St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground
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| Location | Brynmill, Swansea, SA2 0AR | ||||
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| Coordinates | 51°36′45″N 3°57′56″W / 51.61250°N 3.96556°W | ||||
| Owner | City and County of Swansea Council | ||||
| Operator | Swansea Council | ||||
| Capacity | 4,500 | ||||
| Surface | Grass | ||||
| Construction | |||||
| Broke ground | 1873 | ||||
| Opened | 1873 | ||||
| Tenants | |||||
| Swansea RFC Swansea Cricket Club | |||||
| Ground information | |||||
| International information | |||||
| First ODI | 18 July 1973: England v  New Zealand | ||||
| Last ODI | 9 June 1983: Pakistan v  Sri Lanka | ||||
| Only WODI | 21 July 1973: Australia v  International XI | ||||
| Team information | |||||
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| As of 31 August 2020 Source: Cricinfo | |||||
St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground, commonly known simply as St Helens Ground, is a sports venue in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea Council. Used mainly for rugby union and cricket, it has been the home ground of Swansea RFC and Swansea Cricket Club since it opened in 1873.
In rugby union, St Helen's was the venue for the first ever home match of the
St Helen's has also staged international matches in two other sports. In
History
Since the ground opened in 1873 it has been the home of the Swansea Rugby Football Club, and the Swansea Cricket Club.
On 19 June 1928 the ground was the venue of a mile race, for Swansea Grammar School's Sports Day, won by a teenage Dylan Thomas; he carried a newspaper photograph of his victory with him until his death.[1]
In 2005, the venue could hold an audience of 10,500 seated before it was re-developed. The famous east stand, which had provided cloisters over part of Oystermouth Road, has since been demolished and replaced with a metallic stand unloved by locals. In late November 2007, the ground's perimeter wall in the South East corner, next to Mumbles Road and Gorse Lane, was knocked down and a new wall built further inside the ground, in similar style to the old wall. This was to accommodate a new car park with 39 spaces for the Patti Pavilion.
St. Helen's Ground is claimed to be home to the tallest freestanding
Rugby
The first home international in the history of Welsh rugby was played at St Helen's on 16 December 1882, against
Swansea RFC defeated New Zealand 11–3 at St Helen's on 28 September 1935, becoming the first club side to beat the All Blacks. Swansea also defeated world champions Australia 21–6 in November 1992, when Australia played their first match of their Welsh Tour.
Between 1919 and 1952, St Helen's was also the home of
During the
Rugby league internationals
List of international rugby league matches played at St Helen's.[5]
| Game# | Date | Result | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 November 1945 |  Wales def. England 26–10 |
30,000 | European Rugby League Championship
|
| 2 | 16 November 1946 | England def. Wales 19–5 |
25,000 | European Rugby League Championship
|
| 3 | 12 April 1947 | Wales def.  France 12–5 |
12,000 | European Rugby League Championship
|
| 4 | 18 October 1947 | New Zealand def. Wales 28–20 |
18,283 | 1947 Wales vs New Zealand |
| 5 | 6 December 1947 | England def. Wales 18–7 |
10,000 | European Rugby League Championship
|
| 6 | 20 March 1948 | France def. Wales 20–12 |
6,462 | European Rugby League Championship
|
| 7 | 20 November 1948 | Australia def. Wales 12–5 |
9,224 | 1948–49 Kangaroo Tour |
| 8 | 5 February 1949 | Wales def. England 14–10 |
9,553 | European Rugby League Championship
|
| 9 | 31 March 1951 | Other Nationalities def. Wales 27–21 |
5,000 | European Rugby League Championship
|
| 10 | 16 February 1975 | Wales def. France 21–8 |
23,000 | European Rugby League Championship
|
| 11 | 19 October 1975 | Australia def. Wales 18–6 |
11,112 | 1975 Rugby League World Cup |
| 12 | 2 November 1975 | Wales def. New Zealand 25–24 |
2,645 | 1975 Rugby League World Cup |
| 13 | 15 October 1978 | Australia def. Wales 8–3 |
4,250 | 1978 Kangaroo Tour |
Football
List of Wales International football matches played at St Helen's.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 February 1894[6][7] |  Ireland
|
4-1 | 7,000 | Played as part of the 1893-94 British Home Championship |
Cricket
It was in this ground in 1968 that Garfield Sobers hit the first six sixes in one over in first-class cricket. Sobers was playing as captain of Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan.
As part of their commitment to the entire country of
.International centuries
A single ODI century has been scored at the venue.[8]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | Dennis Amiss | England |
121 | New Zealand |
18 July 1973 | Won |
References
- ^ "Dylan's Swansea". Dylanthomas.com. City and County of Swansea. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ "Why one man got a tattoo in honour of a floodlight". BBC News. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ ISBN 0-7083-0827-9.
- ^ a b "On This Day - November". Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- ^ St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground at Rugby League Project
- ^ "Welsh Newspapers Online FOOTBALL.|1894-03-01|The Aberystwith Observer - Welsh Newspapers Online". newspapers.library.wales. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Welsh Newspapers Online". newspapers.library.wales. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "St Helen's, Swansea / Records / One-Day Internationals / High scores". Retrieved 1 January 2017.
External links
- cricinfo: St Helen's
- Glamorgan Cricket Club: St Helen's
- Cricket Archive: St Helen's Archived 2013-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
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