Newbridge RFC 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 ...

club based in

Newbridge, Caerphilly Newbridge () is a town and community in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales. It lies within the historic boundaries of the county of Monmouthshire. Etymology The Welsh placename for Newbridge is often incorrectly shown on OS Maps a ...

, in South Wales. Newbridge RFC was formed in 1888 and joined the WRU in 1911. They play in the WRU

Welsh Championship The WRU National Championship (or Admiral Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the third tier of professional rugby union in Wales. The league was reformed by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) in 2012. History In 2012, the new division was forme ...

East.

Club history

Newbridge RFC was established in 1888, but only gained admission to the WRU in 1911, when they secured a ground and facilities up to WRU requirements. In 1925, Newbridge RFC moved to their present home at the Welfare Ground where they signed a 99-year lease at a shilling a year. A new pavilion had been constructed around this time and the club now share their ground with the local cricket team. The club are presently in their third clubhouse at the site after an explosion and two fires caused damage to past buildings. On the field, Newbridge have been pioneers of a number of well known rugby traits, most of which were brought to fruition by the pioneering coach Dai Harries during his tenure as club coach in the 1960s. Most recognisably, these are; the tap signal from the hooker to the scrum-half to feed the scrum, the formation of a wall for the taking of penalties and they were also one of the first clubs to introduce the hooker as the player to throw the ball into the lineout. It was during Harries' reign as coach that the club captured the Western Mail Championship to be crowned champions of Wales in the 1964–65 season.

British and Irish Lions

The following players have played for the British and Irish Lions while playing for Newbridge RFC. *

Don Hayward Donald James Hayward (30 June 1925 – 16 February 1999) was a Welsh international prop who played club rugby for Newbridge and Wigan RLFC. He won 15 caps for Wales, and was selected to play in the British Lions on the 1950 tour of Austral ...

International honours

The following players have been capped at international level while playing for Newbridge RFC. :''See also :Newbridge RFC players'' * Billy Gore *

Ken Braddock Kenneth James Braddock (28 August 1938 — 20 August 2018) was a Welsh international rugby union player. Born in Treowen, Newbridge, Braddock attended Greenfield Secondary Modern School and played his earliest rugby with Trinant, before joining ...

* Ray Cale (4 caps) *

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

* Kenny Waters * Andy Allen *

* Dennis Hughes * Terry Shaw * Paul Turner * Andrew Gibbs

Club honours

* Western Mail Championship 1964–65 – Champions *

Snelling Sevens The Snelling Sevens (also known as the Snelling Seven-a-Side Trophy and originally known as the Welsh Seven-a-Side Tournament) was an annual Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country o ...

1990 – Champions *

1992 – Champions * Ben Francis Cup 2010, 2011, 2022 and 2023 Winners *

WRU League 1 East The Welsh Rugby Union Specsavers Division One East is a rugby union league in Wales. It was 'born' out of a restructure of the former league system that had formally begun in Wales for the 1990/91 season. As a result of the restructure of 2006, t ...

2022-2023 - Champions * WRU National Division 1 Cup 2022-2023 - Champions

Games played against international opposition

¹ A joint

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

/Newbridge team.
² A joint

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; ) 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 conurbation has a ...

/Newbridge team.
³ A joint

Abertillery Abertillery (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Blaenau Gwent County Borough, Wales. It is located in the Ebbw Fach Valley, Ebbw Fach valley, and the Monmouthshire (historic), historic county of Monmouthshire. The surrounding lan ...

/Newbridge team.
⁴ A joint

Cross Keys Cross Keys or Crosskeys may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Crosskeys, Wales ** Crosskeys railway station ** Crosskeys College, a campus of Coleg Gwent * The Cross Keys (disambiguation), several pubs in the United Kingdom * Cross Keys Inn, a ...

/Newbridge team.

References

{{Rugby Wales links Rugby union teams in Wales 1888 establishments in Wales Rugby clubs established in 1888 Sport in Caerphilly County Borough