Prince William Cup

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The Prince William Cup was created in 2007 by the WRU and celebrates 100 years of rugby union history between Wales and South Africa. It is named after the Vice Royal Patron of the WRU, Prince William of Wales, who presented the cup to the inaugural winners of the trophy in the inaugural Prince William Cup match held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday 24th November 2007.

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[edit] The Trophy

The trophy was chosen by Prince William, from three different designs presented by specialist jewelers. Mari Thomas, from Llanelli, and Nicola Palterman, from Neath won the commission to create the cup. The pair, who have exhibited their jewelery around the world from London to New York, 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 elegantly designed, inspired by the landscapes of South Africa and Wales. The trophy is the ninth of its type in world rugby and was presented to the winner of the the first clash by Prince William himself.

[edit] 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, who died on 31 October 2007[1]. His funeral was attended by over 10,000 people, including Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales. On-line petitions were launched. The matter was raised in the National Assembly for Wales by Helen Mary Jones AM backed by a number of other AMs[2] including Bethan Jenkins[3]. Amongst MPs, Labour MP Paul Flynn and Plaid's Adam Price 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 and football teams[4]

[edit] Results

Date Venue Home Score Away Winner
June 14, 2008 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria South Africa Wales
June 7, 2008 Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein South Africa 43 - 17 Wales Flag of South Africa
November 24, 2007 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales 12 - 34 South Africa Flag of South Africa

[edit] See also

South Africa vs Wales in rugby union

[edit] References

  1. ^ BBC Wales South West
  2. ^ Welsh Assembly session 06.11.07
  3. ^ Bethan Jenkins AM on Blogspot
  4. ^ Adam Price MP calls on WRU to rename cup