Cross Keys RFC

Last updated
Cross Keys RFC
Crosskeys RFC logo.jpg
Full nameCross Keys Rugby Football Club
Nickname(s)The Keys
Founded1885;140 years ago (1885) [1]
Location Crosskeys, Wales
Ground(s)Pandy Park (Capacity: 3,000)
President Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Terry Howell
Coach(es) Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Morgan Stoddart
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Greg Woods
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Gewsyn Price-Jones
Captain(s)Corey Nicholls
League(s) Welsh Premier Division
2023-2024 Welsh Championship East - 3rd (promoted)
Kit left arm black hoops.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body blackhoops.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm black hoops.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Team kit
Official website
www.crosskeysrfc.com

Cross Keys RFC (Welsh : Clwb Rygbi Pont-y-Cymer) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Dragons regional team. [2]

Contents

History

Cross Keys RFC, Stade Bergeyre, France, 1 November 1921 Cross Keys RFC 1921.jpeg
Cross Keys RFC, Stade Bergeyre, France, 1 November 1921

The club achieved first class-status in 1909, winning the Monmouthshire league three times.[ citation needed ]

By 1920 the team had their first international player, when Steve Morris won a cap for Wales. Morris would win 19 caps and captained Wales in 1925. [3] Caps followed during the 1920s for Ossie Male and Lonza Bowdler, both returned over several seasons for Wales, facing not only Five Nations Championships but also touring teams.

In 1926 Cross Keys RFC found themselves in dire financial trouble, and requested help from the Welsh Rugby Union. The WRU refused an appeal for a cash loan, but instead agreed to send the Welsh national team to play in an exhibition match at Pandy Park. The sell-out crowd assured Cross Keys future and resulted in an historic win for the home team thirteen points to eight. [4]

Rugby observers have noted the high level of talent in the Cross Keys pack, and criticised the fact they went under represented in the national team during the 1920s [5] and 1930s. [6]

Cross Keys reached the final of the 2011–12 British and Irish Cup, losing to Munster A. [7] Cross Keys won their first Swalec Cup, defeating table topping Pontypridd at the Millennium Stadium in 2012. [8]

Club honours

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

PlayerPositionUnion
John Lavender Prop Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Leon Brown Prop Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Lewis Pryce-Jones Prop Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Richard Cornock Prop Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Jordan Rogers Prop Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Jake Wisniewski Prop Flag of Poland.svg Poland
Aaron Dowse Prop Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Nathan Huish Hooker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Connah Vaughan Hooker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Connah Hughes Hooker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Chris Davies Hooker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Louis Tovey Hooker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Josh Wall Lock Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Kiaran Lewis Lock Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Osian Rowe Lock Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Matthew Hall Lock Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Brian Feeney Lock Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Callum Hague Lock Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Tom Lampard Lock Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Harvey Reader Lock Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Sam Taylor Flanker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Jake Davies Flanker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Jack Davies Flanker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Alfy Johnson Flanker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Ashley Gibson Flanker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Morgan Koloi Flanker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Will Gregory Flanker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Chris Johnsey Flanker Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Lewis Robey Number 8 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Joe Thomas Number 8 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Kobi Rees Number 8 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
PlayerPositionUnion
Dan Babos Scrum-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Dan Buffrey Scrum-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Zach Bartlett Scrum-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Sam Ireland Scrum-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Harri Ford Fly-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Ben Murphy Fly-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Drew Musa Fly-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Owain Davies Fly-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Kieran Vodden Centre Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Alec Jones Centre Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Kellan Nicholls Centre Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Tom Sullivan Centre Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Liam Thomas Centre Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Corey Nicholls Centre Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Adam Tetley Centre Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Ralph Miller Wing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
James Smith Wing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Lawrence Donnelly Wing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Josh Congreve Wing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Will Rees Wing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Walker Price Wing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Tom Gillespie Wing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Tom Davies Wing Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Callum Tomsa Fullback Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Ben Elliott Fullback Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Jake Hillman Fullback Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Morgan Johns Fullback Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales

Notable former players

The following list is made up of ex-Cross Keys players who have all won international caps as either a rugby union or rugby league player.

See also Category:Cross Keys RFC players

Games played against international opposition

YearDateOpponentResultScoreTour
19859 OctoberFlag of Fiji.svg  Fiji Loss12-261985 Fiji rugby union tour of Wales and Ireland [17]
20222 NovemberFlag of Poland.svg  Poland Loss37-122022 Rugby Europe Championship Preparations [18] [19]

Past Season Performance

2006/06-2009/10

SeasonLeagueFinishNumber of Teams
2006-07Premiership13th14
2007-08Premiership11th15
2008-09Premiership9th14
2009-10Premiership10th14

2010/11-2019/20

SeasonLeagueFinishNumber of Teams
2010-11Premiership6th14
2011-12Premiership6th14
2012-13Premiership5th12
2013-14Premiership3rd12
2014-15Premiership3rd12
2015-16Premiership4th12
2016-17Premiership12th16
2017-18Premiership11th16
2018-19Premiership14th16
2019-20Championship7th14

2020/21-

SeasonLeagueFinishNumber of Teams
2020-21 COVID-19
2021-22Championship7th14
2022-23Championship8th14
2023-24Championship East3rd12
2024-25PremiershipTBC13

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References

  1. ↑ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales page 178, John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) ISBN   978-0-7083-1953-6
  2. ↑ BBC News (2004-07-08). "Wales' regional rugby map". BBC . Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  3. ↑ A Century of Welsh Rugby Players 1890-1980, Wayne Thomas; Ansells (1979) pg.61
  4. ↑ The Rugby Clubs of Wales pp149, David Parry-Jones (1989) ISBN   0-09-173850-4
  5. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 259.
  6. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 282.
  7. ↑ "BBC Sport - British and Irish Cup: Cross Keys 20-16 Cornish Pirates". BBC Sport.
  8. ↑ "Swalec Cup: Cross Keys 32-19 Pontypridd". BBC Sport. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  9. 1 2 "- the history of rugby through its competitions". Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  10. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 463.
  11. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 466.
  12. 1 2 Smith (1980), pg 469.
  13. 1 2 Smith (1980), pg 471.
  14. 1 2 Smith (1980), pg 472.
  15. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 473.
  16. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 474.
  17. ↑ Stephen Jones, ed. (1986). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1986-87. Queen Anne Press. p. 38. ISBN   0-356-12361-8.
  18. ↑ "Stoddart steals 'away' win at Pandy Park as Poles' triumph". 3 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Keys boss Stoddart happy with away win at Pandy Park earned by Polish power". 3 November 2022.

Bibliography

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