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]

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

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