|
Introduction Of Regional Rugby Union Teams In Wales
Welsh regional rugby is the top tier of professional Welsh club rugby and is composed of the Scarlets, Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys, Cardiff Rugby and the Dragons (rugby union), Dragons which compete in the United Rugby Championship. The regions were established for the start of the 2003/04 rugby union season. From this date, Wales was represented by a smaller number of regional teams in both the Pro14, Celtic League and European Rugby Champions Cup, European Cup competitions, where previously the top club sides were entered into them. Current regions Cardiff Rugby Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, Cardiff Rugby (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Rygbi Caerdydd'') play at Cardiff Arms Park and are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union following an administration in 2025. From 2003 to 2021 the club were known as the Cardiff Blues before changing their name to Cardiff Rugby prior to the start of the 2021-22 season. Cardiff are responsible for developing rugby in the city of Cardiff, V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. The club was originally named the Llanelli Scarlets but was renamed at the start of the 2008–09 rugby season. The Llanelli Scarlets were founded in 2003, as one of the five (now four) regional teams created by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The Scarlets are affiliated with a number of semi-professional and amateur clubs throughout the area, including Welsh Premier Division sides Llanelli RFC, Carmarthen Quins RFC and Llandovery RFC. Through the 2007–08 season, they played most of their games at Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they have also played matches at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. The club's new stadium, Parc y Scarlets (), was constructed in nearby Pemberton, and opened in November 2008. The Scarlets won the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontypridd RFC
Pontypridd Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It competes in the Admiral Premiership and the WRU Premiership Cup, a trophy which they won for the 7th time in 2025. Their last league title winning campaign came in 2015. Established in 1876, Pontypridd RFC play their home games on the banks of the River Rhondda at Sardis Road, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, with their age-grade section playing at Taff Vale Park in Pontypridd, and Pontypridd High School Fields in nearby Cilfynydd. Pontypridd RFC experienced a successful period during the 1990s—referred to as the club's "Golden Age"—under head coach Dennis John, and they enjoyed further success between 2001 and 2003 with the appointment of head coach Lynn Howells. The transition to Regional Rugby in Wales in 2003 saw the downgrading of Pontypridd to a semi-professional team, followed by financial difficulties for the club and the eventual demise of Pontypr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stradey Park
Stradey Park (Welsh: ''Parc y Strade'') was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of seating and standing with a total capacity of 10,800 (22,500 before 1990). Following the Scarlets' move to Parc y Scarlets in 2008, Stradey Park was demolished two years later and replaced with housing. History The ground originally opened in 1879 for use by Llanelli RFC. In 1887, Stradey Park was chosen to host its first international rugby union match. In the early days of international rugby, all the British countries switched venues on a regular basis to allow supporters the chance to see their team and clubs the opportunity of share gate receipts. Stradey Park was selected as part of the 1887 Home Nations Championship, with the opening home match for Wales being against England. The game was arranged for 8 January and a temporary sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Llandovery RFC
Llandovery RFC () is a Welsh rugby union club based in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The club is an inaugural member of the Welsh Rugby Union, currently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru and is a feeder club for the Scarlets, a Pro14 club. Llandovery won the Premier Division during the 2022–23 season, defeating reigning champions Cardiff RFC in the final. Early history Prior to 1878 written evidence exists of a Llandovery rugby team, though in these reports it is not clear if this was a town or college team. On 22 February 1878 a report in the ''Carmarthen Journal'' refers to a rugby game between 'Llandovery' and other local teams but these were specifically named as college teams while Llandovery was not. In 1879 Llandovery College, played their first recognised official match against Christ College, Brecon. This was a college and not a town side as the match report indicated it was the first time the two schools had met. are nowadays recognised as an inaugural member o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carmarthen Quins RFC
Carmarthen Quins Rugby Football Club () are one of two Welsh rugby union clubs based in Carmarthen in West Wales, the other being Carmarthen Athletic. They currently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru and are a feeder club for the Scarlets regional team. Club history During the 2005–06 season Carmarthen Quins were relegated from the Welsh Premier Division and placed in Division One West, making a return to the Premier league after winning the West league in 2008–09. Carmarthen were to face Blackwood, winners of Division One East in a play-off for promotion; but because Blackwood's ground was deemed not to meet WRU standards for the Premier league, the game was forfeited..Blackwood RFC would dispute that their ground was not up to standard with new modern stand and floodlights and thought by many as having one of the best valley grounds in Gwent. Would have also been an interesting game to watch to see who was the best as both sides played in the same black, red and amber hoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pemberton. The club song is " Sosban Fach", a Welsh song meaning "Little Saucepan", which is sometimes sung by the club's fans during matches as the club anthem. The team colours are scarlet and white. Following the 2003 regionalisation of Welsh rugby, Llanelli is now a feeder club to the Scarlets regional team. Club history In the beginning After attending a Good Friday service in chapel, a group of young athletes from Llanelli met to discuss the formation of a new rugby club in the area. One of those men was John D. Rogers, a young industrialist who had learned to play rugby union football at Rugby School, the game's birthplace. He was assisted by C. Hilton, who became the club's inaugural honorary secretary. On Easter Saturday, 30 March 1872, the group rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a predominantly European league. Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues (Premiership Rugby, English Premiership, French Top 14, and United Rugby Championship) or via winning the second-tier European Rugby Challenge Cup, Challenge Cup; those that do not qualify are instead eligible to compete in the second-tier Challenge Cup. Between 1995 and 2014, the equivalent competition was known as the Heineken Cup and was run by European Rugby Cup. Following #Disagreements over structure & governance, disagreements between its shareholders over the structure and governance of the competition, it was taken over by EPCR and its name was changed to the European Rugby Champions Cup, without ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parc Y Scarlets
''Parc y Scarlets'' (, meaning: ''Scarlets Park'') is a rugby union stadium in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, that opened in November 2008 as the new home of the Scarlets and Llanelli RFC. The ground replaced Stradey Park, the home of Llanelli's rugby teams for almost 130 years. The stadium complex includes facilities for matchday supporters and for non-matchday revenue generation, as well as a training barn and a training pitch with athletics track. The stadium also occasionally hosts some matches of the Wales national under-21 football team, Wales national under-21 and Wales national football team, senior association football, football teams, as well as Llanelli Town A.F.C.'s matches in European competitions. Swansea City A.F.C. Reserve Team played all of their home fixtures at the stadium in the 2011/2012 season. In 2020 the venue was used for Wales national rugby union team, Wales home games during the Autumn Nations Cup due to the Millennium Stadium being used as a backup Covid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2009–10 European Challenge Cup
The 2009–10 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 14th season of the European Challenge Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from six nations in European rugby. It started on 8 October 2009 at Sixways Stadium in Worcester with Worcester Warriors hosting Montpellier, and ended with the final at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on 23 May 2010. The reigning champions were Northampton Saints, who did not defend their title as they qualified for the 2009–10 Heineken Cup. Cardiff Blues won the trophy after a 28–21 win against Toulon. Teams Five English teams and eight French teams competed because an English team – Leicester Tigers – progressed farther in the 2008–09 Heineken Cup than any French or Italian team. Other countries will have their usual number of teams: Ireland one, Romania one and one from Spain. Pool stage The draw for the pool stages took place on 15 June 2009. The seeding system was the same as for the 2008–09 tournament. The 20 competin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008–09 EDF Energy Cup
The 2008–09 Anglo-Welsh Cup, known as the EDF Energy Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 38th season of England's national rugby union cup competition, and the fourth to follow the recently adopted Anglo-Welsh format. As in the previous two years, the competition is contested between the twelve teams of the Guinness Premiership and the four Welsh regions from the Pro14, Celtic League. The sixteen teams are arranged into four pools, with one Welsh and three English teams in each. Teams are randomly drawn into groups, as opposed to previous years when English sides were grouped according to proximity to one another. Each team plays the other team from their group only once, meaning that two teams in each group face two away games, whereas the other two teams have two home games. Group stage In the pool matches, teams receive: * Four points for a win * Two points for a draw * A bonus point for scoring four or more tries, regardless of the match result * A bonus point for losing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Rugby Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception in 1996 to 2014, it was known as the European Challenge Cup and governed by European Rugby Cup (ERC). Following disagreements in the structure of the tournament's format and division of revenue, the English and French leagues withdrew to form the EPCR, which organized the Challenge Cup and the Champions Cup since the 2014–15 season. The Challenge Cup is currently contested between 18 teams; 16 of which qualify from the three main European domestic leagues (Premiership Rugby, Top 14, and United Rugby Championship). In 2023–24, two teams outside of the western Europe leagues had been invited to participate in the tournament. The Cheetahs (rugby union), Cheetahs, a South African team who won the 2023 Currie Cup Premier Division, 2023 Curr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo-Welsh Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs. The competition was replaced by the Premiership Rugby Cup, involving only the 12 English Premiership clubs, beginning with the 2018–19 season. History Background RFU Knockout Cup From 1971 to 2005, English clubs played in the RFU Knockout Cup. At its formation, it was the highest honour that a club could win, as there were no nationally organised leagues until merit leagues were introduced in 1984, followed by the full national league pyramid in 1987. It was an open tournament to any club that was a member of the Rugby Football Union. Previous Anglo-Welsh fixtures 2005–2018: Anglo-Welsh Cup 2005–09: Initial format Starting in the 2005–06 Powergen Anglo-Welsh Cup, 2005–06 season, the E.ON UK, Powergen Anglo-Welsh Cup wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
