The Wales national rugby league team represents Wales in representative rugby league football matches. Currently the team is ranked 17th in the IRL World Rankings. The team was run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from Cardiff. Six Welsh players have been entered into the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame.
Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Indigo Premiership for Season 2024/25. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem. Neath RFC is the oldest rugby club in Wales, having been formed in 1871. They are feeder club to the Ospreys regional team.
Aberavon Rugby Club 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.
William O'Neill, often recorded as Billy O'Neil or Billy Neil, was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and rugby league front row player who played club level rugby union (RU) for Cardiff and Aberavon, and as a professional rugby league footballer he represented Warrington. O'Neill was capped eleven times for the Wales rugby union national team, and twice for the Wales national league team. Although playing throughout the 1904/1905 season, he missed the classic 1905 Wales win over the Original All Blacks. He is often registered in many sources under the name Billy Neill or Neil because the Welsh Rugby Union didn't want him to sound like he was Irish.
Tom Arthur was a Welsh international rugby union lock who played club rugby for Neath and was capped 18 times for Wales. A tough second row forward with a strong physique, Arthur was often criticised for being over-vigorous. Though his style of play was fairly typical for Welsh rugby at the time.
Jack Bassett was a Welsh international rugby union full back who played club rugby for Penarth. He won 15 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1930 British Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. He captained the Welsh team on nine occasions.
Ned Jenkins was an international rugby union lock who represented Wales and played club rugby for Aberavon. Like teammate Tom Arthur, Jenkins was an amateur boxer.
Harry Peacock was a Welsh international rugby union flanker who played rugby union for Newport. He won six caps for Wales and faced two international touring teams with Newport.
Jim Lang was a Welsh international rugby union number 8 who played club rugby for Llanelli and Swansea. Whilst with Llanelli he faced two touring Southern Hemisphere teams, the South Africans in 1931 and New Zealand in 1935.
Charles "Tal" Harris was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who represented Wales and played club rugby for Aberavon.
Glyn Prosser was a Welsh international rugby union flanker who played club rugby for Neath, and was capped four times for Wales. An aggressive wing forward, Prosser is best known for being a member of the Wales team that beat the touring New Zealanders in 1935.
Charles Henry Pugh was a Welsh international rugby union player who played rugby for three notable Welsh clubs, Aberavon, Maesteg and Neath. He was capped seven times for Wales and was part of the Welsh team that faced the touring 1924 New Zealand team.
David 'Dai' Hiddlestone was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Neath. He was capped five times for Wales and was notable for leading an ill-advised response to the New Zealand Haka during the team's 1924 tour.
Thomas Ellis Jones-Davies was a Welsh physician and international rugby union centre.
Morgan Edward Morgan was a Welsh international prop who played club rugby for Swansea and international rugby for both Wales and the British Lions.
Howell Jones was a Welsh rugby union forward who played for the rugby club Neath and county rugby for Glamorgan. He gained just a single cap for the Wales national team in 1904. Jones came from a sporting family, and his son, Howie Jones, also represented Wales in rugby union.
Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level. The team is made up of amateur players from sports clubs in the Glamorgan region and historically played matches against other county teams from Wales and England, and during the 20th century was a key fixture for touring international teams. Today the club manages Glamorgan's premier rugby union tournament, the Glamorgan County Silver Ball Trophy, and arranges invitational Glamorgan teams to face Welsh rugby clubs during celebrations, such as anniversaries.
Ernest Raymond "Roy" John was a Wales and British Lions international rugby union lock. He played club rugby for Crynant and Neath. John was capped 19 times for Wales and was a member of two Grand Slam winning teams. In 1950 he was selected for the 1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia. John was an agile runner for a lock, but was most notable for his excellent ability in line-outs.
Brian Thomas was a Welsh rugby union lock, most notable for his time playing for and later managing Neath RFC. He was capped for Wales 21 times between 1964 and 1969 and was part of three Five Nations winning teams.
Anthony O'Connor was a Welsh rugby union player who played in the scrum-half position. O'Connor played club rugby with Aberavon RFC, was capped five times for Wales, and was a member of the British Lions team that toured in 1962. He also represented Oxford University RFC, playing in the 1958 Varsity Match.
