Tredegar RFC

Last updated
Tredegar RFC
Tredegar RFC by Aberdare Blog.jpg
Full nameTredegar Rugby Football Club
Founded1899;124 years ago (1899) [1]
Location Tredegar, Wales
Ground(s)The Recreation Ground
Coach(es)Nolan Nicklin, Lloyd Williams Club Captain= Craig Lewis
League(s)WRU Division Two East 3c
12th [2] WRU Division One East
Kit left arm blackborder.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body whitesleevelinesandsidesthick.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm blackborder.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Team kit
Official website
www.tredegar-rfc.co.uk

Tredegar Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Tredegar. The club was founded in 1893 but at that time played under the name Tredegar Harriers. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons. [3]

Contents

Tredegar Harriers

Tredegar RFC was founded by Jim Davies. When he was 16 years old, in 1893, he helped found Tredegar Harriers, the forerunner of Tredegar and in 1958 he raised the Tredegar R.F.C standard to the masthead over their headquarters. In the days of the depression, Jim Davies often had to pay for the players' coach himself; once he had to pay out on the spot before the coach driver would move. Jim Davies was almost 50 when he played his last game for the club; his eldest son, Jim, played in the same match.

When the Harriers stopped playing, Jim Davies joined Dowlais RFC who were so pleased at getting his services that they provided him with a coach to get him to and from their games. When Dowlais disbanded, the club sold their jerseys to Tredegar and the black, red and white strip has been Tredegar's colours ever since.

1899–1939

In 1899 the Recreation Ground was opened and Jim Davies and other members of the old Harriers side got together to form the official town team. It had taken volunteers two years to transform the ground into a suitable sports site; built over two disused and filled-in pit shafts. Tredegar helped form the Monmouthshire League and became members of Monmouthshire County R.F.C., of which Jim Davies was one of the founders. Early Tredegar players of note were Jim Hares, Will Evans, Ernie Bird, Enoch Hughes and Jim Davies, but probably their finest product was Percy Jones, who won eight caps for Wales after he moved to Newport and was a member of Wales' "Terrible Eight" pack against Ireland in 1914. Percy Jones was a forward of tremendous physical physique and he was reputed to have the thickest legs in Monmouthshire; so huge, that he had to have special rugby socks knitted for him as none of the standard sizes fitted.

In 1919 Tredegar lost 8–0 to the New Zealand Army team, as part of their post-war tour of Britain.

1939–present

Though Tredegar never won the Monmouthshire League before 1939, they claimed the runners-up spot. In those days, trainloads of supporters always traveled away with the Tredegar team. Once, in Bristol, they booked the entire seating capacity of the Bristol pantomime: two full trainloads made the journey. After the war, Tredegar's outstanding players were Dai John Vaughan, the flying wing, Steve Barr, rated one of the best uncapped fullbacks in Wales and the Davies brothers Edgar, Ivor and Jack. It was not until after the Second World War that Tredegar won the Monmouthshire League in 1951. In the early 1950s they obtained permission to use the complete armorial bearings of Lord Tredegar as the club badge.

In 1950, the only leading Welsh clubs on Tredegar's fixture list were Ebbw Vale and Glamorgan Wanderers. The list has expanded now to include Pontypool, Llanelli, Pontypridd, Newbridge and Maesteg, through their ambition of including Cardiff remains unfulfilled. Quality players of recent years include Wales B lock John Williams, who finished his career with Swansea, John Dixon, Sid Wharton, Stuart Stupid Lee, Ian Lewis, Peter Bolland, Paul Evans, Howard Dwyer, Steve Giles and Nicky Hunt.

Club honours

Notable former players

The following players have represented Tredegar and have also been capped at international level.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport RFC</span> Welsh rugby union club, based in Newport

Newport Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk.

David Watkins was a Welsh dual-code rugby international, having played both rugby union and rugby league football for both codes' national teams between 1963 and 1974. He captained the British and Irish Lions rugby union side, and made six appearances for the Great Britain rugby league team. With the Wales national rugby league team he played in every match of the 1975 World Cup, and with English club Salford he played more than 400 games over 12 seasons.

The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragons RFC</span> One of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff RFC</span> Welsh rugby union club, based in Cardiff

Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abertillery RFC</span> Rugby team

Abertillery Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Abertillery. According to their website, they were founded in 1883 by a coal miner named Doug Wallace who was a local resident who moved from Scotland in 1882, Wallace was known for his commitment for the club until he died in 1899 and will be remembered as a special part of the club even to do this day. Every year the club celebrates Wallace's life by competing in a cross country race with 100s of the locals competing in the last 10 years Mr Phelps has won the race 10 times and is now the all-time leading winner in the competition, in one year he run the race twice before anyone had cross the line for the first time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebbw Vale RFC</span> Rugby team

Ebbw Vale Rugby Football Club is a Welsh Rugby Union Club based in the town of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, South Wales.

Llandovery RFC is a Welsh rugby union club based in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The club is an inaugural member of the Welsh Rugby Union, currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and is a feeder club for the Scarlets, a Pro14 club. Llandovery won the Premier Division during the 2022–23 season, defeating reigning champions Cardiff RFC in the final.

Pill Harriers RFC are a Welsh rugby union club based in Newport in South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tumble RFC</span> Welsh rugby union football club

Tumble RFC or Clwb Rygbi Y Tymbl (Welsh) is a rugby union club representing the village of Tumble, near Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets.

The Welsh Rugby Union Division Three East is a rugby union league in Wales.

Garndiffaith Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in Garndiffaith in South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.

Tredegar Ironsides Rugby Football Club is a rugby union, from Tredegar in South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lampeter Town RFC</span> Rugby team

Lampeter Town Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the town of Lampeter, West Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets.

Blaenavon Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in the town of Blaenavon, South Wales. Blaenavon RFC is one of the older members of the Welsh Rugby Union founded in 1877 in the Iron and coal town of Blaenavon and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.

Jack Whitfield was a Welsh international rugby union hooker who played club rugby for Newport and club rugby for Monmouthshire. He was an extremely powerful scrummager, but was not seen as skillful as the pre-war players produced by Wales.

Harry Wetter was an English-born international, rugby union centre who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. He won just two caps for Wales but is most notable for being a member of the Newport team that beat the 1912 touring South African team. He was also a member of the Wales bowls and baseball team.

Leonard Charles Trump was a Welsh international rugby union player, who later switched to professional rugby league. He played amateur club rugby predominantly for Newport, and played county rugby for Monmouthshire, and as a professional joined Hull Kingston Rovers.

The Welsh Rugby Union League 2 East is a rugby union league in Wales.

John Richard "Jack" Hurrell was a Welsh international rugby union centre who played club rugby for Cross Keys RFC, Tredegar and Newport. He was awarded just one cap for Wales facing France in the 1959 Five Nations Championship.

References

  1. ↑ Rothamns Rugby Yearbook 1981–82, Vivian Jenkins (1982) pg372 ISBN   0-907574-05-X
  2. ↑ WRU official site
  3. ↑ BBC News (2004-07-08). "Wales' regional rugby map". BBC . Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  4. ↑ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881–1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pp468 ISBN   0-7083-0766-3
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.