Cardiff Rugby is one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions.
Dragons RFC are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup/European Rugby Challenge Cup. The region they represent covers an area of southeast Wales including Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen with a total population approaching 600,000 and they are affiliated with a number of semi-professional and amateur clubs throughout the area, including Pontypool RFC, Caerphilly RFC, Cross Keys RFC, Ebbw Vale RFC and Newport RFC.
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 arguably the greatest national team of all time, prompting many experts in the game to suggest that had the Rugby World Cup existed during this period, Wales would be amongst the list of World Cup winners. As of November 2021, they are ranked 8th in the world.
Gethin Jenkins is a Welsh former professional rugby union player who played as a prop for Pontypridd, Celtic Warriors, Cardiff Blues and Toulon. At international level, he won 129 caps for Wales. On his 105th appearance in 2014, he became Wales' most-capped player, overtaking the record held by Stephen Jones; having earned his final cap in November 2016, his record was surpassed by Alun Wyn Jones in September 2019. He is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams. He also won five caps for the British & Irish Lions on three tours in 2005, 2009 and 2013. He is the sixth most-capped player in rugby union history and the most-capped front-row forward.
James Edward Ringer is a retired Wales international rugby union player. He is currently the defensive coach for Merthyr RFC and Sales Director for Cornerstone Commercial Finance.
Paul Ringer is an English-born former Welsh dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer. He played representative level rugby union for Wales and at club level for Ebbw Vale RFC, Llanelli RFC and Leicester, as a flanker. Having turned professional, he played representative level rugby league for Wales and at club level for Cardiff City (Bridgend) Blue Dragons, as a loose forward.
Craig Mitchell is a retired Wales international rugby union player. He previously played for Aviva Premiership side Exeter Chiefs. He subsequently joined Newport Gwent Dragons and he was released at the end of the 2016–17 season.
Welsh regional rugby is the top tier of professional Welsh club rugby and is composed of the Scarlets, Ospreys, Cardiff Rugby and the Dragons which compete in the United Rugby Championship.
Matthew Silva is a Welsh rugby union coach, who is the current coach of RGC 1404. He is a former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer, who played from the 1980s to the 2000s. In rugby union (RU), he played as a number eight, fly-half, centre, wing and fullback. In rugby league (RL), he played as a fullback, i.e. number 1.
Hallam Benjamen Amos is a former Welsh rugby union player who played for Cardiff Rugby and Newport Gwent Dragons. He mostly played as a wing, but he was also capable of playing at fullback and as a centre. In October 2021, Amos announced his retirement from professional rugby union to focus on his medical career.
Cory Allen is a retired Welsh international rugby union player. A centre or wing, he played for Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys. Allen joined the Dragons in 2021, but did not feature for the side.
David Young is a Welsh rugby union coach and former rugby union and rugby league player. He was most recently director of rugby at Cardiff Blues.
Cerys Hale is a Welsh Rugby Union professional player who plays prop for the Wales women's national rugby union team and Gloucester Hartpury. She made her debut for Wales in 2016 and represented them at the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Aaron James Wainwright is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a number eight for United Rugby Championship club Dragons and the Wales national team.
Kemsley Mathias is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Scarlets and the Wales national team.
Gwenllian Pyrs is a Welsh rugby union player who plays loosehead prop for the Wales women's national rugby union team and Sale Sharks Women of Premier 15s. She made her debut for the Wales rugby union team in 2017 and has played in 15 matches for the national side. Pyrs has played for Scarlets, RGC Women, Caernarfon RFC and Firwood Waterloo at the club level. She works as a farmer, sheepdog breeder and trainer as well as a rugby hub officer for the Welsh Rugby Union while continuing her rugby career.
Gwen Crabb is a Welsh Rugby Union player. She plays second row for Wales internationally and for Gloucester-Hartpury in the Premier 15s.
Molly Kelly is a Welsh Rugby Union player who plays hooker for the Wales women's national rugby union team and Sale Sharks. She made her debut for the Wales national squad in 2019 and represented them at the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Sam Wainwright is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club the Scarlets. He is a Wales international, and has also appeared for the U20 team.
