Swansea RFC
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| Full name | Swansea Rugby Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
The Jacks The Whites | ||
| Founded | 1872[1] | ||
| Location | Swansea, Wales | ||
| Ground(s) | St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground (Capacity: 4,500) | ||
| Captain(s) | Sam Kiley | ||
| League(s) | Principality Premiership | ||
| 2016/17 | 2nd[2] | ||
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| Official website | |||
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www | |||
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Championship. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is also known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip. The club is a feeder club to the Ospreys.
History
The club was founded in 1872[3] and, in 1881 it became one of the eleven founder clubs of the Welsh Rugby Union.[4][5]
In the early twentieth century Swansea RFC was an extremely successful club. For four consecutive seasons Swansea were the unofficial Welsh champions from the 1898/99 season through to 1901/02, coinciding with the heyday of Swansea's first star player Billy Bancroft. Under the captaincy of Frank Gordon the team would later go on a 22-month unbeaten run, from December 1903 through to October 1905. During this period Swansea appeared to be under-represented at international level. Gordon himself went uncapped throughout his entire career, and apart from Billy Trew, Dick Jones and Dicky Owen, the only other internationals in the senior team were forward Sid Bevan (1 cap),[6] wing Jowett (1 cap)[7] and outside-half Phil Hopkins (4 caps).[8] Trew (29 caps) was an outstanding centre who was accepted as one of the most important players in the evolution of Welsh rugby,[9] while Dicky Owen (35 caps), although only 5 foot 4 inches tall, was an incredible tactician.[10]
The immediate post war years brought only limited success, although a notable 6-6 draw was achieved against New Zealand in 1953 followed by a 9-8 victory against Australia in 1966. It was not until the club’s centenary season in 1973/74, however, that the club became Merit Table Champions. Swansea achieved further success as club champions in 1979/80, 1980/81, 1982/83 as well as Welsh cup winners in 1978.
Players during this period included Clem Thomas, Billy Williams, Dewi Bebb, Mervyn Davies, Geoff Wheel, David Richards and Mark Wyatt, the club's record points scorer with 2,740 points scored between 1976/77 and 1991/92.
The 1990s saw success for the club, including being league champions on 4 occasions (1991/92, 1993/94, 1997/98 and 2000/01) and Welsh cup winners in 1995 and 1999. A memorable 21-6 victory was recorded over then World champions Australia at St Helens on 4 November 1992. In season 1995/96 Swansea reached the semi-final stage of the European Cup. This period also included disputes with the Welsh Rugby Union over the way the league structure was being run in Wales following rugby union's move to being a professional game, which culminated in the club's boycott of the 1998/99 league season, in what was referred to as the rebel season.[11]
The 2003/04 season has seen a significant change with the introduction of regional rugby in Wales. Swansea Rugby Football Club Ltd, alongside Neath RFC are co-owners of the Ospreys. As a result, Swansea RFC returned to being an amateur team. Since the change to regional rugby Several players have played for Swansea RFC, as well Ospreys and Wales including Alun Wyn Jones, Ryan Jones, Scott Baldwin, Nicky Smith, Matthew Morgan, Eli Walker, Gavin Henson and Dan Biggar.
In 2014 the All Whites were relegated from the Welsh Premier league on the final day of the season when despite beating Neath at St Helens, a bonus point for Aberavon sent Swansea into the SWALEC Championship. This provoked a complete revamp of the club with Stephen Hughes taking the position of Chairman, Keith Colclough as Managing Director and Richard Lancaster leading a coaching team of former players including Rhodri Jones, Chris Loader and Ben Lewis. In their first season Swansea missed out on promotion back to the Premiership, finishing in second place overall.
Achievements
Swansea RFC defeated New Zealand 11-3 on Saturday 28 September 1935, becoming the first ever club side to beat the All Blacks.[12]
In November 1992, Swansea RFC defeated world champions Australia 21-6, when Australia played their first match of their Welsh Tour.
Welsh Premier Division champions in:
- 1991/1992
- 1993/1994
- 1997/1998
- 2000/2001
Welsh Cup champions in:
- 1977/1978
- 1994/1995
- 1998/1999
Whitbread Merit Table champions in:
- 1980/1981
Snelling Sevens champions in:
- 1982
- 1989
- 1991
- 1995
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
British and Irish Lions
The following former players were selected for the British and Irish Lions touring squads whilst playing for Swansea RFC.
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Wales International Captains
The following former players captained the Wales national rugby union team whilst playing for Swansea RFC.
See also Wales rugby union captains
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Other notable former players
The players listed below have played for Swansea and have also played international rugby.
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Games played against international opposition
| Year | Date | Opponent | Result | Score | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1888 | 24 December |  Māori |
Loss | 0-5 | 1888 New Zealand Māori tour |
| 1905 | 30 December | New Zealand |
Loss | 3-4 | 1905 Original All Blacks tour |
| 1908 | 26 December |  Australia |
Win | 6-0 | 1908-09 Australia tour of the British Isles and France |
| 1912 | 26 December |  South Africa |
Win | 3-0 | 1912-13 South Africa rugby union tour |
| 1931 | 10 October | South Africa |
Loss | 3-10 | 1931-32 South Africa rugby union tour |
| 1935 | 28 September | New Zealand |
Win | 11-3 | 1935 All Blacks tour |
| 1951 | 15 December | South Africa |
Loss | 3-11 | 1951 South African tour |
| 1953 | 12 December | New Zealand |
Draw | 6-6 | 1953/54 All Blacks tour of the British Isles, France and North America |
| 1963 | 14 December | New Zealand |
Loss | 9-16 | 1963/64 All Blacks tour of the British Isles, France and Canada |
| 1966 | 26 November | Australia |
Win | 9-8 | 1966-67 Australia tour of Britain, Ireland and France |
| 1973 | 8 September |  Fiji |
Loss | 0-31 | 1973 Fiji tour of the British Isles and Canada[16] |
| 1973 | 3 November | Australia |
Draw | 9-9 | 1973 Australia rugby union tour of Europe[17] |
| 1975 | 29 November | Australia |
Loss | 6-12 | 1975-76 Australia tour of Britain and Ireland[18] |
| 1980 | 25 October | New Zealand |
Loss | 0-32 | 1980 All Blacks tour[19] |
| 1981 | 28 November | Australia |
Loss | 3-12 | 1981-82 Australia tour of Britain & Ireland[20] |
| 1982 | 30 October | New Zealand Māori |
Win | 15-12 | 1982 New Zealand Māori rugby union tour of Wales |
| 1984 | 30 October | Australia |
Loss | 7-17 | 1984 Australia tour of Britain and Ireland |
| 1985 | 16 October | Fiji |
Loss | 14-23 | 1985 Fiji tour of the British Isles[21] |
| 1989 | 21 October | New Zealand |
Loss | 22-37 | 1989 New Zealand rugby union tour of the British Isles and Canada[22] |
| 1992 | 4 November | Australia |
Win | 21-6 | 1992 Australian Tour[23] |
Bibliography
- Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.
References
- ↑ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales, John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) pp782 ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6
- ↑ WRU Official Site - Sourced 22 May 2015
- ↑ David Farmer ("The All Whites - the Life & Times of Swansea RFC" (DFPS Ltd 1995)p1
- ↑ Swansea Rugby Football Club 1873-1945 Book - Images of Sport, Bleddyn Hopkins. Tempus Publishing
- ↑ Smith (1980), pg 41.
- 1 2 3 Smith (1980), pg 463.
- ↑ Smith (1980), pg 468.
- ↑ Smith (1980), pg 134.
- ↑ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales, John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) pp782 ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6
- ↑ Smith (1980), pg 132.
- ↑ Laybourn, Ian (1998-08-22). "Rebel clubs secede from WRU". The Independent. Independent Print Limited.
- ↑ All Blacks: 288th All Black Game
- ↑ Smith (1980), pg 472.
- ↑ Smith (1980), pg 464.
- ↑ Smith (1980), pg 473.
- ↑ Fiji Rugby.com
- ↑ Jenkins, Vivian (1974). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1974-75. Queen Anne Press. p. 36. ISBN 0-362-00173-1.
- ↑ Jenkins, Vivian (1976). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1976-77. Queen Anne Press. p. 22. ISBN 0-362-00281-9.
- ↑ Jenkins, Vivian (1982). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1981-82. Rothmans Publications Ltd. p. 42. ISBN 0-907574-05-X.
- ↑ Jenkins, Vivian (1983). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1982-83. Rothmans Publications Ltd. p. 24. ISBN 0-907574-13-0.
- ↑ Fiji Rugby.com
- ↑ All Blacks.com
- ↑ Swansea RFC - World champions beaten!