Pontypridd RLFC

Pontypridd RLFC
Club information
Founded	1926
Exited	1927
Former details
Ground(s)	Taff Vale Park ;

Last updated November 05, 2023

Pontypridd RLFC was a professional rugby league team based in Pontypridd, Wales, which played for one seasons in the Rugby Football League, finishing 27th out of 29 teams in 1926-27, before withdrawing early in the following season.^[1]

History

The club was formed following the hosting, at the instigation of the owners of Taff Vale Park, of a highly successful rugby league international in Pontypridd on 12 April, in which England played Wales in front of 22,000 people.^[2] The current tenants of Taff Fale Park, the Pontypridd association football club was in a perilous financial position and eventually folded at the end of the 1925/26 season.^[3]

Pontypridd Rugby League Club was formed and admission was sought to the Rugby Football League (RFL) in June 1926, the council of which agreed and also set up a Rugby League Commission for Wales to develop the sport in the principality. A supporters’ club was formed in August and by September it had over 500 members.^[4] The team attracted an average attendance in its first season of around 5,000, dropping to around 3,000 in the aborted second season.^[5]

County match

Pontypridd RLFC supplied all of the Welsh-based players utilised by both sides in Glamorgan's 18–14 victory over Monmouthshire in the non-County Championship match during the 1926–27 season at Taff Vale Park, Pontypridd on Saturday 30 April 1927, the Pontypridd RLFC players for Glamorgan were; Hellings (hooker, 1-try), Grant left-(second-row) and T. Davies (loose forward), and the Pontypridd RLFC players for Monmouthshire were; S. Fairfax (stand-off), Albert Green (left-prop) and George Oliver right-(prop).^[6]

Demise

The team, however, was not successful and by the time it withdrew from professional rugby on 25 October 1927, it had won just eight matches out of the 40 played and conceded nearly 600 points compared to only 271 scored. There was also uncertainty about the club's ground: in August 1927 the owners of Taff Vale Park announced that it had leased the ground for greyhound racing and served notice on the club to find a new ground by 1 January. It was debt, however, that led to the club's demise, with £1,400 owed in the end. Much of this was owed to the RFL, which had lent the club money to purchase players^[7]

Related Research Articles

Pontypridd is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.

The York Knights are the men's professional rugby league team of York RLFC, based in York, England. The club play their home games at York Community Stadium and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league.

Rugby league is a sport played in Wales. The governing body of the game in Wales is the Wales Rugby League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff Demons</span> Defunct mens and active womens Welsh amateur rugby league club, based in Cardiff

The Cardiff Demons RLFC name has been used multiple times over the years. Firstly for a now-defunct men's rugby league side, and subsequently for a women's rugby league side who began in 2021.

Penydarren Park is a sports stadium in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, that is the present home ground of Merthyr Town Historically used for varying sports, it has been the home to two professional football teams, Merthyr Town and Merthyr Tydfil F.C.

John Henry Gore was a Welsh international rugby flanker who played rugby union for Blaina and rugby league for Salford. His son, Billy Gore, played international rugby for Wales national rugby union team the same as his father.

David "Dai" Jenkins initially played Rugby Union. He changed codes when he was 21 and played Rugby League between 1935-1957, mainly for Leeds Rugby League Club as a scrum-half.

Pontypridd F.C. is an amateur Welsh football team based in Pontypridd, formed in 2018 and inspired by the former professional club Pontypridd AFC that existed between 1911 and 1926. The club was reformed in May 2018 by former members of the Pontypridd Town reserve team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Bacon (rugby)</span> Welsh RL coach and former GB & Wales international rugby league footballer

James Arthur Bacon was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, and coached rugby league in the 1920s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Cross Keys, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain, Wales and Monmouthshire, and at club level for Leeds (captain), and Castleford, as a wing, or centre, and coached at club level for Castleford.

Thomas Emlyn Gwynne was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Mountain Ash RFC and Swansea RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for both Great Britain, Wales and Glamorgan, and at club level for Hull F.C., as a wing.

Melville "Mel" Aaron Rosser sometimes recorded as Melvin and Melvyn was a Welsh international rugby centre who played rugby union for Penarth and Cardiff and later turned to professional rugby league joining first Leeds, then Castleford, and then York. Rosser played international rugby for Wales under both union and league codes, and toured Australia with the Great Britain rugby league team in 1928.

Albert "Bert" Green was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s. He played at representative level for Wales and Monmouthshire, and at club level for Pontypridd, as a prop, i.e. number 8 or 10, during the era of contested scrums.

William Rhodes was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s. He played at representative level for Wales, and at club level for Pontypridd and Warrington, as a wing, or centre, i.e. number 2 or 5, or, 3 or 4.

George Oliver was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Talywain RFC, Pill Harriers RFC and Pontypool RFC, as a lock, i.e. number 4 or 5, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Wales and Monmouthshire, and at club level for Hull F.C. and Pontypridd, as a prop, or hooker, i.e. number 8 or 10, or 9, during the era of contested scrums.

Emlyn Watkins was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Blaina RFC, as a flanker, i.e. number 6 or 7, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Wales and Monmouthshire, and at club level for Leeds and Oldham RLFC, as a second-row, i.e. number 11 or 12, during the era of contested scrums.

Frank Stephens was an English-born Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played invitational level rugby union (RU) for Crawshays RFC, and at club level for Bargoed RFC and Cardiff RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Wales and Other Nationalities, and at club level for Wigan, Batley and Rochdale Hornets, as a prop, or second-row, i.e. number 8 or 10, or, 11 or 12, during the era of contested scrums. Frank Stephens played for Wigan against Dewsbury in the first rugby league Challenge Cup Final to be held at Wembley Stadium, London in 1929.

Sydney Hinam was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Cardiff RFC and Glamorgan Police RFC, as a flanker, i.e. number 6 or 7, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Glamorgan, and at club level for Rochdale Hornets, as a prop, i.e. number 8 or 10, during the era of contested scrums.

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.

Taff Vale Park is a rugby union ground and former greyhound racing track in Treforest, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.

Welsh handball is one of the ancient native sports of Wales. It is related to coeval sports such as Irish handball, fives, and Basque pelota and is a possible antecedent of American handball. The sport has been continually attested since the Middle Ages and its popularity saw it become an important expression of Welsh culture, offering ordinary people opportunities through prize money, bookkeeping and even player professionalism.

References

↑ Wigan Fans 1926-27 season
↑ Daryl Leeworthy (2013). ‘The Dragons of the North: Working-Class Culture, the Miners' Lockout, and the Development of Rugby League in South Wales, 1926–31’. In ‘’Sport in History’’, vol. 33, issue 1, 2013. Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2013.763284#abstract.
↑ Daryl Leeworthy (2013). ‘The Dragons of the North: Working-Class Culture, the Miners' Lockout, and the Development of Rugby League in South Wales, 1926–31’. In ‘’Sport in History’’, vol. 33, issue 1, 2013. Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2013.763284#abstract.
↑ Daryl Leeworthy (2013). ‘The Dragons of the North: Working-Class Culture, the Miners' Lockout, and the Development of Rugby League in South Wales, 1926–31’. In ‘’Sport in History’’, vol. 33, issue 1, 2013. Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2013.763284#abstract.
↑ Daryl Leeworthy (2013). ‘The Dragons of the North: Working-Class Culture, the Miners' Lockout, and the Development of Rugby League in South Wales, 1926–31’. In ‘’Sport in History’’, vol. 33, issue 1, 2013. Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2013.763284#abstract.
↑ Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 32 – 1926–27". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a
↑ Daryl Leeworthy (2013). ‘The Dragons of the North: Working-Class Culture, the Miners' Lockout, and the Development of Rugby League in South Wales, 1926–31’. In ‘’Sport in History’’, vol. 33, issue 1, 2013. Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2013.763284#abstract.