| Full name | Wrexham Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Wrexham, Wales | |
| Ground(s) | Bryn Estyn | |
| League(s) | WRU Division Two North | |
| 2019-20 | 4th | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
Wrexham Rugby Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Rygbi Wrecsam) is a Welsh rugby union team based in Wrexham, Wales. Wrexham RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union. Wrexham was one of the nine founder clubs of the North Wales Rugby Union, which formed at Wrexham in 1931. [1]
Wrexham RFC was founded in 1925. [2] In 1931, at a meeting held by Wrexham, the North Wales Rugby Union was founded in January 1931 with nine clubs and affiliation to the Welsh Rugby Union coming in June of the same year. [1] Originally Wrexham had no home ground and played as a nomadic club. This continued until 1946 when they obtained their own ground at Dean Road. In 1976 they moved to their current home ground on Bryn Estyn Lane in 1976 with floodlights being installed a year later. [2]
In 1995, the New Zealand national rugby union team player Jonah Lomu made a guest appearance for Wrexham RFC against a North Wales XV in an exhibition match. [3] This was done as a favour to the Wrexham coach Phil Kingsley Jones, who had discovered Lomu as a 14 year old. [3] This was five months after Lomu had appeared for the All Blacks in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final against South Africa and after rugby union had just permitted professionalism. [4]
Following the introduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales, Wrexham's coach led criticism of the fact that there was no professional regional team permanently based in North Wales. [5] In 2013, Wrexham won the WRU Division Three North title. [6] Until 2002, Wrexham RFC had run a ladies rugby team. The ladies side of the club was resurrected in 2019. [7]
Newport Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South 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.
Jonah Tali Lomu was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the history of the sport, and as one of the most talented sportsmen ever.
The Celtic Warriors were a rugby union team from Wales, who played in the 2003–04 Celtic League and the 2003–04 Heineken Cup following the introduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales. They were effectively a temporary merger of Pontypridd RFC and Bridgend RFC. The Celtic Warriors played just one season before disbanding.
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.
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 and at other grounds around the region. 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.
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, 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.
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872.
Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool, which plays in the WRU Championship. Since the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003, Pontypool RFC is now a feeder club to the Dragons regional team. Pontypool play their home matches at Pontypool Park. Their traditional home kit is a red, white and black-hooped shirt and socks with white shorts, although they did gradually shift to wearing black shorts post-2003.
Caerphilly Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team founded in 1887. Their home ground is Virginia Park in Caerphilly and their nickname is The Cheesemen. Caerphilly RFC currently play in the WRU Division Two East Central and are a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.
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.
Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's central bus and railway stations via Newport Bridge or Newport City footbridge. There is no spectator car park at the ground but a number of multi-storey car parks are nearby.
Dunraven Brewery Field is an 8,000 capacity sports stadium in Bridgend, Wales. It is the home ground of the rugby union team Bridgend Ravens. Bridgend Athletic RFC often use the ground for their home matches, as well as the Ospreys who sometimes play at the ground, including their age grade teams.
Ebbw Vale Rugby Football Club is a Welsh Rugby Union Club based in the town of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, South Wales.
Newport High School Old Boys (NHSOB) are a Welsh rugby union club based in Caerleon on the northern outskirts of Newport in South Wales. They currently play in the Welsh Rugby Union Division Two and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.
Nathan Brew is a former Welsh international rugby union player. Brew played in the centre and on the wing.
The Wales women's national rugby union team first played in 1987. Wales plays in the Women's Rugby World Cup and the Women's Six Nations Championship.
The Welsh Rugby Union Division Two North is a rugby union league in Wales. The league was known as Division Five North before the 2008-09 season.
Leighton Samuel is a Welsh businessman, and former owner of several sporting teams in South Wales.
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.
Coordinates: 53°3′15.18″N2°57′31.21″W / 53.0542167°N 2.9586694°W
