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Neath RFC shop, Market Street Neath
Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Their home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. They are known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white Maltese cross as an emblem. Neath RFC is the oldest rugby club in Wales having being formed in 1871 by a consortium of ten enthusiasts, their captain at the time, T. P. Whittington would later play international rugby for Scotland in 1873.[3]
On the 12th June 1881, eleven teams met in the Castle Hotel, Neath to form what would be accepted as a Welsh rugby union. The founding clubs of the WFU (Welsh Football Union), as it was originally known, were Swansea C & FC, Pontypool RFC, Newport RFC, Merthyr RFC, Llanelli RFC, Bangor RFC, Brecon RFC, Cardiff RFC, Lampeter College RFC, Llandovery RFC and Llandeilo RFC.[4] Strangely Neath RFC was not recorded as being present, even though the meeting took place in the town. It is unknown if this was an oversight by the committee to record the presence of the club, or if Neath RFC did not actually attend. One theory put forward is that the president, John Llewellyn and secretary, Sam Clark of the South Wales Football Union were both Neath players. By attending this new union they would be destroying the SWFU and therefore their own influence in the game. These wounds would soon heal and Neath joined the newly formed WFU in the 1882-83 season and would eventually become pivotal in the union's development, monopolizing the secretaryship from 1896 to 1955.[5]
Neath RFC hold the world record for the number of points (1917) and tries (345) accumulated in one season (47 Games)[6]. This record was set during the 1988/89 season, it is also worth noting that a try was worth 4 points at the time the record was broken.
Neath RFC is now known as Neath Rugby Ltd and owns 50% of the Ospreys professional side.
In an effort to improve their home stadium The Gnoll, the club announced in 2008, plans to share it with the town's football club Neath Athletic A.F.C..[7]
[edit] Club honours
- Welsh Club Champions: 1909/10, 1910/11, 1928/29, 1933/34, 1934/35, 1946/47, 1966/67, 1986/87, 1988/89, 1989/90
- Welsh Premier Division: 1990/91, 1995/96, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08
- Welsh Cup: 1971/72, 1988/89, 1989/90, 2003/04, 2007/08
- Welsh Cup Finalists: 1983/84, 1987/88, 1992/93, 1995/96, 2000/01, 2005/06
[edit] Notable former players
[edit] References
- ^ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981 pp24, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) ISBN 0708307663
- ^ WRU Official Site - Sourced 21st May 2008
- ^ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981 pp24, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) ISBN 0708307663
- ^ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981 pp24, David Smith pp41, Gareth Williams (1980) ISBN 0708307663
- ^ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981 pp44-45, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) ISBN 0708307663
- ^ The 1993 Guinness Book of Records ISBN 0851129781
- ^ BBC News (2008-05-16). Rugby stadium makes soccer space. BBC. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
Neath RFC: 1871-1945 - Mike Price (ISBN 0-7524-2709-1, October 2002) Neath RFC: 1945-1996 - Mike Price (ISBN 0-7524-3106-4, March 2004)
[edit] External links
Rowland Phillips
