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Bedwas RFC

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Bedwas RFC
Full nameBedwas Rugby Football Club
Founded1889; 135 years ago (1889)
LocationBedwas, Wales
Ground(s)The Bridge Field (Capacity: 2,000[1])
League(s)Welsh Championship
2018-1913th Welsh Premier Division
Team kit
Official website
www.bedwasrfc.co.uk

Bedwas RFC (Welsh: Clwb Rygbi Bedwas) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Bedwas. Bedwas has two senior teams, their 1st XV competing in the Welsh Championship and their development side, the Bedwas Barbarians. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for Dragons regional team.[2]

Club history

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Like many Welsh rugby teams the origin of the club is difficult to piece together having been formed by local workers rather than by a college or university. There is some evidence that a team played in Bedwas as early as 1885, though official recognition of Bedwas RFC is placed at 1889.

Bedwas RFC was a founding member of both the Junior Monmouthshire League (1903) and the Rhymney Valley League (1906), and in 1910 applied for and succeeded in joining the Welsh Rugby Union. At the outbreak of World War I (1914) rugby ceased in most of South Wales and this was true of Bedwas. After the war a period of rebuilding occurred with the club based initially at the Church Inn before moving to Bridge End Inn during the 1920–21 season. During this period Bedwas RFC enjoyed connections with local colliery owner and airline magnate Sir Samuel Instone.[3]

1926 saw a great economic depression in South Wales and as local young men left to find work in more prosperous areas, rugby in Bedwas waned.

Post World War II saw a rebuilding of rugby in Bedwas and in 1947 the club acquired Bridge field and an ex-Ministry of Works long hut which became the club house. In 1960 the club formed a youth team. Bedwas also have a very successful seconds side which remains undefeated in the 2007–08 season.

In 2007, Bedwas were the only club in the Welsh Premier League to be threatened with relegation due to them initially failing a facilities review conducted by the WRU.[4]

Current squad

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Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Kieran Crawford Hooker Wales Wales
Elliot Dee Hooker Wales Wales
Alan Fowler Hooker Wales Wales
Matthew Pettit Prop Wales Wales
Phil Price Prop Wales Wales
Scott Roberts Prop Wales Wales
Royce Cadman Lock England England
Gareth Knight Lock Wales Wales
Phillip Williams Lock Wales Wales
James Murphy Lock Wales Wales
Rob Carter Flanker Wales Wales
Sam Feehan Flanker Wales Wales
Richard Jenkins Flanker Wales Wales
Brendon Lampitt Flanker Wales Wales
Phil Sargent Flanker Wales Wales
Rhys Watkins Flanker Wales Wales
James Benjamin Number 8 Wales Wales
Deri Mattravers Number 8 Wales Wales
Andrew Tibbatts Number 8 Wales Wales
Player Position Union
Joshua Davies Scrum-half Wales Wales
Luc Jones Scrum-half Wales Wales
James Pizey Scrum-half Wales Wales
David Walsh Scrum-half Wales Wales
Ethan Davies Fly-half Wales Wales
Adam Greendale Fly-half England England
Chris Wannell Fly-half Wales Wales
Ross Wardle Fly-half Wales Wales
Tom Cooper Centre England England
Jack Dixon Centre Wales Wales
George Gasson Centre Wales Wales
Charlie Johnson Centre Wales Wales
Kristian Owen Centre Wales Wales
Dan Dearden Wing Wales Wales
Elliot Foils Wing Wales Wales
Nathan Hill Wing Wales Wales
Dan Hitchings Wing Wales Wales
Jamie Jones Wing Wales Wales
Ryan Owen Wing Wales Wales
Matthew Pizey Wing Wales Wales
Hallam Amos Fullback Wales Wales
Stuart Thomas Fullback Wales Wales
Gethin Worgan Fullback Wales Wales

Notable former players

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The following players have represented Bedwas and have been capped at international level.

See also Category:Bedwas RFC players

References

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  1. ^ "World Stadiums - Stadiums in the United Kingdom :: Wales". Archived from the original on 2010-03-27. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  2. ^ BBC News (2004-07-08). "Wales' regional rugby map". BBC. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  3. ^ Rugby in Wales
  4. ^ "Bedwas RFC face relegation threat". 2007-03-13. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
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