Pontypool RFC
 | ||
| Full name | Pontypool Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Pooler | |
| Founded | 1868 | |
| Location | Pontypool, Wales | |
| Ground(s) | Pontypool Park (Capacity: 8,800) | |
| Coach(es) | Leighton Jones | |
| Captain(s) | Scott Mathews | |
| League(s) | Indigo Welsh Premiership | |
| 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 | 1st[1] | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh
. Their traditional home kit is a red, white and black-hooped shirt and socks with white shorts, although they did gradually shift to wearing black shorts post-2003.Pontypool has a long history within Welsh rugby and is one of the country's most notable clubs, being present at the formation of the
History
Early years
"The close of the cricketing season has led to the formation of a football club among the young men of Pontypool. A goodly number took part in the first match, which came off a few days since, and the sport was thoroughly enjoyed."
Advertisement of the formation of the new club in the Pontypool Free Press, 31 October 1868.[3]
Originally founded 1868, the club played its first match in October before hosting a game between the new club's members at the "Pound" Field on 12 November. The club later travelled to the Pontymoil Cricket Ground on the 9 January 1869, losing 4–1 to the Panteg Rustics.[4][5]
In 1871, another Pontypool club was formed, called Pegler's Pontypool. However, the town was too small for two clubs and Pontypool FC and Pegler's Pontypool amalgamated on 15 September 1879.[6] Pontypool FC were one of the six teams that created the South Wales Cup competition for 1877/1878.[7] In March 1881, Pontypool was one of the eleven clubs present at the formation of the Welsh Rugby Union in Neath,[8] but by the end of the century the club had disbanded.
In 1901, the club reformed, launching at a public meeting at the Pontypool Town Hall. The club was derived from a combination of three local clubs, Pontypool Thursdays, Pontypool Saturdays and Pontymoel.[9] Pontypool RFC played their first official match at the Recreation Ground against Cardiff Romilly on 21 September 1901,[9] and by 1904 the club had won the Monmouthshire League.[10] After winning the Monmouthshire League again in 1907 Pontypool was recognised as having 'first-class' status for the 1907/08 season, allowing the club to face more notable opposition.[11]
Pontypool's first international player to be capped directly from the club was Cliff Pritchard, who after playing his first games for Wales as a Newport player, joined Pontypool in 1905 and was capped as part of the 1906 Home Nations Championship. Closely following Pritchard were the Jones brothers, David (known as 'Ponty' Jones), Jack and 'Tuan'. All three were capped for the Wales team, representing their country over the period 1907–1921. As well as representing Wales, Jack and 'Tuan' both played for the British Isles team, making them the first British Lions to be selected from Pontypool. In season 1913/14 Pontypool became the unofficial Welsh Club Champions for the first time.
During the early 1920s, Pontypool was one of several major Welsh clubs to suffer from the emergence of professional rugby in
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In December 1947, a combined Pontypool,
Golden era
The great days of Pontypool RFC were in the 1970s and 1980s, when Ray Prosser was coach for eighteen years from 1969. An away match at Pontypool was a daunting experience for even the strongest sides during this period. Their best ever season was probably 1987–88, when they won 35 matches out of 36, scoring 1011 points and conceding only 411 points.
The club's strength during its glory days was its forwards, particularly the legendary
Professional era
Pontypool were relegated from the Welsh Division 1 at the end of the 1995 season. In the 1997/98 season, they avoided relegation to Division 2 with a final-day 14–8 win over UWIC.
In February 2002, whilst still playing in Division 1, Pontypool defeated Swansea RFC, the then reigning Welsh/Scottish Champions, 16–14 in a pulsating Principality Cup clash at Pontypool Park. They went on to lose narrowly to Ebbw Vale RFC (22-27) in the quarter final.
In May 2002, Pontypool and Aberavon RFC finished at the top of Division 1 on the same number of league points and the same number of tries but the Wizards took the title on a better for/against points ratio. Aberavon then faced a two-legged play-off with Caerphilly, who had been relegated from the Premier Division. Aberavon lost the play-off (66-27 on aggregate) and remained in Division 1 for the 2002/3 season. The controversial play-off system was scrapped after this season. [1]
In November 2002, Pontypool secured a plumb fixture with the touring Fiji national team at Pontypool Park. As the club was attempting to mount a serious title challenge, an under-strength Pontypool team was fielded. Pontypool did well in the first half, going into half time only 9 points adrift (22-13). The second half saw the 5,000 strong crowd witness some superb Fijian play and the tourists ran out easy winners by 74-16
In May 2003, the same scenario as the previous season occurred with both Pontypool and Aberavon locked in a two horse race for the title. Due to the clubs' original January fixture being rearranged, the league title would be decided in a winner-takes-all clash at the Talbot Athletic Ground on 13 May 2003. Pontypool defeated Aberavon 40-12 (outscoring the Wizards 5 tries to nil) and were crowned Welsh National League Division One Champions for season 2002–03.[15]
On 2 May 2003, Lenny Woodard scored a club record 7 tries in a 90–3 win against Treorchy RFC. His three tries against Aberavon in the 13 May game took his tally for the season to 44 (39 league tries and five in the Principality Cup) and earned him the accolade of having Pontypool's best try aggregate since the First World War, surpassing the 39 by David Bishop in 1983–84, but still falling behind the 55 obtained by wing Tom Robbins in 1913–14.
Pontypool were promoted to the Premier Division in 2003. However, due to the restructuring of Welsh rugby, this league would become secondary to the new
In May 2006 Pontypool finished bottom of the Premier Division and were relegated to Division One East
In the 2007/08 season Pontypool beat Beddau, the then Division One Champions, at Pontypool Park by 53-9 and were declared champions of
Since 2012
It was announced in September 2011 that the Premier Division would be reduced to 10 teams for the 2012–13 season.[17] The teams for the league would be decided on three factors. Firstly, the holding of an 'A Licence' based on stadium criteria. The signing of a 'Participation Agreement' and judged on league results over the previous six seasons.
It was announced that four clubs, Pontypool, Tonmawr, Bridgend and Carmarthen had not achieved the required criteria to be included into the new league. However, pressure from Ospreys and Scarlets backers led to the league being extended to 12 teams with Bridgend and Carmarthen included.[18] Tonmawr, citing financial reasons, opted not to take part in the new league at all and re-entered themselves into Division Six.[19]
Pontypool launched a legal challenge to avoid being the only team relegated but lost the case[20][21] despite the judge commenting that the WRU's changing of the structure was "against the rules" but that the WRU had the power to do so.[22] Pontypool was guaranteed to be safeguarded from relegation in the first season in the Championship regardless of their final position.[23]
Pontypool started the 2012/13 season poorly, losing all but one of their first twenty matches. However, their fortunes improved towards the end of the season, winning six of their last seven games. Pontypool ended the season in 12th place, above the two relegation places.[1][24]
Current squad
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Will Griffiths | Hooker
|
| Sam Scarfe | Hooker
|
| Kyan Best | Prop
|
| Sam Cochrane | Prop
|
| Ollie Drake | Prop
|
| Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths | Prop
|
| Peter Lloyd | Prop
|
| Kelvyn Williams | Prop
|
| Adam Brown | Second row
|
| Luke Fleming-Jones | Second row
|
| Lance Randall | Second row
|
| Ashley Sweet | Second row
|
| Callum Davies | Back row
|
| Alex Grey | Back row
|
| Michael Herbert | Back row
|
| Lewis Johnson | Back row
|
| Ieuan Jones | Back row
|
| Scott Matthews (c) | Back row
|
| Ben Moa | Back row
|
| Garin Price | Back row
|
| Adam Stratton | Back row
|
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Matthew Flanagan | Scrum-half
|
| Owain Leonard | Scrum-half
|
| Morgan Lloyd | Scrum-half
|
| Matthew Bancroft | Outside-half
|
| Matthew Jarvis | Outside-half
|
| Dylan Lewis | Centre
|
| Pat Lewis | Centre
|
| Joel Mahoney | Centre
|
| Duan Thomas | Centre
|
| Marcus Jones | Wing
|
| Amosa Nove | Wing
|
| Matthew Powell | Wing
|
| Ewan Rosser | Wing
|
| Deon Smith | Wing
|
| Huw Anderson | Fullback
|
| Ethan Davies | Fullback
|
Notable former players
The players named below are all internationally capped players who have played for Pontypool.
Club honours
- 1903–04; 1906–07 Monmouthshire League Champions
- 1913–14; 1920–21; 1931–32; 1958–59; 1972–73; 1974–75;[26] 1983–84; 1984–85; 1985–86; 1987–88 Welsh Unofficial Club Champions.(10 times)
- 1982–83 Welsh cup - Winners
- 1990–91 WRU Challenge Cup Runners-Up
- 2001–02 Welsh National League Division 1 - Runners-Up
- 2002–03 Welsh National League Division 1 - Champions
- 2007–08 WRU Division One East - Champions
- 2016–17; 2017–18; 2018-19, 2022-2023 WRU National Championship - Champions
Games played against international opposition
| Year | Date | Opponent | Result | Score | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 8 December |  New South Wales
|
Win | 6–3 | 1927–28 Waratahs tour of the British Isles, France and Canada[27]
|
| 1981 | 4 November |  Australia
|
Loss | 6–37 | 1981–82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland[28] |
| 1984 | 12 December | Australia
|
Loss | 18–24 | 1984 Australia tour of Britain and Ireland |
| 1989 | 18 October |  New Zealand
|
Loss | 6–47 | 1989 New Zealand tour of Canada and Britain |
| 2002 | 4 November |  Fiji
|
Loss | 16–74 | 2002 Fiji tour of Britain and Ireland |
References
- Parry-Jones, David (1989). The Rugby Clubs of Wales. Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-173850-1.
- Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.
- Thomas, J.B.G. (1980). The Illustrated History of Welsh Rugby. London: Pelham books Ltd. ISBN 0-7207-1268-8.
- ^ a b "SWALEC Championship | Welsh Rugby Union | Official Website : Table". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ^ BBC News (8 July 2004). "Wales' regional rugby map". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
- ^ "LOCAL AND MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.|1868-10-31|Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills - Welsh Newspapers".
- ^ "[No title]|1868-11-21|Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills - Welsh Newspapers".
- ^ "GREAT CONSERVATIVE VICTORY. FOOTBALL.|1869-01-16|Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills - Welsh Newspapers".
- ^ "PONTYPOOL.1|1879-09-18|South Wales Daily News - Welsh Newspapers".
- ^ Smith (1980), p. 43.
- ^ Smith (1980), p. 41.
- ^ a b Thomas (1980), p. 222.
- ^ Thomas (1980), p. 223.
- ^ "Pontypool Rugby Football Club - History". Pontypool RFC. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
- ^ Smith (1980), p. 209.
- ^ Smith (1980), p. 260.
- ^ Smith (1980), p. 443.
- ^ "Rugby: Get the latest rugby news from WalesOnline".
- ^ WRU: Round up Division One Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Premier Division to be Reduced to ten teams
- ^ Bridgend and Carmarthen to join extended league
- ^ Tonmawr drop out of league
- ^ Pontypool 'not good' enough for league
- ^ Pontypool lose legal challenge
- ^ "Pontypool RFC loses High Court relegation fight". BBC News. 11 July 2012.
- ^ WRU: Premiership Teams Confirmed
- ^ "Fixtures and Results 2012/2013 | Pontypool RFC". Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ^ "Meet the Team | Pontypool RFC". pontypoolrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ISBN 0-362-00221-5.
- ^ This game was a part of the tour. New South Wales was considered an Australia XV
- ISBN 0-907574-13-0.
External links
Welsh Premier Division teams | |
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| Governing body |
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| National teams |
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| Regional teams | |||||
| Regional and club competitions |
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| Previous competitions | |||||
| Related articles | |||||