Barry John was a Welsh rugby union fly-half who played in the 1960s and early 1970s during the amateur era of the sport. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to the first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964. Whilst at Llanelli, John was selected for the Wales national team—as a replacement for David Watkins—to face a touring Australian team.
Rugby union in Wales is considered a large part of Welsh national culture. Rugby union is thought to have reached Wales in the 1850s, with the national body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) being formed in 1881. Wales are considered to be one of the most successful national sides in Rugby Union, having won the most Six Nations Championships after England, as well as having reached 3 World Cup semi finals in 1987, 2011 and 2019, having finished 3rd in the inaugural competition and having finished 4th in 2011 in a repeat of the first third place play-off. The Welsh team of the 1970s is considered to be one of the greatest national teams of all time. As of November 2021, they are ranked 8th in the world.
Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Indigo Premiership for Season 2024/25. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem. Neath RFC is the oldest rugby club in Wales, having been formed in 1871. They are feeder club to the Ospreys regional team.
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since.
In 1980 the British Lions rugby union team toured South Africa. The tour was not a success for the Lions, as they lost the first three tests before salvaging some pride with a win in the fourth. The team did however win all their 14 non-international matches. The Lions were captained by Bill Beaumont.
Abertillery Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Abertillery. According to their website, they were founded in 1883 by a coal miner named Doug Wallace who was a local resident who moved from Scotland in 1882, Wallace was known for his commitment for the club until he died in 1899 and will be remembered as a special part of the club even to do this day. Every year the club celebrates Wallace's life by competing in a cross country race with 100s of the locals competing in the last 10 years Mr Phelps has won the race 10 times and is now the all-time leading winner in the competition, in one year he run the race twice before anyone had cross the line for the first time.
Bridgend Ravens are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales.
The 1910 Five Nations Championship was the first series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the twenty-eighth series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 1 January and 28 March. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The 1933 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the forty-sixth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Six matches were played between 21 January and 1 April. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The 1914 Five Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-second series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Nine matches were played between 1 January and 13 April. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
In 1966 the British Lions toured Australia and New Zealand. The Lions won the two test matches against Australia but lost all four internationals against the All Blacks.
In 1962 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. Overall the tourists played twenty-five matches, winning sixteen, losing five and drawing four.
In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against South Africa, each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost the second and fourth matches by wider margins. As well as South Africa, the tour included a match against South West Africa, two games against Rhodesia and one versus East Africa.
The 1931–32 South Africa tour of Britain and Ireland was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national team against the four British Home Nation teams. The tour also took in several matches against British and Irish club, county and invitational teams. This was the fourth South Africa tour and the third tour of the Northern Hemisphere.
In 1951–52 the South Africa national rugby union team toured England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, playing a series of test matches, as well as games against club, regional, and representative teams. South Africa accomplished their third Grand Slam by winning all four tests against the Home Nations sides, and also won the test match against France. This was the sixth South Africa tour and the fourth tour of the Northern Hemisphere. It was also the first time the South Africans played the invitational British Barbarian team.
The 1969 Wales rugby union tour was a series of rugby union games undertaken by the Wales national rugby union team to Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. The tour took in four matches against regional and invitational teams and three tests; two to New Zealand and one to Australia. This was the second official Wales tour to the southern hemisphere and the first to Australasia and Melanesia.
Edwin Thomas Maynard known as Edwin Thomas or "Beddoe" Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Newport RFC. Thomas was part of the Wales team that won the Triple Crown in 1909, and faced all three major Southern Hemisphere teams; New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, for Newport.
Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level. The team is made up of amateur players from sports clubs in the Glamorgan region and historically played matches against other county teams from Wales and England, and during the 20th century was a key fixture for touring international teams. Today the club manages Glamorgan's premier rugby union tournament, the Glamorgan County Silver Ball Trophy, and arranges invitational Glamorgan teams to face Welsh rugby clubs during celebrations, such as anniversaries.
The New Zealand Army rugby team of 1919 was a rugby union team which represented New Zealand after the end of the First World War. Although spoken of as a single team, there were several New Zealand Services teams playing in Britain at the conclusion of the War. The most notable being the touring Army XV who played a series of games throughout Great Britain and France, including an internationally recognised match against the Wales national team. With the introduction of the King's Cup; a services tournament between forces from Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, the team split intself in two. The 'A' Team taking part in the King's Cup, while the 'B' team continued touring against club and county opponents.
The 1978 Wales rugby union tour of Australia was a series of nine matches played by the Wales national rugby union team in Australia in May and June 1978. The Welsh team won five matches and lost four, including losing both of their international matches against the Australia national rugby union team.
South Africa 
