Pontypool RFC
Encyclopedia
Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh 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...

 team based in the town of Pontypool
Pontypool
Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....

. 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
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...

 in 1881, but disbanding before the turn of the 19th century. The club reformed in 1901, the club's accepted formation date, and produced many notable Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 and British Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...

 international players; most notably the Jones brothers in the early 20th century and the Pontypool Front Row of Charlie Faulkner, Graham Price and Bobby Windsor in the 1970s. The club's 'Golden Era' is generally accepted as the 1970s and 80s when under the coaching of Ray Prosser the first team won the Welsh Club Championship in 1973 and 1975.

Today Pontypool RFC play in the Welsh Premier Division
Welsh Premier Division
The Welsh Premier Division is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union for the 1990–91 season.-Competition history:...

, is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union 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...

. Pontypool play their home matches at Pontypool Park
Pontypool Park
Pontypool Park is a park containing predominantly mature trees with some open meadowland located in Pontypool, south Wales. The park was formerly the grounds of Pontypool House and was laid out in the closing years of the 17th century for Major John Hanbury, the local ironmaster, who is closely...

.

Early history

Although the club state that their formation date is 1868, there is no written proof to substantiate the claim. The club was definitely in existence in the later 19th century, with Cardiff playing a team called Peglers Pontypool during the 1877-78 season and a Pontypool club were one of six teams that created the South Wales Cup competition that same season. In 1881, Pontypool was one of the eleven clubs present at the formation 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...

 in Neath, 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. Pontypool RFC played their first official match at the Recreation Ground against Cardiff Romilly on 21 September 1901, and by 1904 the club had won the Monmouthshire League. 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.

Pontypool's first international player to be capped directly from the club was Cliff Pritchard
Cliff Pritchard
Cliff Pritchard was a Welsh international centre who played club rugby for Newport RFC and Pontypool RFC. Pritchard was capped on five occasions and scored two tries for his country...

, 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
1906 Home Nations Championship
The 1906 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-fourth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 13 January and 17 March...

. Closely following Pritchard were the Jones brothers, David
David Phillips Jones
David Phillips Jones more commonly known as Ponty' Jones was a Welsh international rugby union wing player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Pontypool and London Welsh. He won a single cap for Wales in 1907.Jones was a mining surveyor by profession, and was also a classically...

 (known as 'Ponty' Jones), Jack
Jack Jones (rugby player)
John "Jack" Phillips Jones was a Welsh international centre who played club rugby for Pontypool Rugby Club and Newport Rugby Football Club. He won 14 caps for Wales and was known as The Prince of Centres.-Rugby career:...

 and 'Tuan'
James Phillips Jones
James 'Tuan' Jones was a Welsh international rugby union utility player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Pontypool and Guy's Hospital...

. 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 England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The club's second Welsh Club Championship came in 1920/21. In the 1921-22 season Pontypool RFC began with only seven players available to them on their roster as players moved to clubs that paid a wage to play. Pontypool RFC continued to struggle through the 1920s, even though their success on the field was impressive. In 1927 Pontypool were victorious against the Waratahs
New South Wales Waratahs
The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...

 and the Maoris
New Zealand Maori rugby union team
New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...

 but were two thousand pounds in debt, and the WRU's refusal to allow them a fixture against the South African national team
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...

 caused local resentment. However Pontypool won back-to-back Welsh Club Championships in seasons 1931/32 and then 1932/33.

Post war years

In December 1947 a combined Pontypool, 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
Blaenavon RFC
Blaenavon Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in the town of Blaenavon, South Wales. Blaenavon RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons....

 side played against the Australian national team at Pontypool Park as part of a post-war rebuilding tour. The game ended 0-0. In 1958/59 season the club won the Western Mail's Unofficial Welsh Club Championship. Before the end of the century Pontypool won the Championship another five times in 1972/73, 1974/75, 1983/84, 1984/85 and in 1987/88 with a win percentage of 97.2%.

The great days of Pontypool RFC were in the 1970s and 1980s, when Ray Prosser
Ray Prosser
Thomas Raymond 'Ray' Prosser was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Pontypool and was capped 22 times for Wales. Prosser also represented the British Lions in their 1959 tour of Australia and New Zealand, and played invitational rugby for the Barbarians...

 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 Pontypool Front Row
We All Had Doctors' Papers
We All Had Doctors' Papers is a live album by Welsh comedian and singer Max Boyce, first issued in 1975. It was his fourth album release and followed his break through recording Live at Treorchy. The album contains a mixture of comedic and traditional songs, along with Boyce's interactions with...

celebrated in song by Max Boyce
Max Boyce
Maxwell Boyce MBE is a Welsh comedian, singer and former coal miner. He rose to fame during the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in the mining communities of South Wales...

. The Pontypool Front Row also known as the "Viet Gwent", (motto "We may go down; we may go up; but we never go back") was made up of Graham Price, Bobby Windsor and Charlie Faulkner and played as a unit 19 times for Wales, only finishing on the losing side four times. They also played as a unit for the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...

 in several midweek matches, though never in a British Lions test match.

Modern game

In the 2007/08 season Pontypool RFC was declared champions of Division One East
WRU Division One East
The Welsh Rugby Union Division One East is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented for the 1995/96 season.- Competition:There are 12 clubs in the WRU Division One East...

 and gained promotion to the Premiership Division unopposed as WRU Division One West
WRU Division One West
The Welsh Rugby Union Division One West is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented for the 1995/96 season.- Competition:There are 12 clubs in the WRU Division One West...

 champion's, Tonmawr RFC
Tonmawr RFC
Tonmawr are a Welsh rugby union club based in Tonmawr, Neath Port Talbot in South Wales. They won the Asda Division One West in 2009-2010 and for the 2010-2011 season were promoted to the Welsh Premiership...

, failed to achieve criteria laid out by the Welsh Rugby Union to allow membership of the Premier Division. Therefore Tonmawr were not invited to contest the single promotion place against Pontypool RFC in a play off game.

Demotion in 2012

It was announced in September 2011 that Pontypool, along with 3 other Premiership clubs, have missed out on a place in the reduced 10-team Welsh Premiership from season 2012/13. Instead they will participate in a new league below the Premiership (the National Championship) from September 2012. The entry criteria for the new reduced Premiership was the average league position over the previous 6 year period. Pontypool did not come in the top ten teams and thus lost out. Pontypool, along with the other demoted clubs Carmarthen Quins RFC, Bridgend Ravens and Tonmawr RFC will all be safeguarded from relegation in the first season in the Championship regardless of their final position.

Notable former players

See also :Category:Pontypool RFC players

Roger Addison
Roger Addison
Roger Addison was a Welsh rugby union player. A prop forward forward, he represented Wales at Youth level and played club rugby for Pontypool RFC....

 Morgan Allen
Morgan Allen (rugby player)
Morgan Allen is a rugby union player for Swansea RFC and the Ospreys regional team. He has represented Wales at Under 18 and Under 20 level.His father, Andy Allen, represented Wales on three occasions in 1990....

 Frank Andrews
Frank Andrews (rugby)
Frank Andrews was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1910s who at representative level played rugby union for Wales, and at club level for Pontypool RFC, playing in the Back row, i.e. Flanker or Number eight, and at club level played rugby league for Hunslet...

 David Bishop Eddie Butler
Eddie Butler (rugby player)
Edward Thomas "Eddie" Butler is a journalist, sports commentator, and former Welsh Rugby Union player, who won 16 caps for the team between 1980 and 1984 and scored 2 tries. Butler was educated at Monmouth School and Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge...

 Ray Cale
Ray Cale
William Raymond "Ray" Cale was a dual code rugby international for Wales with the international rugby union and rugby league teams.-Rugby union:...

 Ray Cheney
Ray Cheney
-Early years:Ray was born in Porth in the Rhondda. He showed exceptional all round sporting abilities and played football at Ton Pentre for Ton Pentre F.C....

 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 :...

 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 :...

 William Dowell
William Dowell
William Dowell was a Welsh international, dual-code rugby player who played rugby union for Newport and Pontypool and rugby league with Warrington RLFC...

 Kevin Ellis Arthur 'Candy' Evans
Candy Evans
Arthur 'Candy' Evans was a Welsh miner, boxer, dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s and '30s who at representative level played rugby union for Wales, and at club level for Pontypool RFC, playing at Lock, i.e...

 Charlie Faulkner
Charlie Faulkner
Anthony George "Charlie" Faulkner was a rugby union player of the 1970s and later a rugby coach.He was born Anthony George Faulkner in Newport, Monmouthshire in February 1941.- Wales caps :...

 Byron Hayward
Byron Hayward
Byron Idris Hayward was an international rugby union full back who played for Wales and Wales A. He had an impressive debut for Wales scoring three tries in his first international match against Zimbabwe. Hayward caused controversy in 2000 by refusing to play against Scotland A in Bridgend because...

 Chris Huish Martin Jágr
Martin Jágr
Martin Jágr is a Czech rugby union footballer. He is nicknamed "Jaguar". His position on the field is on the wing...

 Harry Jarman
Harry Jarman
Harry Jarman was a Welsh international forward who played club rugby for Newport and Pontypool. He won four caps for Wales and also played for the British Isles in their 1910 tour of South Africa...

  Cliff Jones
Cliff Jones (rugby player)
Clifford 'Cliff' William Jones OBE was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for many teams but is most associated with Cardiff and Cambridge University...

 Jack Jones
Jack Jones (rugby player)
John "Jack" Phillips Jones was a Welsh international centre who played club rugby for Pontypool Rugby Club and Newport Rugby Football Club. He won 14 caps for Wales and was known as The Prince of Centres.-Rugby career:...

 James Phillips Jones
James Phillips Jones
James 'Tuan' Jones was a Welsh international rugby union utility player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Pontypool and Guy's Hospital...

 Ken Jones Mark Jones
Mark Jones (rugby player born 1965)
Mark Alun Jones is a Welsh former dual-code international professional rugby union and rugby league footballer, who at representative level has played rugby union for Wales, and at club level for Tredegar RFC, Tredegar Ironsides RFC, Neath RFC, Ebbw Vale RFC, Pontypool RFC, Aberavon RFC, playing...

 Percy Jones
Percy Jones (rugby player)
Percy Jones was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Pontypool and Newport. He was awarded eight caps for Wales and faced the touring with South Africans...

 Staff Jones
Staff Jones
Stephen Thomas "Staff" Jones, is a former Wales rugby union international. A prop forward, he briefly played for Pontypridd RFC before making hundreds of appearances for Pontypool RFC in the 1980s, often in partnership with Steve Jones....

 Steve Jones Bobby Lloyd
Bobby Lloyd
Robert "Bobby" Lloyd was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Pontypool and county rugby for Monmouthshire. He won seven caps for Wales and played in the 1913 and 1914 Five Nations Championships...

 Harry Peacock
Harry Peacock
Harry Peacock was a Welsh international rugby union flanker who played rugby union for Newport. He won six caps for Wales and faced two international touring teams with Newport....

 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 :...

 Graham Price
Graham Price
Graham Price MBE is a former Welsh rugby union player who won 41 caps for as a prop forward.- Education :...

 Malcolm Price
Malcolm Price
Malcolm John Price is a Welsh former dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1950s and '60s who at representative level has played rugby union for British Lions, and Wales, and at club level for Pontypool RFC, playing at Centre, i.e...

 Cliff Pritchard
Cliff Pritchard
Cliff Pritchard was a Welsh international centre who played club rugby for Newport RFC and Pontypool RFC. Pritchard was capped on five occasions and scored two tries for his country...

 Ray Prosser
Ray Prosser
Thomas Raymond 'Ray' Prosser was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Pontypool and was capped 22 times for Wales. Prosser also represented the British Lions in their 1959 tour of Australia and New Zealand, and played invitational rugby for the Barbarians...

  Tom Rees
Tom Rees (rugby player born 1913)
Thomas Rees was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Newport RFC. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1935 touring All Blacks.-Rugby career:...

 Cliff Richards
Cliff Richards (rugby player)
William Clifford 'Cliff' Richards was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Pontypool and Swansea and represented Wales at international level. Richards was a coal miner by trade, and worked in the pits all his adult life...

 Mark Ring
Mark Ring
Mark Gerarde Ring played rugby union for Cardiff RFC, Pontypool RFC and Wales between 1982 and 1996. He was regarded as among the most gifted players of his generation but his career was hampered by serious injury.- Club career :...

 Clive Rowlands
Clive Rowlands
Clive Rowlands OBE is a former Welsh rugby union footballer and later coach.A teacher by profession, Rowlands played club rugby at scrum-half for Abercraf, Pontypool, Llanelli and Swansea...

 Jeff Squire
Jeff Squire
Jeffrey Squire in Newport, Monmouthshire, is a former Welsh international rugby union player and British Lion.-Club career:...

 Bill Tamplin
Bill Tamplin
William Ewart 'Bill' Tamplin was a Welsh international rugby union lock who played club rugby for Cardiff. He won seven caps for Wales and captained his country in their victory over the 1947 touring Australian team....

 Bleddyn Taylor
Bleddyn Taylor
Bleddyn Taylor was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Swansea RFC, Pontypool RFC, Neath RFC, Llanelli RFC, and Dunvant RFC...

 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...

 Iestyn Thomas
Iestyn Thomas
Iestyn Thomas is a Welsh rugby union footballer, who currently plays as a prop for the Scarlets in the RaboDirect Pro12.- Club career :...

 Rees Thomas
Rees Thomas
Rees Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union back row player who was utilised usually as a flanker or Number 8. Thomas played club rugby for Pontypool and county rugby for Monmouthshire...

 Paul Turner
Paul Turner (rugby player)
Paul Turner , is a former Wales international rugby union player and the former head coach of Welsh regional side Newport Gwent Dragons.- Playing career :...

 David Watkins Bobby Windsor
Bobby Windsor
Robert William Windsor , known as Bobby and nicknamed "The Duke", is a former rugby union player who gained 28 rugby union caps for Wales as a hooker between 1973 and 1979...

 

Club honours

  • 1913-14; 1920–21; 1931–32; 1958–59; 1972–73; 1974–75; 1983-84; 1984–85; 1985–86; 1987-88 Welsh Unofficial Club Champions.(10 times)
  • 1982-83 Welsh cup
    WRU Challenge Cup
    The WRU Challenge Cup , or its full name of the Welsh Rugby Union Challenge Cup, is Wales' premier knockout rugby union competition and is organised by the Welsh Rugby Union....

     - winners
  • 1990-91 WRU Challenge Cup runners-up
  • 2002-03 Welsh National League Division 1 - Champions
  • 2007-08 WRU Division One East - Champions

Games played against international opposition

Year Date Opponent Result Score Tour
1981 4 November Loss 6-37 1981-82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland
1981-82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland
The 1981-82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of matches played by the Australia national rugby union team . The touring team played twenty-three matches between October 1981 and January 1982, winning sixteen games, drawing one and losing six...

1984 12 December Loss 18-24 1984 Australia tour of Britain and Ireland
1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland
The 1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of eighteen matches played by the Australia national rugby union team in Britain and Ireland between 17 October and 15 December 1984...

1989 18 October Loss 6-47 1989 All Blacks tour of the British Isles and Canada

External links

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