Cross Keys RFC

Cross Keys RFC

Full name	Cross Keys Rugby Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Keys
Founded	1885;140 years ago (1885) [1]
Location	Crosskeys, Wales
Ground(s)	Pandy Park (Capacity: 3,000)
President	Terry Howell
Coach(es)	Morgan Stoddart Greg Woods Gewsyn Price-Jones
Captain(s)	Corey Nicholls
League(s)	Welsh Premier Division
2024-2025	Welsh Premier Division, 6th
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]

History

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

• Welsh Club Champions - 1921–22, 1935–36
• Welsh Division One Champions - 1992–93, ^[9] 1999–00 ^[9]
• British and Irish Cup Runners-Up - 2011–12
• Swalec Cup Winners - 2011–12
• Swalec Cup Runners-Up - 2013–14
• Welsh Premier Division Runners-Up - 2013–2014
• WRU Admiral Championship East Promotion (3rd) - 2023-24

Current squad

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

Player Position Union John Lavender Prop Wales Leon Brown Prop Wales Lewis Pryce-Jones Prop Wales Richard Cornock Prop Wales Jordan Rogers Prop Wales Jake Wisniewski Prop Poland Aaron Dowse Prop Wales Nathan Huish Hooker Wales Connah Vaughan Hooker Wales Connah Hughes Hooker Wales Chris Davies Hooker Wales Louis Tovey Hooker Wales Josh Wall Lock Wales Kiaran Lewis Lock Wales Osian Rowe Lock Wales Matthew Hall Lock Wales Brian Feeney Lock Wales Callum Hague Lock Wales Tom Lampard Lock Wales Harvey Reader Lock Wales Sam Taylor Flanker Wales Jake Davies Flanker Wales Jack Davies Flanker Wales Alfy Johnson Flanker Wales Ashley Gibson Flanker Wales Morgan Koloi Flanker Wales Will Gregory Flanker Wales Chris Johnsey Flanker Wales Lewis Robey Number 8 Wales Joe Thomas Number 8 Wales Kobi Rees Number 8 Wales

Player Position Union Dan Babos Scrum-half Wales Dan Buffrey Scrum-half Wales Zach Bartlett Scrum-half Wales Sam Ireland Scrum-half Wales Harri Ford Fly-half Wales Ben Murphy Fly-half Wales Drew Musa Fly-half Wales Owain Davies Fly-half Wales Kieran Vodden Centre Wales Alec Jones Centre Wales Kellan Nicholls Centre Wales Tom Sullivan Centre Wales Liam Thomas Centre Wales Corey Nicholls Centre Wales Adam Tetley Centre Wales Ralph Miller Wing Wales James Smith Wing Wales Lawrence Donnelly Wing Wales Josh Congreve Wing Wales Will Rees Wing Wales Walker Price Wing Wales Tom Gillespie Wing Wales Tom Davies Wing Wales Callum Tomsa Fullback Wales Ben Elliott Fullback Wales Jake Hillman Fullback Wales Morgan Johns Fullback 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

• George Boots
• Taulupe Faletau 38 Wales caps, 1 British and Irish Lions cap
• Frederick Arthur Bowdler (15 caps) ^[10]
• Archibald "Archie" Brown
• Lloyd Burns (7 caps)
• Mervyn Hicks (Great Britain Rugby League)
• Ron Herrera (8 caps) ^[11]
• Jack Hurrell (1 cap)
• Ossie Male (11 caps) ^[12]
• Steve Morris (19 caps) ^[12]
• Con Murphy (3 caps)
• Gerwyn Price
• Dai Rees
• Fred Reeves (2 caps) ^[13]
• Rex Richards (1 cap) ^[13]
• Russell Taylor (3 caps), 1938 British Lions ^[14]
• Joe Thompson (1 cap) for Wales (RU). ^[14] Whilst at Leeds (Great Britain RL 12 caps, Wales RL 8 caps, Other Nationalities RL 5 caps)
• Trevor Williams (8 caps) ^[15]
• Stanley 'Docker' Winmill (2 caps) ^[16]

Games played against international opposition

Year	Date	Opponent	Result	Score	Tour
1985	9 October	Fiji	Loss	12-26	1985 Fiji rugby union tour of Wales and Ireland [17]
2022	2 November	Poland	Loss	37-12	2022 Rugby Europe Championship Preparations [18] [19]

Past season performance

2006/06-2009/10

Season	League	Finish	Number of Teams
2006-07	Premiership	13th	14
2007-08	Premiership	11th	15
2008-09	Premiership	9th	14
2009-10	Premiership	10th	14

2010/11-2019/20

Season	League	Finish	Number of Teams
2010-11	Premiership	6th	14
2011-12	Premiership	6th	14
2012-13	Premiership	5th	12
2013-14	Premiership	3rd	12
2014-15	Premiership	3rd	12
2015-16	Premiership	4th	12
2016-17	Premiership	12th	16
2017-18	Premiership	11th	16
2018-19	Premiership	14th	16
2019-20	Championship	7th	14

2020/21-

Season	League	Finish	Number of Teams
2020-21	COVID-19
2021-22	Championship	7th	14
2022-23	Championship	8th	14
2023-24	Championship East	3rd	12
2024-25	Premiership	TBC	13

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. "- 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. Smith (1980), pg 469.
13. Smith (1980), pg 471.
14. 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

• Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN   0-7083-0766-3.

External links

• Official Site of Cross Keys RFC