Arthur Joseph "Monkey" Gould was a Welsh international rugby union centre and fullback who was most associated as a club player with Newport Rugby Football Club. He won 27 caps for Wales, 18 as captain, and critics consider him the first superstar of Welsh rugby. A talented all-round player and champion sprinter, Gould could side-step and kick expertly with either foot. He never ceased practising to develop his fitness and skills, and on his death was described as "the most accomplished player of his generation".
John Peter Rhys Williams is a former Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales in international rugby during their Golden Era in the 1970s. He became known universally as J. P. R. Williams after 1973 when J. J. Williams joined the Welsh team.
Glanamman is a Welsh mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire. Glanamman has long been a stronghold of the Welsh language; village life is largely conducted in Welsh. Like the neighbouring village of Garnant it experienced a coal-mining boom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the last big colliery closed in 1947 and coal has been extracted fitfully since then.
Pontardawe is a town and a community in the Swansea Valley in Wales. With a population of 6,832 in 2011, it comprises the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos. A town council is elected. Pontardawe forms part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot. On the opposite bank of the River Tawe, the village of Alltwen, part of the community of Cilybebyll, is administered separately from Pontardawe. Pontardawe is at the crossroads of the A474 road and the A4067 road. Pontardawe came into existence as a small settlement on the northwestern bank of the Tawe where the drovers' road from Neath and Llandeilo crossed the river to go up the valley to Brecon.
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.
Thomas Mervyn Davies, often known as "Merv the Swerve", was a Welsh rugby union player who won 38 caps for Wales as a No. 8.
John Albert Gwilliam was a Welsh rugby union player and schoolteacher. As a "No. 8" he played international rugby for Wales and club rugby for Cambridge University, Edinburgh Wanderers, Gloucester, Newport, London Welsh, Llanelli and Wasps. He captained the Wales rugby union team when they achieved Grand Slam victories in the 1950 and 1952 Five Nations Championships.
Pontyclun is a village and community located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Like the surrounding towns, it has seen a sharp increase in its population in the last ten years as people migrate south from the South Wales Valleys and west from the capital city of Cardiff.
Alltwen is a village in the Swansea Valley in Wales. Alltwen forms part of the community of Cilybebyll and is administered separately from adjoining Pontardawe on the opposite bank of the River Tawe.
Robert Nicholas Jones is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was capped 54 times for Wales during his career, at that time a record. He and Gareth Edwards, Rob Howley, Dwayne Peel and Mike Phillips are the only scrum halves to have achieved 50 caps or more for Wales.
William Gareth Davies is a former Wales and British and Irish Lions international rugby union player and former chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union.
Bleddyn Bowen is a former international Wales rugby union player.
Arwel Camber Thomas is a native of Trebanos in Swansea Valley. He is a former Wales international rugby union player. An outside-half, he played his club rugby for Swansea RFC.
Thomas Cooper Graham was an England-born Welsh rugby union international forward who played club rugby for Newport. He won 12 caps for Wales and was seen as intelligent, mobile forward player. Graham is most notable within rugby for his captaincy of Newport, which saw the team through one of their most successful periods, including the 1891–92 "invincible" season.
Bangor Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Bangor, North Wales. Bangor RFC is a founding member of the Welsh Rugby Union. The club fields a Seniors, Youth, Juniors and Ladies teams.
Stephen Thomas "Staff" Jones, is a former Wales rugby union international from Ynysybwl. A Loosehead prop forward product of Ynysybwl RFC, he briefly played for Pontypridd RFC before making 408 appearances for Pontypool RFC in their glory years in the 1980s, often in partnership with Steve Jones and Graham Price to form another formidable front row partnership coached by Ray Prosser.
Alfred James Webb was an English-born international rugby union footballer who played club rugby for Abertillery, and county rugby for Monmouthshire. He won 20 caps for Wales and was part of the 1910 touring British Isles team to South Africa.
Rees Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union back row player who was utilised usually as a flanker or Number 8. Thomas played club rugby for Pontypool and county rugby for Monmouthshire. He won eight caps for Wales and played between 1909 and 1913, representing Wales during two Triple Crown winning seasons.
Justin Tipuric is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays for Wales as an openside flanker.
Rugby Union has a long history in Wales. Today it holds tier one status with the IRB. However, compared to Scotland, England, and Ireland, it was a latecomer on the international scene, and was not initially successful. Rugby union is the national sport of Wales, and is a great influence on Welsh culture.
