Tonna Rugby Football Club is a

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 from the village of Tonna,

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 ...

. Tonna RFC is a member 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 ...

and 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 The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...

History

Although it is believed that Tonna RFC existed before 1888, the club was first mentioned during the 1887/88 season, when the Cambria Daily Reader stated that Tonna RFC were drawn to play

Mynydd-bach Mynydd-Bach or Mynydd-bach is a suburban district and community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, It falls within the coterminous Mynydd-Bach ward. The name Mynydd-Bach () refers to a small plateau, centred about north of Swansea city ...

in the local

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

cup challenge. It is therefore regarded that Tonna RFC came into being on 28 February 1888. Tonna RFC's first international player was David Harris Davies. Although he played for

Neath RFC Neath Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Indigo Premiership for Season 2024/25. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a whi ...

at the time of his one and only

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

against Scotland in 1904, he came through the playing ranks of Tonna. The club disbanded after the outbreak of 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 ...

, but reformed as Dulais United after the war ended. This team was an amalgamation of local villages Tonna,

Aberdulais Aberdulais is a village and electoral ward in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, lying on the River Neath, in the community of Blaenhonddan. The village grew around the Aberdulais Falls, the site of successive industries and now a hydro-electric statio ...

, Cadoxton, and Cilfrew but the team was still housed in Tonna.

Notable players

Full Senior Internationals * David Harris Davies - Neath RFC (1 cap)''Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981'', David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pp464 * Arthur Lemon - Neath RFC (13 caps) * Martyn Davies - Neath RFC (1 Cap) * Alan Edmunds- Aberavon RFC,Neath RFC (2 caps) * Craig Mitchell Neath RFC, Ospreys, Exeter Chiefs, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Bath (15 caps) * Leigh Davies Neath RFC, Cardiff RFC, Bristol RFC, Ospreys, Llanelli Scarlets (Captain) - 21 Caps * * Doug Phillips (rugby) Douglas V Phillips Rugby League International Oldham RLFC, Broughton Park Rangers RLFC Belle Vue RLFC. 9 Wales RL Caps & 4 Great Britain Caps (including 1950 Series win in Australia) * * Barbarians RFC Martyn Davies (Neath RFC), Chris Gittins (Aberavon RFC)

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20130206182838/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/tonnarfc {{Rugby Wales links Rugby union teams in Wales 1888 establishments in Wales Rugby clubs established in 1888 Rugby union in Neath Port Talbot