Blaina Rugby Football Club are a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

club based in

Blaina Blaina ( cy, Blaenau ) is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of ...

in the county borough of

Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, E ...

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

. They presently play in the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) 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, ove ...

Division Three East league and are a feeder club for the

Newport Gwent Dragons Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in t ...

History

Towards the end of the 19th century industrialism in the late

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

was spreading through the South Wales Valleys. With the migrant workers into the

South Wales coalfield The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, ...

came the game of

and in 1875 players from local sides amalgamated to form a club which played on a ground provided by the Lancaster company. Their chief patron and founder was a Mr. Sidney Lancaster.Smith (1980), pg 27. The club applied for and was accepted into the Welsh Football Union in 1895.Smith (1980), pg 101. That same year, Blaina joined the newly formed Monmouthshire league, along with teams such as

Abercarn Abercarn is a small town and community in Caerphilly county borough, Wales. It is 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Newport on the A467 between Cwmcarn and Newbridge, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. History An estate at ...

Cwmbran Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales. Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pr ...

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...

and

Pontymister RFC Risca Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Risca, Monmouthshire. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons. Club history Risca RFC was formed in 1875 when a group of worke ...

began to produce a crop of players with good potential.Smith (1980), pg 105. In 1904, as part of the Home Nations Championship, Jack Evans became the first player to be directly capped for an international team from the club. Evans played just one match for

, a draw away to England, but showed great commitment to his team throughout his life, and he refused several approaches to turn professional.Jenkins (1991), pg 55. The draw of professionalism was a problem towards all union clubs, and Blaina lost one of their better internationals when Emlyn Watkins joined Leeds RLFC in 1927, just after collecting three caps in the

1926 Five Nations Championship The 1926 Five Nations Championship was the twelfth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-ni ...

.Jenkins (1991), pg 162. In 1913, the WFU decided to reintroduce a knock-out competition to combat the growing popularity of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

. Although the competition was not a great success, its inaugural year saw Blaina face

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) 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 distri ...

in the final at Bridgend.Smith (1980), pg 181. Blaina lost in the final 10-0.Smith (1980), pg 486. In May 2006 Blaina RFC were one of the 13 'Rebel' clubs who brought a vote of no confidence against the WRU, which centred on financing and the handling of former coach

Mike Ruddock Mike Ruddock, OBE (born 5 September 1959) is a Welsh rugby union coach who is currently an interim consultant for Ospreys, having previously coached Lansdowne FC . Ruddock was the Director of Rugby at the Worcester Warriors until his resignation ...

's departure. The vote failed heavily with only 20 votes for the motion and over 300 against.Welsh clubs give backing to Union - BBC Sports, sourced 16th Aug 2007
/ref>

Notable players

''See also :Blaina RFC players'' * Jake Blackmore *

Tom Clapp Tom Clapp (25 October 1858 – 15 October 1933) was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and Nantyglo RFC. He won 14 caps for Wales and captained the team on three occasions. Clapp was the first N ...

(14 caps) - Wales captain * Jack Evans (1 cap) * William George Evans * Jack Gore (4 caps) * Tom Graham (12 caps) * Gareth S Kearney *

(Wales B Cap) *

Emlyn Watkins Emlyn Watkins (21 September 1904 – 15 May 1978) was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club leve ...

(3 caps) *

Jack Wetter Jack Wetter DCM (29 December 1887 – 29 July 1967) was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby predominantly for Newport. He was captain for both his club and country and earned 10 caps for Wales. Wetter's rugby career ...

* Jack Williams (7 caps) Smith (1980), pg 473.

Stupid Lee Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word ''stupid'' comes from the Latin word ''stupere''. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter ...

Bibliography

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References

{{Rugby Wales links Welsh rugby union teams