Blaenavon Rugby Football Club are a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 club based in the town of Blaenavon

Blaenavon

Blaenavon is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Lwyd north of Pontypool, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. The town lies high on a hillside and has a population of 6,349 people...

, South Wales. Blaenavon RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union

Welsh Rugby Union

The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...

 and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons

Newport Gwent Dragons

Newport Gwent Dragons are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup...

.

Blaenavon RFC first game was against local rivals Abergavenny on Thursday November 8, 1877 and ended in a draw. An infamous event in the history of Blaenavon RFC was during the final of the Godfrey Jones Cup in April 1926. The competition had been devised 'to improve Welsh rugby via the running game', but the 1926 final was an ugly and vicious affair, and although Blaenavon beat Cross Keys

Cross Keys RFC

Cross Keys RFC is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons.- History :...

 6-5, the referee sent six players off before the final whistle.

In December 1947 a combined Pontypool

Pontypool RFC

Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool. Pontypool RFC has a long history within Welsh rugby and is one of the most notable clubs, being present at the formation of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881, but disbanding before the turn of the 19th century...

, Talywain

Talywain RFC

Talywain Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in Talywain near the town of Pontypool, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons....

 and Blaenavon side played against the Australian national team at Pontypool Park as part of a post-war rebuilding tour. The game ended with Australia winning 9-7. A photo and a programme are displayed in Blaenavon R.F.C. club house
Blaenavon Rugby Football Club was founded in 1877, and over the past 130 years,we have provided, many players for the W.R.U. and Premier divisions.

1962 - 1963 Season. Blaenavon RFC become Ben Francis Cup Winners against Talywain. The First team now play in the W.R.U. SWALEC League Division 4 East after gaining promotion in the 2009/10 season.

Notable former players

See also :Category:Blaenavon RFC players

• Reg Skrimshire
  Reg Skrimshire
  Reginald "Reg" Truscott Skrimshire was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby for Kent. He won three caps for Wales and was the only Welsh representative on the 1903 British Isles tour.- Rugby career :Skrimshire was born in Crickhowell in 1878,...
  
   1899 Wales (3 caps) and British Lions.
• Cecil Pritchard 1928-1929 Wales (4 caps)
• Hubert Day
  Hubert Day
  Hubert Day was a rugby hooker who played rugby union for Newport and rugby league for Salford. He was awarded five caps for Wales under union rules and was part of the Welsh side that won the 1931 Five Nations Championship...
  
   1930-1931 Wales (5 caps)
• Ken Jones - 1947-1957 Wales (45 caps) British Lions, Barbarians, Newport and Empire Games medalist.
• Allan Lewis - 1966-1967 Wales (6 caps) and British Lions, Abertillery.
• Allen Forward
  Allen Forward
  Allen Forward was a Welsh rugby union forward who favoured the position of flanker. Forward played club rugby for Pontypool and various Police teams. He played in six internationals for Wales and was part of the 1952 Grand Slam winning side...
  
   - Wales and Pontypool
• Fenton Coles - 1960 Wales (3 caps)& Pontypool
• Colin Evans
  Colin Evans (rugby)
  Colin Evans was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1960s who at representative level played rugby union for Wales, and at club level for Pontypool RFC, playing at Scrum-half, i.e...
  
   - 1960 Wales (rugby union) (1 cap), 1963-1969 Wales (rugby league) (2 caps)
• Terry Cobner
  Terry Cobner
  Terence "Terry" John Cobner is a former Welsh international rugby union player and British Lion. He was born in Blaenavon, Monmouthshire and currently lives in Pontypool.- Welsh international and British Lion :...
  
   - Wales , British Lions, Barbarians and Pontypool.
• John Perkins
  John Perkins (rugby player)
  John Perkins is a former international rugby union player.Perkins made his debut for Wales on 19 February 1983 versus Scotland. He played club rugby for Pontypool RFC.- References :...
  
   - Wales and Pontypool.
• Laurie Daniel
  Laurie Daniel
  Laurance "Laurie" Thomas David Daniel is a former international rugby union player.Daniel made his debut for Wales on 7 February 1970 versus Scotland. He played club rugby for Newport RFC and Pontypool RFC.- References :...
  
   - 1970 Wales (1 cap)
• Mark Taylor
  Mark Taylor (rugby player)
  Mark Taylor is a former Wales international rugby union player who played at centre. He is a former captain of Wales and was the first person to score a try at the newly built Millennium Stadium against South Africa in 1999. He signed for Sale Sharks from Llanelli Scarlets in April 2005 and in...
  
  - Wales , Barbarians and Swansea. Mark scored the first international try at the Millennium Stadium against South Africa.
• Chris Huish - Wales B , Barbarians and Pontypool.

Blaenavon RFC have also provided many player over the years, that have gone on to play for Newport RFC without obtaining international status:

• Ivor Taylor - Played in the side that beat Australia in 1966
• Keith Poole - Played in the team that beat the All Blacks in 1963 , and went on to play in the winning Newport RFC sides against Australia and South Africa and were never on a losing side playing against the Southern Hemisphere tourists.
• Tommy Deans played for Cardiff RFC and Glamorgan County
• F Dibble - Somerset 1909
• R Dibble - Somerset 1910
• Noel Williams - Played for Pontypool RFc & Cardiff RFC
• Numerous players went on to play for Monmouthshire County and Monmouthshire Union teams.

In 1960 Blaenavon R.F.C. had provided all three scrum halves for the three Welsh teams that year

Colin Evans - Wales Senior Cap
Allen Lewis - Wales Youth Cap
Owen Freeman - Wales Schoolboy Cap

They were all three international scrum halves that year and had had all played for Blaenavon R.F.C. at scrum half.