Colwyn Bay Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Bae Colwyn) is a

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 ...

team from the town of

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpor ...

, North

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 ...

. Colwyn Bay RFC is a member of 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 ...

and is a

feeder club In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, 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 players can move on to a higher ...

for RGC 1404.

History

The first record of a match played in Colwyn Bay took place on the Rhos Preparatory School ground on New Year’s Day, 1923, when the opponents were a Chester XV. There were frequent changes in playing locations and changing rooms and consequently the game did not prosper after the promising start of the first few seasons. One success at that time was

Wilf Wooler Wilfred Wooller (20 November 1912 – 10 March 1997) was a Welsh cricketer, rugby union footballer, cricket administrator and journalist. He was acclaimed as one of the greatest all-round sportsmen that Wales has ever produced. He captained Gla ...

, a Club member who went on to represent

Sale RFC Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale FC Rugby Club, Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

and then

, starring in the 1935 Welsh victory over the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...

. In 1936 it was decided that the Club could not continue and players who were keen joined Rhyl and District RFC, who were also recipients of the goal posts. The princely bank balance of £15 was handed to the

North Wales Rugby Union North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

. In 1953 rugby football became more firmly established in North Wales and a meeting was called at the Queens Hotel,

Old Colwyn Old Colwyn ( cy, Hen Golwyn, formerly Colwyn bilingually) is a large village just to the east of Colwyn Bay, in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Prior to local government reorganisation in April 1974 it was part of the Municipal Borough of Col ...

, at which 12 people attended. Led by a very active Secretary, Tom Bellis, aided by Rydal School (now

Rydal Penrhos Rydal Penrhos School is an independent day school in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. It is the only Methodist school in the independent sector in Wales. It is located on multiple sites around the town with a site in the neighbouring village of Rhos-on-S ...

) masters and old players of the school, the foundations were laid for today’s successful club. A settled "home" was a long time coming but the local Council were most helpful in 1965 in providing us with a pitch at Glan-y-Don, Old Colwyn, and cow sheds which were part of Glan-y-Don Home Farm. The cowsheds were converted into adequate changing rooms and a licensed bar was also applied for and set up. Unfortunately, there was a further hitch in the late 1960s when the new Police H.Q. required part of the field and the Highway Authority acquired the other half of the pitch for the slip road from the A55 Expressway to Old Colwyn. The council came to our rescue once more and provided us with a long lease on our present ground at Brookfield Drive, which was donated, to the Council by the late Victor Wilde for recreational purposes. The ground consists of three flat adjoining pitches, training area, car park and Clubhouse. In September, 1975, the present Club House was officially opened by Mike Roberts, a Club member, Welsh International and a British Lion, and additional facilities of a lounge bar and gymnasium have been added since. The early nineties saw Colwyn Bay Rugby win the north Wales Championship twice prior to promotion to the National Leagues. Colwyn Bay Rugby currently fields a 1st XV that play in WRU Division Two (North). We also run second XV, Women's and Youth XV's as well as a vibrant and growing Mini & Junior Section. In 2008, Colwyn Bay were losing finalist against

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas an ...

in the North Wales Cup.

Notable former players

Wilfred Wooller Wilfred Wooller (20 November 1912 – 10 March 1997) was a Welsh cricketer, rugby union footballer, cricket administrator and journalist. He was acclaimed as one of the greatest all-round sportsmen that Wales has ever produced. He captained ...

(18 caps)''Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981'' pp474, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) * Mike Roberts - Wales (8 caps) British Lions, London Welsh, *

Rachel C Taylor Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aunt ...

(45 caps) Wales Women

References

{{Rugby Wales links Rugby clubs established in 1923 Rugby union teams in Wales Colwyn Bay