Aberavon Harlequins RFC (nicknamed "The Mighty Quins") is a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

team located in the Fairfield area of

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

, a few minutes away from the town centre and

Aberavon Aberavon () is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Por ...

. In 1955, the team gained membership of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...

(WRU). Today the club is a

feeder club In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

for the Ospreys. Aberavon Harlequins RFC have produced many international players over the years, most notably Welsh internationals Richard Hibbard, James Hook, Wales 7's international Jacob Flynn and Welsh international rugby league superstar Regan Grace.

History

The club was founded in 1891, and they become known as the Aberavon Excel, playing in an all-white strip. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1918, the Excels formed the Aberavon Harlequins R.F.C., which it has been known as since. They played on a waste site at what is now the Sandfields Estate, later renamed the Harlequins Field. In 1932-33, the club was reformed by Dick Lody, Dill Stanford, Don Mainwaring and H.Williams, and the club grew until the start of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1951, the club received a boost when the former

Maesteg RFC Maesteg Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the town of Maesteg, South Wales. The club currently play in the Division 3B west Central Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys. Club history Maesteg RFC was formed in 18 ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and British Lions scrum half Trevor Lloyd returned to Aberavon Harlequins, his original club. The 1955/56 season was the best playing record in the Quins' history, playing over thirty matches and losing only once. At the start of the 21st century, in an attempt to modernise the governing body of Welsh rugby union and to bring Wales fully into the professional era, it was decided to restructure the Welsh leagues and to source new sponsorship revenue for them. Teams would be allocated a division depending on their recent season's order of merit and their geographical location. In the 2001/02 season, the Quins were placed in Lloyds TSB Division Two West, along with their local rivals

Corus (Port Talbot) RFC Corus Rugby Football Club was a Welsh rugby union clubs based in Port Talbot. It is now known as Tata Steel RFC, the club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys. The club was historically known as The S.C.O.W ...

. The 2008/2009 season saw the Quins complete the “Double” winning the tightly contested WRU Division Three South West league and also winning the illustrious

Glamorgan County Silver Ball Trophy The Glamorgan County Silver Ball Trophy (also known as the Glamorgan County High Motive Silver Ball Trophy) is a Welsh rugby union competition open to all non-premier Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) clubs playing in the Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or s ...

by beating Llantwit Fardre RFC 17-3, making it the second “Silver Ball” title for the Quins after previously winning it in 1982.

Current squad

Honours

* 1981/82 - Glamorgan Silver Ball Winners * 1987/88 - Wiztech League Champions * 2008/09 - Division 3 South West Champions * 2008/09 - Glamorgan Silver Ball Winners * 2014/15 - WRU Youth League Cup Champions * 2015/16 - Division 2 West Central Champions

References

{{Rugby Wales links Rugby union teams in Wales Rugby union in Neath Port Talbot Port Talbot