Mountain Ash RFC
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| Mountain Ash RFC | |||
| Full name | Mountain Ash Rugby Football Club | ||
| Founded | 1875[1] | ||
| Location | Mountain Ash, Wales | ||
| Ground(s) | Parc Duffryn Pennar | ||
| Coach | Neil Eynon Jonathan Mason |
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| League | WRU Division Two East | ||
| 2007-08 | 3rd[2] | ||
| Official website | |||
| www.mountainashrfc.com | |||
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Mountain Ash RFC is a Welsh rugby union team from the town of Mountain Ash, in the Cynon Valley, South Wales. Mountain Ash RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Cardiff Blues.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Early history
The team was founded in 1875 at a meeting in the Mountain Ash Inn, but their first game in earnest was not until 1891, against Swansea at the Washery Field. Some of their early fixtures were against Llanelli, Cardiff RFC and Newport RFC. They managed to beat the touring Canadian team in 1904, and in the same year, moved headquarters to the Cresselly Inn. Four years later, they moved to the Recreation Ground, and established their headquarters at the Glancynon Hotel, their current clubhouse.
In 1911, the team toured the south of France, and managed to beat Bayonne RFC and Pau, but the outbreak of the First World War made it difficult for the club to continue. The situation grew even worse during the Second World War, when there were no games played from 1939 to 1946. They survived through this period, however, often maintaining at least one player in the Welsh team. In 1953, the county council removed the grandstand and the perimeter fence from the Recreation Ground, which proved to be devastating for the club, as most first class clubs refused to play there. In 1994-1995, the club moved to the Parc Duffryn Pennar Ground. In 2000-2001, as part of the club's 125-year celebrations, a game was played against Public School Wanderers.
[edit] At present
There are two senior teams, a youth team and a junior section. There is a clubhouse in the town attended by an enthusiastic supporters club and committee. The home ground, Parc Duffryn Pennar has modern facilities, including floodlights and a well maintained playing surface. Many representative games have been played there, including schoolboy internationals. Tours such as one to Canada in 2005 and South Africa in 2007 are regular features. The next planned tour is to Florida in 2009 where there will be over 100 tourists.
The first senior team play in the Division Two east of the Welsh League. They are coached by Neil Eynon and Jonathan Mason.
The 1st Team Captain is: Scott Davies The 2nd Team Captain is: Chris Roberts
[edit] Wales internationals
- Fred Miller 1896 1900 1901
- Frank Mills 1892 1896
- W T Osborne 1902 1903
- Wyndham Jones 1905
- Dick Thomas 1906 1908 1909
- Fred Samuel 1922
- Tom Collins 1923
- Bob Barrel 1929 1933
- Les Mansfield 1939 1947 1948
- Hayden Morris 1951 1955
- John D Evans 1958
- Jonathan Mason 1988
[edit] Honours
- Glamorgan League Champions 1895-96 1908-09
- Glamorgan Challenge Cup 1913-14
- Glamorgan Knock Out Cup 1913-14
- Evening Express award of Merit 1920
- Mid-District Champions 1964-65 1989-90
- Ivor Williams Cup 1965-66 1980-81 1991-1992 1992-1993 1993-1994 2005-2006 2007-2008
- Coleman Cup 2004-2005
- W R U National Sevens District C 1968
[edit] External links
- Mountain Ash RFC Official Site
[edit] References
- ^ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pp11 ISBN 0708307663
- ^ WRU Official web site.
- ^ BBC News (2004-07-08). Wales' regional rugby map. BBC. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
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