West Wales Raiders
League 1 | |||
2022 season | 11th | ||
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Uniforms | |||
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The West Wales Raiders were a semi-professional rugby league club based in Llanelli, Wales. They competed in League 1, the third tier of the British rugby league system, from 2018 until 2022.
The club was founded in 2015 as an amateur club.[
History
In July 2017, West Wales Raiders owner Andrew Thorne bought League 1 club
In April 2018, the club were on the receiving end of a record score and losing margin when they lost 0–144 to
The West Wales Raiders finished the 2018 Betfred League 1 season winless and on negative points. The Rugby Football League imposed a four-point, retrospective deduction after the club pleaded guilty to breaching a number of Operational Rules regarding the fielding of ineligible players.[3]
The 2019 season saw the West Wales Raiders again finish at the foot of the table but a win was registered in a home match against Coventry Bears. In 2019 they played 20 league matches and won 1, lost 19, scoring a total of 222 points and conceding 1091.
In 2020 former Wales rugby union international Gavin Henson briefly came out of retirement and signed for the Raiders.[4]
In the 2021 League 1 season, West Wales finished bottom of the table failing to win a single game for the entire year. In the 2022 League 1 season, West Wales finished last on the table winning only one game for the entire year and losing their other 19 matches conceding 1196 points.[5]
On 22 December 2022 the joint owners of the club, Andrew Thorne and Peter Tiffin, announced that the club had withdrawn from League One and the Challenge Cup for 2023.[6]
Seasons
Season | League | Challenge Cup | Other competitions | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Play-offs | ||||
2018 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 176 | 2106 | −4 | 14th | Did not qualify | R3 | ||
2019 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 222 | 1091 | 2 | 11th | Did not qualify | R3 | 1895 Cup | R1 |
2020 | League abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic | R3 | ||||||||||
2021 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 238 | 942 | 1 | 10th | Did not qualify | R3[a] | 1895 Cup | R1 |
2022 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 140 | 1196 | 2 | 11th | Did not qualify | R2 |
Records
Overall | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
84 | 2 | 1 | 81 | 776 | 5335 | 1 | |
League only |
- Biggest win:
- 44-16 vs Coventry Bears(at Llanelli, 20 July 2019)
- 44-16 vs
- Biggest defeat:
- 144-0 vs York City Knights (at Bootham Crescent, 29 April 2018)
- 144-0 vs
Notes
- ^ Officially round 1 due to the competitions temporary restructure in 2021.
References
- ^ a b "New owners for South Wales Ironmen". Wales Rugby League. 13 July 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017.
- ^ "World's worst rugby league team?". wwos.nine.com.au. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "West Wales Raiders Deducted Four Points". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ Orders, Mark (19 September 2020). "Gavin Henson explains cross-code switch to rugby league". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Ben Flower to stay involved in rugby league as a coach". www.loverugbyleague.com. 9 October 2021.
- ^ Walker, Callum (22 December 2022). "West Wales Raiders owners release heartfelt statement following withdrawal of club from League One". TotalRL.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.