Club history
At the beginning of the 20th century, rugby union was the sport of choice for most villages and towns. [1] The sport was strictly amateur and players were not expected to receive any monies for taking part in the sport. If players were to be discovered taking payments, they and their club could be permanently suspended. The problem facing Welsh rugby was the rise of the professional Northern Union (later rugby league) in the North of England, where several clubs had split away from the International Rugby Board and formed their own league where players were paid to play. Many rugby union clubs found their star players poached from them by the new Northern League.
To prevent losing their star players, many rugby union clubs secretly paid their players a small amount of money for each match played. The first challenge of the professional era to face the Welsh Rugby Union came in 1907 when E.M. Rees, the ex-Secretary of Aberdare RFC, made claims in the press that his club made player payments. [2] Rees made three claims in total, firstly that all players at his former club were receiving hidden wages, secondly that Aberdare had received a payment of £15 from rivals Treorchy to throw a crucial League match, [3] and finally that Merthyr Alexandria had demanded a payment of £7 5s to bring his team to play Aberdare. [4] The most notable player caught up in these allegations was Dai "Tarw" Jones, an internationally capped player for Wales and hero of the 1905 encounter with New Zealand. Jones was originally a player for Treherbert, but had switched to Aberdare, and he and his fellow players were being paid 10 s a match. When Aberdare came into financial problems, they cut the illegal payments to 5s, and Jones promptly switched back to Treherbert.
The WRU held an investigation into all the allegations, and the sub-committees final report, published in September 1907 found Aberdare and Treorchy guilt of professionalism and permanently suspended the entire Aberdare and Treorchy committees, and then permanent suspended eight players from the sport of rugby union, including Dai Jones. [2] These events gave the impetus for clubs sympathetic to the Northern Union the chance to split from the WRU and become professional. It seemed likely that Aberdare and E.M. Rees would be the first to form a league team, but they failed to obtain financial backing or the use of a pitch, [5] and instead Ebbw Vale and Merthyr Tydfil were the first to form teams in 1907.
The catalyst for the formation of a Northern Union team in Aberdare occurred on 1 January 1908, when the Northern Union hired Ynys Park in Aberdare to host the first true international rugby league match, contested between Wales and New Zealand. [5] A crowd of 15000 attended with gate receipts of £560. [5] The commercial potential was realised by a group of 'tradesman and sportsmen', who met in Aberdare in March 1908 and guaranteed a sum of £150 to form a Northern Union club. [5] The prime mover in the formation of the club was Llewellyn Deere, a former Mountain Ash union player who turned professional with Huddersfield in 1900. [5] In 1908 Deere became the Landlord of the Locomotive Inn in Aberdare, and it was he who set about forming the club. [5] A limited company was formed with a share capital of £500 and Deere was made company secretary, while Ted Ruther became chairman. [5] On 21 July 1908, Deere attended a Northern Rugby League Committee meeting, and Aberdare, along with Barry were admitted. [6]
1908/1909 season
Aberdare's first match was played on 5 September 1908, when Wigan travelled to Ynys Park. A crowd of 3000 paid to watch the game. Wigan was ruthless, and it was reported that Aberdare 'evidenced a decided weakness in their application of the rules', [6] as they lost the game 56-0, Wigan running in 12 tries without reply. A visit to St. Helens two weeks later saw Aberdare score their first League points, but still lost 13-36. [7] Worse was to come when they lost to fellow newly formed Welsh team Treherbert away from home, then in the return match the very next week they lost again in front of fewer than 300 spectators. [6] The arrival of Wakefield Trinity drew a better crowd on 17 October, but the 26-0 loss brought Aberdare's losing streak to six games. [6] This was followed by another loss to Merthyr Tydfil before the team recorded their first win in a Welsh League match against Treherbert.
The 9 November 1908 saw the arrival of the second international team at Ynys Park, the first touring Australian team. The tour match against Aberdare drew a crowd of 5000 [8] on a Monday afternoon, and the tourists ran out 37-10 winners. The very next match gave Aberdare their first and only win in the Northern Rugby League a massive 43-5 win over fellow strugglers Barry, though Barry had revenge on 12 December when they knocked Aberdare out of the Challenge Cup in the first round.
Aberdare's season did not improve after the Barry victory in the League, and they went on to lose ten of their remaining 12 games. Of the games they won, both were in the Welsh League, and these were against Treherbert and Barry. [9] After crowd numbers failed to improve, Aberdare even tried switching grounds, playing their home encounter with St Helens at Merthyr's College Field. Though there was very little interest in the game and numbers remained poor. [6] Towards the end of the season, Aberdare were expected to travel to West Yorkshire to face Wakefield, but the Wakefield committee failed to meet Aberdare's request for an advance of £15 to cover travelling costs. Wakefield believing the gate receipts would be so low, they wouldn't cover the expenses, and the game never took place. [6]
Aberdare finished they first and only season by placing 31st out of 31 clubs in the Rugby Football League, winning one game, drawing none and losing 16. [6] In the Welsh League they fared slightly better coming in fifth out of six, with three wins and no draws from eight matches.
The only consolation form the season was when one of their players, Will Hopkins was chosen to play for the Wales national rugby league team. His one and only cap was awarded in the encounter with England on the 28 December 1908. [6]
Club demise
At the end of the season Athletic News branded the four newly formed Welsh clubs, Aberdare, Mid-Rhondda, Barry and Treherbert as 'ignominious failures". [10] Then, in the mid season break, the Northern Rugby League passed a by-law that stated if clubs were in arrears of any kind, the teams would be named defaulters and banned from further competitions. [10] Barry and Aberdare were both cited of this charge. [10] On 8 July 1909, Aberdare told the League that it expected to come out of arrears and would meet its obligations, but two days later the club reported it had 'unexpected difficulties' and resigned from the League. [10] The club never played league rugby again.
Aberdare is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550. Aberdare is 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Merthyr Tydfil, 20 miles (32 km) north-west of Cardiff and 22 miles (35 km) east-north-east of Swansea. During the 19th century it became a thriving industrial settlement, which was also notable for the vitality of its cultural life and as an important publishing centre.
The Wales rugby league team represents Wales in representative rugby league football matches. Currently the team is ranked 17th in the IRL World Rankings. The team was run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from Cardiff. Six Welsh players have been entered into the Rugby League Hall Of Fame.
Rugby league is a sport played in Wales. The governing body of the game in Wales is the Wales Rugby League.
Treherbert Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Tynewydd in the Rhondda Valley. Treherbert RFC play home games in red shirts with black shorts and black socks. Today, Treherbert RFC plays in the Welsh Rugby Union Division Four South East league and are a feeder club for Cardiff Blues.
The Welsh Rugby Union Division Three East is a rugby union league in Wales.
Treorchy Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of Treorchy, in the Rhondda Valley, Wales. They formed in 1886 and by 1891 were a strong voice in the Welsh Football Union and were playing in the Rhondda Division.
Aberdare Rugby Football Club is a Rugby Union club based in the town of Aberdare, Wales. Aberdare RFC play in the Welsh Rugby Union Division One East Central and is a feeder club to Cardiff Rugby.
David "Tarw" Jones was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in a game considered one of the greatest in the history of rugby union. Jones is the only Welsh player to have been part of a team to have beaten the All Blacks in the union and league game and is the second dual-code international rugby player from the Northern Hemisphere.
George "Twyber" Travers was a Welsh international hooker who played club rugby for Pill Harriers and Newport Rugby Football Club. He won 25 caps for Wales between 1903 and 1911.
Frederick George Scrine was a Welsh international rugby union flanker who played club rugby for Swansea. Scrine's style of play was as a fast spoiling player and was first capped for Wales in 1899 against England.
The 1908–09 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the 14th season of rugby league football in the United Kingdom.
Ebbw Vale Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Ebbw Vale, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at Bridge End Field, Ebbw Vale were one of the first professional Welsh teams, and the last to disband in 1912 after the failure of the Welsh League. Ebbw Vale produced seven players who would go on to represent the Wales national rugby league team, and were seen as the only Welsh team of the time who could challenge the Northern League.
Treherbert Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Treherbert, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at the Athletic Ground, Treherbert were one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folding after just two seasons. Treherbert also produced a single player, David Galloway, who gained international caps directly from the team.
Mid-Rhondda Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Tonypandy, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at the Athletic Ground in Tonypandy, Mid-Rhondda were one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folding after just a single season. Mid-Rhondda later became Mid Rhondda F.C., a notable association football team in the Rhondda Valleys.
The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales. Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournament to take place. The Welsh League ran for just two seasons, after three of the teams, Aberdare, Barry and Mid-Rhondda left the Northern Union and ceased playing rugby in the first season; followed by the collapse of Treherbert in 1910. Both seasons were won by Ebbw Vale.
Barry Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at the Trinity Street Ground in Barry, the club was one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folded after just a single season.
Merthyr Tydfil Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at College Field, Merthyr Tydfil were one of the first professional Welsh teams, and folded in 1911 after the failure of the Welsh League. Merthyr Tydfil produced five players who would go on to represent the Wales national rugby league team, and in the 1908-09 season finished eighth in the Northern League, the best result achieved by any of the first six professional Welsh teams.
Rugby union has a long history in Wales. Today it holds tier one status with the IRB. However, compared to Scotland, England, and Ireland, it was a latecomer on the international scene, and was not initially successful. Rugby union is the national sport of Wales, and is a great influence on Welsh culture.
South Wales RLFC was a rugby league club formed in 1995. South Wales during their existence played at Morfa Stadium, Swansea, the Talbot Athletic Ground, Aberavon and Cardiff Arms Park.
