St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground, commonly known simply as St Helens Ground, is a sports venue in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea Council. Used mainly for rugby union and cricket, it has been the home ground of Swansea RFC and Swansea Cricket Club since it opened in 1873.
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| Location | Brynmill, Swansea, SA2 0AR | ||||
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| Coordinates | 51°36′45″N 3°57′56″W / 51.61250°N 3.96556°W | ||||
| Owner | City and County of Swansea Council | ||||
| Operator | Swansea Council | ||||
| Capacity | 4,500 | ||||
| Surface | Grass | ||||
| Construction | |||||
| Broke ground | 1873 | ||||
| Opened | 1873 | ||||
| Renovated | 2024-2025 | ||||
| Tenants | |||||
| Swansea RFC Swansea Cricket Club Swansea University RFC | |||||
| Ground information | |||||
| International information | |||||
| First ODI | 18 July 1973: England v  New Zealand | ||||
| Last ODI | 9 June 1983: Pakistan v  Sri Lanka | ||||
| Only WODI | 21 July 1973: Australia v  International XI | ||||
| Team information | |||||
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| As of 31 August 2020 Source: Cricinfo | |||||
In rugby union, St Helen's was the venue for the first ever home match of the Wales national team in 1882. It continued to be used regularly by Wales, often for the Five Nations Championship, until 1954, but has staged only one full international since, in 1997. More recently, the ground has been used by the Wales women's team.
Glamorgan County Cricket Club regularly used St Helen's as an outground from 1921 to 2019. The ground has staged two One Day Internationals: England against New Zealand in 1973, and a 1983 World Cup match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. St. Helen's was the location of Sir Garfield Sobers's six sixes in a single over in first-class cricket, the maximum possible runs in a single over, and the first time it had been done. In July 2024, Glamorgan announced it would not be returning to use the ground having not played there since 2019.[1]
St Helen's has also staged international matches in two other sports. In rugby league, Wales played thirteen matches at the ground between 1945 and 1978, two of which were part of the 1975 World Cup tournament. A football international between Wales and Ireland took place at St Helen's in 1894.
In the summer of 2024, it was announced the Ospreys rugby union team would be returning to the St. Helen's ground for the 2025/26 rugby season. However, before the move, the cricket infrastructure will be replaced with new stands for the rugby team, meaning Swansea CC will leave the stadium after around 150 years.
History
editSince the ground opened in 1873 it has been the home of the Swansea Rugby Football Club, and the Swansea Cricket Club.
On 19 June 1928 the ground was the venue of a mile race, for Swansea Grammar School's Sports Day, won by a teenage Dylan Thomas; he carried a newspaper photograph of his victory with him until his death.[2]
In 2005, the venue could hold an audience of 10,500 seated before it was re-developed. The famous east stand, which had provided cloisters over part of Oystermouth Road, has since been demolished and replaced with a metallic stand unloved by locals. In late November 2007, the ground's perimeter wall in the South East corner, next to Mumbles Road and Gorse Lane, was knocked down and a new wall built further inside the ground, in similar style to the old wall. This was to accommodate a new car park with 39 spaces for the Patti Pavilion.
St. Helen's Ground is claimed to be home to the tallest freestanding flood light in Europe, with the light in the north-eastern corner of the ground standing at 150ft (40m).[3]
After ongoing discussions between the Swansea Ospreys rugby union club and the city council of Swansea, in 2024 it was decided the Welsh rugby franchise, the Ospreys would replace Swansea Cricket Club as tenants of the St. Helen's ground from the 2025/26 rugby season. Swansea CC had occupied the stadium since 1875, and will be looking for a replacement. The stadium will be renovated in the year of 2024/25 with new stands and it will become an all purpose rugby field, with a specially designed 4G pitch. Swansea RFC and Swansea University RFC will continue to play rugby in the stadium.[4][5]
Rugby
editThe first home international in the history of Welsh rugby was played at St Helen's on 16 December 1882, against England.[6] The ground was the scene of New Zealand's first victory over Wales in 1924.[7] On 10 April 1954, St. Helen's staged its last international until a Test match between Wales and Tonga was also played at the ground in 1997.[7] The decision to abandon Swansea as an international rugby union venue in the 1950s was prompted by overstretch of what was then a 50,000-capacity ground; delays for players and spectators travelling west along the A48, especially at Port Talbot; and higher revenues from games at Cardiff Arms Park.[6] Swansea Corporation discussed raising the capacity to 70,000 or even 82,000, but wartime bomb damage inflicted on the city forced a revision of building priorities.[6] However, the ground has been used to host three Welsh women's internationals. The first women's international at Swansea was in April 1999 against England, and the most recent was in November 2009 when Wales defeated Sweden 56–7.
Swansea RFC defeated New Zealand 11–3 at St Helen's on 28 September 1935, becoming the first club side to beat the All Blacks. Swansea also defeated world champions Australia 21–6 in November 1992, when Australia played their first match of their Welsh Tour.
Between 1919 and 1952, St Helen's was also the home of Swansea Uplands RFC until the club sought its new home in Upper Killay.
During the 1975 Rugby League World Cup, Australia defeated Wales 18–6 in front of 11,112 fans (this match was broadcast throughout the United Kingdom by the BBC). The two sides again played at Swansea as part of the 1978 Kangaroo tour with the Kangaroos winning 8-3 before a crowd of 4,250.
Rugby league internationals
editList of international rugby league matches played at St Helen's.[8]
| Game# | Date | Result | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 November 1945 |  Wales def. England 26–10 |
30,000 | 1945–46 European Rugby League Championship |
| 2 | 16 November 1946 | England def. Wales 19–5 |
25,000 | 1946–47 European Rugby League Championship |
| 3 | 12 April 1947 | Wales def.  France 12–5 |
12,000 | |
| 4 | 18 October 1947 | New Zealand def. Wales 28–20 |
18,283 | 1947 Wales vs New Zealand |
| 5 | 6 December 1947 | England def. Wales 18–7 |
10,000 | 1947–48 European Rugby League Championship |
| 6 | 20 March 1948 | France def. Wales 20–12 |
6,462 | 1948–49 European Rugby League Championship |
| 7 | 20 November 1948 | Australia def. Wales 12–5 |
9,224 | 1948 Wales vs Australia |
| 8 | 5 February 1949 | Wales def. England 14–10 |
9,553 | 1948–49 European Rugby League Championship |
| 9 | 31 March 1951 | Other Nationalities def. Wales 27–21 |
5,000 | 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship |
| 10 | 16 February 1975 | Wales def. France 21–8 |
23,000 | 1975 European Rugby League Championship |
| 11 | 19 October 1975 | Australia def. Wales 18–6 |
11,112 | 1975 Rugby League World Cup |
| 12 | 2 November 1975 | Wales def. New Zealand 25–24 |
2,645 | 1975 Rugby League World Cup |
| 13 | 15 October 1978 | Australia def. Wales 8–3 |
4,250 | 1978 Wales vs Australia |
Football
editList of Wales International football matches played at St Helen's.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 February 1894[9][10] |  Ireland
|
4-1 | 7,000 | Played as part of the 1893-94 British Home Championship |
Cricket
edit
It was in this ground in 1968 that Garfield Sobers hit the first six sixes in one over in first-class cricket. Sobers was playing as captain of Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan.
As part of their commitment to the entire country of Wales, Glamorgan County Cricket Club play some of their home matches at St Helen's, as well as their regular home ground, SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, and Penrhyn Avenue in Rhos-on-Sea.
Wales Minor Counties Cricket Club, who have played minor counties cricket since 1988, use the ground as a home base. They are currently the only non-English team in the Minor Counties Championship.
International centuries
editA single ODI century has been scored at the venue.[11]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | Dennis Amiss | England |
121 | New Zealand |
18 July 1973 | Won |
References
edit- ^ "Glamorgan confirm St Helen's no longer a ground option". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "Dylan's Swansea". Dylanthomas.com. City and County of Swansea. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ "Why one man got a tattoo in honour of a floodlight". BBC News. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ "OSPREYS ANNOUNCE ST HELEN'S AS NEW HOME STADIUM". ospreysrugby.com. 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Ospreys choose St Helen's as new stadium home". bbc.com. 8 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise. Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 349–50. ISBN 0-7083-0827-9.
- ^ a b "On This Day - November". Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- ^ St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground at Rugby League Project
- ^ "Welsh Newspapers Online FOOTBALL.|1894-03-01|The Aberystwith Observer - Welsh Newspapers Online". newspapers.library.wales. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Welsh Newspapers Online". newspapers.library.wales. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "St Helen's, Swansea / Records / One-Day Internationals / High scores". Retrieved 1 January 2017.