St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground

St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground

Location	Brynmill, Swansea, SA2 0AR
Coordinates	51°36′45″N 3°57′56″W / 51.61250°N 3.96556°W / 51.61250; -3.96556Coordinates: 51°36′45″N 3°57′56″W / 51.61250°N 3.96556°W / 51.61250; -3.96556
Owner	City and County of Swansea council
Operator	Swansea Council
Capacity	4,500
Surface	Grass
Construction
Broke ground	1873
Opened	1873
Tenants
Swansea RFC Swansea Cricket club

St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground is a spectator venue in Swansea, Wales. It is used for both rugby and cricket.

It is owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea council and is also used to host the local annual Guy Fawkes night fireworks display.

History

Since the ground opened in 1873 it has been the home of the Swansea Rugby Football Club, and the Swansea Cricket club.

In 2005, the venue could hold an audience of 10,500 seated before it was re-developed. The famous east stand, which had provided cloisters over part of Oystermouth Road, has since been demolished and replaced with a metallic stand unloved by locals. The tallest flood light stand in Europe is in St. Helen's Ground. In late November 2007, the ground's perimeter wall in the South East corner, next to Mumbles Road and Gorse Lane, was knocked down and a new wall built further inside the ground, in similar style to the old wall. This was to accommodate a new car park with 39 spaces for the Patti Pavilion.

Rugby

The first home international in the history of Welsh rugby was played at St Helen's on 16 December 1882, against England.^[1] The ground was the scene of New Zealand's first victory over Wales in 1924.^[2] On 10 April 1954, St. Helen's staged its last international until a Test match between Wales and Tonga was also played at the ground in 1997.^[2] The decision to abandon Swansea as an international rugby union venue in the 1950s was prompted by overstretch of what was then a 50,000-capacity ground; delays for players and spectators travelling west along the A48, especially at Port Talbot; and higher revenues from games at Cardiff Arms Park.^[1] Swansea Corporation discussed raising the capacity to 70,000 or even 82,000, but wartime bomb damage inflicted on the city forced a revision of building priorities.^[1] However, the ground has been used to host three Welsh women's internationals. The first women's international at Swansea was in April 1999 against England, and the most recent was in November 2009 when Wales defeated Sweden 56-7.

Swansea RFC defeated New Zealand 11-3 at St Helen's on 28 September 1935, becoming the first club side to beat the All Blacks. Swansea also defeated world champions Australia 21-6 in November 1992, when Australia played their first match of their Welsh Tour.

Between 1919 and 1952, St Helen's was also the home of Swansea Uplands RFC until the club sought its new home in Upper Killay.

During the 1975 Rugby League World Cup, Australia defeated Wales 18-6 in front of 11,112 fans (this match was broadcast throughout the United Kingdom by the BBC). The two sides again played at Swansea as part of the 1978 Kangaroo tour with the Kangaroos winning 8-3 before a crowd of 4,250.

Rugby League Internationals

List of international rugby league matches played at St Helen's.^[3]

Game#	Date	Result	Attendance	Notes
1	24 November 1945	Wales def.  England 26–10	30,000	Played as part of the 1945–46 European Rugby League Championship
2	16 November 1946	England def.  Wales 19–5	25,000	Played as part of the 1946–47 European Rugby League Championship
3	12 April 1947	Wales def.  France 12–5	12,000	Played as part of the 1946–47 European Rugby League Championship
4	18 October 1947	New Zealand def.  Wales 28–20	18,283	1947 Wales vs New Zealand
5	6 December 1947	England def.  Wales 18–7	10,000	Played as part of the 1947–48 European Rugby League Championship
6	20 March 1948	France def.  Wales 20–12	6,462	Played as part of the 1948–49 European Rugby League Championship
7	20 November 1948	Australia def.  Wales 12–5	9,224	Played as part of the 1948-49 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
8	5 February 1949	Wales def.  England 14–10	9,553	Played as part of the 1948–49 European Rugby League Championship
9	31 March 1951	Other Nationalities def.  Wales 27–21	5,000	Played as part of the 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship
10	16 February 1975	Wales def.  France 21–8	23,000	Played as part of the 1975 European Rugby League Championship
11	19 October 1975	Australia def.  Wales 18–6	11,112	Played as part of the 1975 Rugby League World Cup
12	2 November 1975	Wales def.  New Zealand 25–24	2,645	Played as part of the 1975 Rugby League World Cup
13	15 October 1978	Australia def.  Wales 8–3	4,250	Played as part of the 1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France

Cricket

Cricket pavilion

It was in this ground in 1968 that Sir Garfield Sobers hit the first six sixes in one over in First-Class cricket. Sobers was playing as captain of Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan.

As part of their commitment to the entire country of Wales, Glamorgan County Cricket Club play some of their home matches at St Helen's, as well as their regular home ground, SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, and Penrhyn Avenue in Rhos-on-Sea.

Wales Minor Counties Cricket Club, who have played minor counties cricket since 1988, use the ground as a home base. They are currently the only non-English team in the Minor Counties Championship.

Public Transport

References

External links

• cricinfo: St Helen's
• Glamorgan Cricket Club: St Helen's
• Cricket Archive: St Helen's