Port Talbot is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately eight miles from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south east of the town. It is one of the biggest steelworks in the world, but has been under threat of closure since the 1980s. The population was 31,550 in 2021, comprising about a fifth of the 141,931 population of Neath Port Talbot.
The Ospreys, formerly the Neath–Swansea Ospreys is one of the four professional rugby union teams from Wales. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team formed as a result of Neath RFC and Swansea RFC combining to create a new merged entity, as part of the new regional structure of Welsh rugby, that began in 2003. They are also affiliated with a number of local semi-professional and amateur clubs, including Welsh Premier Division sides Aberavon RFC, Bridgend Ravens, and original founding clubs Neath and Swansea. The regional area represented by the team has widely become known for rugby purposes as 'Ospreylia'.
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.
Aberavon is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Port Talbot, covering the central and south western part of the town. Aberavon is also the name of the nearby Blue Flag beach and the parish covering the same area.
Aberavon RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town.
Taibach or Tai-bach is a community and suburban district of Port Talbot, Wales. It is a settlement centered on the main A48 road, sandwiched between the river Ffrwdwyllt and Margam. Parts of Margam are within the community boundaries.
James William Hook is a retired Welsh rugby union player. Hook has won 81 caps for Wales and is Wales' fifth highest all-time points scorer. Most often playing as a fly-half, Hook is known as a utility player, and has also played as a centre, wing and fullback.
Allan Jeffery Martin is a former Aberavon RFC and Welsh international rugby union player. He was noted for his long-distance goal-kicking and specialist line-out forward.
Kenneth James Owens is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a hooker for the Scarlets and Wales. He made his debut for the Scarlets in 2006, taking over from Matthew Rees as their first-choice hooker upon Rees' departure for the Cardiff Blues in 2013. He also served as backup to Rees, among others, for Wales following his debut against Namibia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In 2016, he took over as Wales' first-choice hooker, and in January 2023, following almost a year out with a back injury, he was named as captain for the 2023 Six Nations Championship.
Aberavon Harlequins RFC is a Welsh rugby union team located in the Fairfield area of Port Talbot, a few minutes away from the town centre and Aberavon. In 1955, the team gained membership of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). Today the club is a feeder club for the Ospreys.
Rhys Webb is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Ospreys. Born in Bridgend, he is a product of the Ospreys academy and played club rugby for Bridgend RFC and Aberavon RFC before breaking into the regional side in 2008. He played for the Ospreys for 10 years before moving to French club Toulon in 2018, but terminated his contract with them in 2020 and agreed a return to the Ospreys; however, he was unable to join the Ospreys immediately and signed for Bath for the remainder of the 2019–20 season before returning to the Ospreys.
Taibach Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in Taibach of Port Talbot in Wales, UK. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is also a feeder club for the Ospreys.
Aberavon Green Stars Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Aberavon, Wales, UK. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys. The club was formed by an Irish community and to this day the team keeps a visible and purposeful connection to their Irish roots, seen in the club's name, club house, badge and nickname, The Fighting Irish.
Corus Rugby Football Club was a Welsh rugby union clubs based in Port Talbot. It is now known as Tata Steel RFC, the club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys.
Tavis Knoyle is a Wales international rugby union footballer who plays at scrum-half.
Trevor Lloyd was a Wales international rugby union player.
Justin Tipuric is a former Welsh international rugby union player who played for Wales as an openside flanker.
Ross Moriarty is an international rugby union player, who currently plays for Brive. Moriarty has represented Wales and England U20.
Dan Baker is a Wales international rugby union player. A back row forward, he plays for Ystradgynlais RFC having previously played for the Dragons, Stade Montois, Ospreys and Aberavon RFC
Ian Nicholas Thomas is a Welsh professional rugby union footballer, currently playing for Wasps in Premiership Rugby on loan from Ospreys in the Pro14.
