Llantwit Major Rugby Football Club is 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

Llantwit Major Llantwit Major ( cy, Llanilltud Fawr) is a town and community in Wales on the Bristol Channel coast. It is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after Barry and Penarth, and ahead of Cowb ...

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 ...

. Llantwit Major 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 the

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff ...

. It is believed that rugby was played in Llantwit Major as far back as 1880, though the first recorded game was in 1889 against a team from

Cowbridge Cowbridge ( cy, Y Bont-faen) is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists fo ...

. The club disbanded during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

but reformed soon after and in 1962 gained membership to the Welsh Rugby Union. The club enjoyed considerable success in the early 1960s by dominating the prestige Glamorgan County Silver Ball cup competition reaching the semi-finals in 1963 before winning the title in 1964 and 1965. In recent times the club had another notable cup run in reaching the final of the Welsh Rugby Union National Bowl Competition at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national ru ...

; ultimately losing despite being cheered on by well over 800 Llantonian supporters in an enthralling 17-10 game to Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd. Currently, the club manages two senior teams, one Under 19 team and also has a full Mini & Junior section with its own separate management framework. There is a large social membership that runs darts (three dartboards and oches) and pool teams (three tables) in local leagues. Additionally, the club provides its facilities for community groups and clubs including Bingo, Tennis, Running, Boxing, Archery, Twinning Association, Royal British Legion, Freemasonry and the Town Council. The clubhouse also boasts a conference room and a large function room which regularly hosts dinners, concerts, birthdays, christenings, weddings and funeral receptions.

Club honours

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 , HQ = ...

1963–64 — Winners *

1964–65 — Winners * Finalists National Bowl Competition 2014 - Runners-up

Notable former players

Ernie George Ernest Edward George (1871 – 28 November 1952) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for a variety of teams, but is most associated with Pontypridd and Cardiff. George was capped three times for Wales between ...

(3 caps) *

Dafydd Hewitt Dafydd Hewitt (born 21 August 1985) is a retired Welsh rugby union player. A centre, from Llantwit Major RFC he played at every level for his local club before stepping up to regional rugby in 2004 with the Cardiff Blues. He was selected for th ...

(Captained Wales U-21 & Senior Sevens) *

Simon Hill Simon Hill (born 1 November 1967) is an English football commentator based in Australia. British-based work After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 1990, Hill began his work in the field of journalism, initially writing for newsp ...

(12 caps) * Wilson Lauder (18 caps) *

John Yapp John Yapp (born 9 April 1983) is a Welsh international rugby union player, currently with Edinburgh. He first played for Cardiff during the Christmas period in 2002. He made his first team debut against Ebbw Vale on Boxing Day at the age of 18. D ...

(21 caps)Cardiff Blues profile
* Mel Clay (29 caps)

References

Rugby union teams in Wales 1889 establishments in Wales Rugby clubs established in 1889 Sport in the Vale of Glamorgan Llantwit Major {{Wales-rugbyunion-team-stub