Aberavon Green Stars RFC
| Full name | Aberavon Green Stars Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Fighting Irish | |
| Founded | 1887 | |
| Location | Aberavon, Wales | |
| Ground(s) | Little Warren | |
| Coach(es) | James Donovan / Paul Breeze | |
| Captain(s) | James Davies | |
| League(s) | WRU Division Three South West | |
| 2011/2012 | 11th[1] WRU Division Four South West | |
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| Official website | ||
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Aberavon Green Stars Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Aberavon, Wales, UK. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys.[2] The club was formed by an Irish community and to this day the team keeps a visible and purposeful connection to their Irish roots, seen in the club's name, club house, badge and nickname, The Fighting Irish.
Early years
The Green Stars owe their formation to the Irish community near Aberavon Beach[3] and although publications such as Field of Praise state the club was formed as St Joseph's the club strongly deny this. The club is believed to have started out as the Aberavon Green Stars, but changed their name to St Joseph's during the 1908/09 season. During the 1920s the team began a friendly Christmas Day fixture, a common Welsh club tradition, against Taibach RFC.
Post 1945
Like all Welsh clubs, Aberavon Green Stars disbanded during the Second World War, but in 1946 reformed as Port Talbot Cyms RFC. In 1953 the team reclaimed the name Aberavon Green Stars.
Club Badge
The Green Stars badge is a shield divided into four quarters each representing a link to Welsh or Irish culture. The two Irish quarters hold a shamrock and an Irish harp. The two Welsh quarters hold the Welsh red dragon and the Prince of Wales's feathers.
Club honours
- WRU Division Five South Central 2007/08 - Champions (unbeaten P20 W19 D1)
- WRU Division Four South West 2009/10 - Champions (P22 W20
Youth Team
Aberavon Green Stars youth team were very successful during the 2011/2012 season. They won four trophies in all including the Ospreys Division B, Afan nedd Cup, Presidents cup and The Afan Nedd 7's. The first trophy they won was the League. They beat Gorseinan 27-17 to secure the title on Easter Saturday. This landmark also brought up that the Stars had been unbeaten in the league for two years. They then went on to play Division A champions Pontardawe in the Afan Nedd Cup. With Owen Howe kicking a penalty four minutes from the end, the young Stars held onto a 15-13 victory. Two weeks after that the Stars secured a treble by beating Tonmawr 32-17 at the Talbot Athletic Ground. Just to round off the season they also won the Afan Nedd District 7's.
References
- ↑ WRU official site
- ↑ BBC News (2004-07-08). "Wales' regional rugby map". BBC. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
- ↑ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pg7 ISBN 0-7083-0766-3
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