South Wales Warriors
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| South Wales Warriors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Established 1993 Play in Sully, Vale of Glamorgan |
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| League / Division history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Current uniform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personnel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head Coach | Tim Macy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League Championships (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Division Championships (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conference Championships (2)
1999, 2007 |
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| Playoff Appearances (6)
1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006 |
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| Home fields | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Club website | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The South Wales Warriors (formerly the Tiger Bay Warriors) are an American Football team currently competing in the South West Conference of British American Football League (BAFL) Division 2. They play their home games at the Sully Sports & Leisure Centre, at Sully, near Barry. In the 2007 season the South Wales Warriors recorded a 9 wins to 1 loss record and were crowned champions of their conference, but failed to gain promotion after losing their playoff semi-final to the eventual divisional champions, the Norwich Devils.
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[edit] History
[edit] Tiger Bay Warriors (1993 to 2000)
The club was formed in 1993 as the Tiger Bay Warriors, and started out as a Junior Flag team.[1] They were accepted into Junior Division Two Touch and recorded a 4-0-0 record in the regular season (including one postponed game against the Gloucester Gladiators which was awarded to the Warriors) before narrowly losing the bowl game 6–8 to the London Capitals.[2][3]
The following two years saw the Warriors playing at Youth Kitted level. The 1994 season saw them top the BYAFA South East Division with a perfect 8-0 record and reaching the playoff semi-final.[4] In 1995, they recorded a 2-3 season in the Southern Division but still managed to reach the playoffs, losing 0–8 to the London Capitals in their quarter-final.[5]
The decision was then taken to move up to senior level, and the Warriors were duly admitted to the Southwest Conference of the British Senior League's third division. Their experience in their previous youth tournaments seemed to serve them well as their first season at this level saw them post an 8-2 record, finishing second in their conference. They went on the reach the playoff semi-final before losing to the eventual divisional champions, the Winchester Rifles.[6] 1997 saw them reach the playoffs once again after finishing second in their conference, only to be forced to withdraw from their playoff match against the PA Knights due to an acute player shortage.[7]
As with the year before, the Warriors finished the 1998 regular season in second place, tied with the Southern Sundevils with a 7-1 record but with an inferior points difference. As a result they lost home advantage for their playoff match and this proved crucial as they went down by a single point to the London Mets.[8] The following year, they once again finished the regular season with a 7-1 record tied with the Hertfordshire Stags and the Sabres, but they avoided last season's disappointment by finishing top on points difference. This paid off as they made it all the way to the divisional play-off final before losing a tight final game against the Chester Romans by just two points.[9]
Unfortunately the Warriors were unable to build on this success. After losing several key players and the services of Head Coach Rob Mota, they were forced to withdraw from the league in 2000.[1]
[edit] South Wales Warriors (2001 to present)
In 2001, the team was reformed as the South Wales Warriors and were re-admitted into the British Senior League to compete in Division Two South. After a year out of action, they found the going tougher and finished with a 2-5-1 record.[10] The following two seasons repeated this pattern, with the Warriors finishing with 3-6 and 5-5 records in 2002 and 2003 respectively.[11][12] However, 2004 saw a vast improvement and they finished second in their group with a 7-2-1 record, making the playoffs for the first time since reforming. Unfortunately, they were knocked out at the first stage, losing their quarter-final 6–30 to the Chiltern Cheetahs.[13]
This feat was repeated in 2005, finishing the regular season in second place before losing their playoff quarter-final.[14] In 2006, the Warriors once again finished in second place, cliching their spot on the last matchday of the regular season with a 27–21 win away to the Andover Thrashers. They were drawn at home to the Essex Spartans for their wildcard playoff. However, the visitors complained to BAFRA (British American Football Referee's Association) that the pitch at Bedwas RFC was too short, and therefore did not comply with league rules. After consultations between the two teams, the game was played as normal but the BAFL decided afterwards that the Warriors would forfeit the game, and therefore the game was awarded to the Spartans as a 1–0 victory.[15][16]
The 2007 season saw the Warriors get over their playoff disappointment in the best possible way, winning their group with a near-perfect 9-1 record to win their second ever conference championship. A tight 13–7 quarter-final win against the Cambridgeshire Cats set up a semi-final tie away to the Norwich Devils, who came into this game on the back of a perfect 10-0 regular season and a quarter-final win against the Cornish Sharks. Unfortunately for the Warriors they were unable to beat an impressive home team, going down 28–43.[17]
[edit] Senior team season records
| Season | Division | W | L | T | PF | PA | Final Position | Playoff Record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | BSL Division 2 Southwest | 8 | 2 | 0 | 330 | 116 | 2 / 7 | Beat Norwich Devils 48–25 in quarter-final. Lost 0–20 to Winchester Rifles in semi-final. |
– |
| 1997 | BSL Division 2 South West | 7 | 3 | 0 | 106 | 109 | 2 / 4 | Withdrew from playoffs due to player shortage | – |
| 1998 | BAFL Division 2 Southwest | 7 | 1 | 0 | 193 | 73 | 2 / 4 | Lost 12–13 to Southern Sundevils in quarter-final. | – |
| 1999 | BSL Division 2 Southern | 7 | 1 | 0 | 159 | 64 | 1 / 7 | Beat Plymouth Admirals 31–15 in quarter-final. Beat Southend Sabres 13–9 in semi-final. |
Conference champions |
| 2000 | DID NOT COMPETE | ||||||||
| 2001 | BAFL Division 2 South | 2 | 5 | 1 | 66 | 104 | 7 / 9 | – | First season competing as South Wales Warriors |
| 2002 | BSL Division 2 South | 3 | 6 | 0 | 258 | 128 | 7 / 19 | – | – |
| 2003 | BSL Division 2 South West | 5 | 5 | 0 | 158 | 172 | 4 / 6 | – | – |
| 2004 | BSL Division 2 South West | 7 | 2 | 1 | 228 | 129 | 2 / 6 | Lost 6–30 to Chiltern Cheetahs in quarter-final. | – |
| 2005 | BAFL Division 2 South West | 8 | 2 | 0 | 298 | 71 | 2 / 6 | Lost 16–30 to Kent Exiles in quarter-final. | – |
| 2006 | BAFL Division 2 West | 7 | 3 | 0 | 285 | 93 | 2 / 5 | Forfeited wild card playoff to Essex Spartans. | – |
| 2007 | BAFL Division 2 South West | 9 | 1 | 0 | 255 | 91 | 1 / 5 | Beat Cambridgeshire Cats 13–7 in quarter-final. Lost 28–43 to Norwich Devils in semi-final. |
Conference champions |
[edit] Ground
Shortly before the start of the 2008 season, the Warriors announced that they would be playing their home games at Sully Sports & Leisure Centre, located in the village of Sully, just outside Barry. They share this ground with a number of local sports teams including Sully rugby club and a baseball club.[18] For the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the Warriors played their home matches at the Bridge Field, located in Bedwas, Caerphilly, which they shared with Bedwas rugby club
Before this, the team were based in Cardiff with most of their games played at Canton rugby club, and a few games also being played at Llanrumney Leisure Centre. Whilst operating as the Tiger Bay Warriors, the team also played at Channel View Leisure Centre and Roath Park, which is still used by the team today as a training ground.[1][19][20]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Teams: Tiger Bay Warriors. Britball Now. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
- ^ BAFL 1993 Season (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
- ^ BAFL 1993 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
- ^ BAFL 1994 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 1995 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 1996 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2007-04-13). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 1997 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 1998 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 1999 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 2001 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 2002 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 2003 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 2004 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2006-01-02). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 2005 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2006-01-02). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFRA Newsflash - Issue 34/06 (2006-08-28). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 2006 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2006-01-02). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ BAFL 2007 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2007-11-17). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ Sully Sports Welcomes the Warriors. South Wales Warriors (2008-04-22). Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Teams: South Wales Warriors. Britball Now. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ South Wales Warriors: Find Us. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
