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.
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.
The Welsh Premier Division, known for sponsorship reasons as the Indigo Group Premiership, is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season.
Rugby league is a sport played in Wales. The governing body of the game in Wales is the Wales Rugby League.
The New Zealand national Australian rules football team (Māori: tīmi whutupaoro Ahitereiria o Aotearoa; nicknamed the Falcons ; previously the Hawks, is the national men's team for the sport of Australian rules football in New Zealand. The International Cup team is selected from strict criteria from the best New Zealand born and developed players, primarily from the clubs of the AFL New Zealand. Test and touring squads are selected using similar criteria to other international football codes, additionally allowing players with a New Zealand born parent to play.
Australian rules football has been played in Sweden since 1993, with the game currently played in Helsingborg, Malmö, Lund, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Karlstad, Falun, Norrtälje and Uppsala. A national governing body was formed in 2007 under the name Svenska Australisk Fotbollsförbundet or AFL Sweden.
Association football is one of the most popular sports in Wales, along with rugby union. Wales has produced club teams of varying fortunes since the early birth of football during the Victorian period, and in 1876 a Wales national football team played their first international match. Football has always had a close rivalry with the country's de facto national sport rugby union, and it is much discussed as to which is Wales' more popular game. The Football Association of Wales (FAW), was established in 1876 to oversee the Wales national team and govern the sport in Wales, later creating and running the Welsh football league system.
Rugby is played in Cardiff in both rugby league and rugby union forms.
The Bristol Dockers is an Australian rules football club based in Bristol, England. The club has both men's and ladies' teams competing in the 9-a-side format.
Lee Jarvis is a former international Welsh rugby union player who was known as a top points scorer with the boot. His career has been spent in both Wales and England including top level rugby in Wales and in the Celtic League, winning a number of trophies in both countries. He has represented Wales from school level to full international honours as well as being selected by the Barbarians. Despite being tipped as the "next best thing" during his early career and being a great points kicker Jarvis only earned one cap for Wales at full international level. After retiring from rugby union as a player, Jarvis took up coaching. He is currently head coach at Rhydyfelin RFC.
Ebbw Vale Rugby Football Club is a Welsh Rugby Union Club based in the town of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, South Wales.
Sport in Wales plays a prominent role in Welsh culture. Like the other countries of the United Kingdom, Wales enjoys independent representation in major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and in the Rugby World Cup, but competes as part of Great Britain in some other competitions, including the Olympics.
Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, in each of these nations there are several established clubs, and organised men's, women's and juniors programs. The British AFL has now expanded into Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 22 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.
The Swansea Magpies is an Australian rules football club based in Swansea, Wales. The club play in the Welsh Australian Rules Football League under the 9-a-side footy rules.
The South Cardiff Panthers is an Australian rules football team based in Cardiff, Wales. The club play in the Welsh Australian Rules Football League under a 9-a-side rules format.
The Vale Vikings are an Australian Rules Football team based in Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. They play in the Welsh Australian Rules Football League under the 9-a-side footy rules. The team was formerly known as the Cardiff Double Blues until 2021.
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.
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.
