Llanharan 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 its m ...

club based in

Llanharan Llanharan is a village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. As a community Llanharan takes in the neighbouring settlements of Bryncae, Brynna, Llanilid, Peterston-super-Montem and Ynysmaerdy. Llanharan thrived during ...

, South

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Llanharan RFC was formally established in 1891-92 when Llanharan was little more than an agricultural hamlet. The earliest photograph on the clubhouse wall is dated 1898. Llanharan RFC is a member of 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 is a feeder club for the

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

Early history

In its early years, the club used local inns such as the High Corner and Turberville as a base. The club applied for

membership in 1919 along with

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 So ...

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 that year, but were told to "put your grounds in order".''Hard Kicks but Good Touches - A Celebration of 100 years of Rugby at Pontyclun R.F.C. 1887-1987'', John David (1987) pg28 In 1948 the first purpose built headquarters/changing rooms were transported from RAF Llandow airfield. A clubhouse was built in 1962 on the site of the old

British Restaurant British Restaurants were communal kitchens created in 1940 during the Second World War to help people who had been bombed out of their homes, had run out of ration coupons or otherwise needed help. In 1943, 2,160 British Restaurants served 600,0 ...

. The original building was a wartime hut, transported piece by piece from the

RAF Stormy Down Royal Air Force Stormy Down, or more simply RAF Stormy Down is a former Royal Air Force station located near Pyle, Bridgend and opened in 1940. History It was an armament training school for the Royal Air Force (RAF) then after they departed ...

camp and progressively enlarged into three bars and a concert hall. Llanharan RFC moved from the old site in 2002 into new premises in the former British Legion club on the opposite side of Bridgend Road.

Grounds

Llanharan RFC play their matches at ''The Dairy Field'', named for the adjacent CWS Milk Depot which closed in the late 1960s after 50 years of milk processing. The club purchased the ground in 1989, having previously played on the Welfare Ground. Llanharan RFC marked the advent of the national league by playing their first game on the new field against Aberavon Quins to open the 1990-91 season.

Colours

Llanharan RFC play in black shirts and shorts with three light blue horizontal hoops across the chest. The choice of colours is said to relate to impoverished bygone years when a sympathetic Cardiff gave a set of their kit to the club. The black and Cambridge blue has been worn ever since. In respectful appreciation Llanharan henceforth called themselves the "Black and Blues" as opposed to the "Blue and Blacks".

Club badge

The badge is symbolic of the village's history and culture. The four quarters show: * A sheaf of corn – pre-coal mining Llanharan was an agricultural village with its picturesque stone cottages with a church, corn mill and blacksmith; much of the economy related to the needs of the

Llanharan House Llanharan House is a historic house on the outskirts of Llanharan, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is located off the A473 road, just east of Llanharan and is a Grade II* listed building. History The house was built in 1750 by Rees Powell and sta ...

estate. * A Llanharan spaniel – reputed to be a distinctive breed at a time when the estate also boasted its own pack of hunting hounds. * The parish church of St Julius and Aaron – an ancient foundation that boasts a Tudor chalice. * A pit head winding gear – reflecting the coal mining that dominated the village for almost a century. The Llanharan badge also includes a black cross to commemorate the six players who died on 12 March 1950 in the

Llandow air disaster The Llandow air disaster was an aircraft accident in Wales in 1950. At that time it was the world's worst air disaster with a total of 80 fatalities. The aircraft, an Avro Tudor V, had been privately hired to fly rugby union enthusiasts to an ...

.Rugby in Wales: Llanharan RFC
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Club honours

* 2004/05 Glamorgan County President's Cup - Winners * 2003/04 WRU Division One - Champions

Notable former players

:''See also :Llanharan RFC players'' The following players have represented Llanharan and have also been capped at international level. *

Gareth Llewellyn Gareth Owen Llewellyn (born 27 February 1969), is a Welsh former rugby union player who gained a record 92 caps for Wales as a lock. His record for Wales caps was surpassed by Gareth Thomas in May 2007. His brother, Glyn Llewellyn, also played i ...

* Glyn Llewellyn *

Garfield Owen Garfield David Owen (20 Mar 1932 – 17 Jan 2019) was a Welsh teacher, and dual-code international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He first played amateur rugby for Llanharan RFC, Maest ...

Daniel Pascoe Daniel "Dan" Pascoe (7 July 1900 – 19 May 1971) born in Llanharan, was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Br ...

Senior squad 1. Sam Grant 2. Sam Llewelyn 3. Brandon Nelson 4. Richard Byers 5. Tom Harris 6. Chris Osborne 7. Jordan Hughes 8. Owain Howe 9. Leon Burton 10. Scott Jones 11. Alex Newbold 12. Lloyd Gregory 13. Lloyd Thomas 14. Jack Pring 15. Lee Davies 16. Kyle Jones 17. Sam Pick 18. Tom Buckle 19. Craig Burton 20. Roy Furnival

References

External links

* {{Rugby Wales links Rugby clubs established in 1891 Welsh rugby union teams Sport in Rhondda Cynon Taf