation of the 55 cm high, 1.5 mm gauge trophy as their biggest and most elaborate creation to date. The Prince William Cup is inspired by the landscapes of South Africa and Wales.
The trophy is silver lined with 23 carat gold plate and is cone shaped tapering from 16 cm at the rim to 8 cm at its base. The trophy is the ninth of its type in world rugby and was presented to the winner of the first clash by Prince William himself.
Controversy
The naming of the cup for Prince William has caused considerable controversy in
Wales. Many people called on the WRU to rename the trophy in honour of Welsh international rugby star
Ray Gravell
Raymond William Robert Gravell (12 September 1951 – 31 October 2007) was a Welsh rugby union centre who played club rugby for Llanelli RFC.
At international level, Gravell earned 23 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1980 British Lions ...
, who died on 31 October 2007. During a tribute to Gravell at the inaugural match the stadium announcer asked the crowd to remember Ray as 'gwir dywysog Cymru', a true prince of Wales. Gravell's funeral was attended by over 10,000 people, including
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan (29 September 1939 – 17 May 2017) was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009. He was also the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011 and t ...
, First Minister of Wales. On-line petitions were launched. The matter was raised in the
National Assembly for Wales by
Helen Mary Jones
Helen Mary Jones (born 29 June 1960) is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the Senedd from 1999 to 2011 and again from August 2018 until 29 April 2021.
Background
Jones was born in Colchester, Essex. She was educated at Colches ...
AM backed by a number of other AMs including
Bethan Jenkins
Bethan Sayed (née Jenkins, born 9 December 1981) is a Welsh politician. She represented the South Wales West Region for Plaid Cymru as a Member of the Senedd from 2007 to 2021.
Early life and education
Sayed was born in Aberdare, the dau ...
. Amongst MPs, Labour MP
Paul Flynn and Plaid's
Adam Price
Adam Robert Price (born 23 September 1968) is a Welsh politician serving as the Leader of Plaid Cymru since 2018. , he has sat in the Senedd for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, having previously been a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Carmart ...
MP called for the WRU to honour Ray Gravell as a patriotic Welshman rather than Prince William, regarded by many in Wales as an Englishman who openly supports the
England rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
and
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
teams.
An online petition has been created calling for the cup to be renamed to honour Ray Gravell.
Rename the Prince William cup to Ray Gravell petition
/ref>
Matches
Results
* – Summer Test
* – Autumn International
See also
* History of rugby union matches between South Africa and Wales
References
{{Wales national rugby union team
History of rugby union matches between South Africa and Wales
Rugby union controversies
Rugby union international rivalry trophies
2007 establishments in Wales
2007 establishments in South Africa
William, Prince of Wales