History of Rugby Union in Wales
Rugby union is the national sport of Wales and is considered a large part of national culture. Rugby is thought to have reached Wales in the 1850s, with the nationa body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) being formed in 1880. The national team play out of the WRU-owned Millennium Stadium, and compete annually in the Six Nations Championship, as well as having competed at every Rugby World Cup.
Buy
rugby kit and memorabilia online - click here
Rugby-like games have a long history in Wales, with games such as cnapan being played for centuries. Rugby seems to have reached Wales in the 1850s. Although several clubs had been in existence since the mid 1870s the Welsh Football Union (later renamed Welsh Rugby Union) was not formed until 1880. Wales have played in red since 1880 prior to this they had worn black. However the strength of Welsh rugby developed over the following years, primarily thanks to the 'big four' South Wales clubs of Newport (who lost only seven games between 1891 and 1895), Cardiff, Llanelli (who lost just twice in 1894 and 1895) and Swansea.
The undeniable highpoint of Welsh rugby was the 1970s, when Wales had players such as Barry John, Gareth Edwards, Phil Bennett, Tommy David and JPR Williams. Wales won four consecutive Triple Crowns. All of these players are considered legends, especially Edwards, who was voted the greatest player of all time in a players poll in 2003, and scored what is widely regarded as the greatest try of all time in 1973 for the Barbarians against New Zealand.
Many attributed Welsh success to the fact that their forwards were toughened by manual work, according to the theory when Welsh industry declined and players started to be drawn from 'soft jobs' the team suffered. The legendarily strong Pontypool front row of Graham Price, Bobby Windsor & Charlie Faulkner were all manual workers, and Robin McBryde was formerly the holder of the title of Wales's strongest man.
The 1980s and early '90s were a difficult time for Welsh rugby union when the team suffered many defeats. Harsh economic times in the eighties meant that players such as Jonathan Davies and Scott Gibbs were always tempted to 'go North' to play professional rugby league in order to earn a living. They often faced social ostracism as a result as many believed that they were traitors to Wales. Professionalism has halted this flow of players, but the Welsh Rugby Union is still relatively poor, citing lack of funds as the reason for the recent demise of the Celtic Warriors regional team.
The choral tradition of Wales manifests itself at rugby games in singing. Popular songs among the fans are 'Delilah' by Tom Jones, 'Cwm Rhondda' and 'Calon Lan'. Considering the small size of Wales, it has had a disproportionate impact on the game, providing many legendary British and Irish Lions and Barbarians players, as well as fighting well above its weight in the international game.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
