Rhiwbina Living Issue 57

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sport the story of Welsh rugby Cardiff has been home to Welsh rugby for more than a century. This is the story from its roots in the late 1800s through to the modern game Sport divides and it unites. As far as Welsh culture goes, rugby is part of its very soul. Sport goes a long way back in Welsh history. In fact, the earliest documented source for a group ball game in Great Britain actually comes from Wales. Historia Brittonum (The History of the Britons), written in the ninth century, depicts group ball games after the Romans had left Britain. Cnapan was a Celtic medieval form of football around that time. The sport was one of the ball games traditionally played to celebrate Shrovetide and Eastertide within the British Isles. Rugby union is believed to have reached Wales during the 1850s, when the Reverend Professor Rowland Williams brought the game with him from Cambridge to St. David's College, Lampeter. The college fielded the first Welsh rugby team later that year. In September, 1875, the South Wales Football Union was created ‘with the intention of playing matches with the principal clubs in the West of England and the neighbourhood – the rugby rules will be the adopted code.' Rugby union spread throughout the industrial south Wales valleys not long after, brought there by former college students who had played the game during their education away from home in England. At a time when soccer was flourishing in other parts of the UK, rugby union was taking Wales by storm. By 1892, there were 70 rugby clubs in south Wales alone, and by 14 1905, Cardiff had over 200 known teams. The Welsh Rugby Union was formed in 1881 to help facilitate the game more formally and out of the many clubs that were being formed, there rose some of the larger clubs throughout south Wales, such as Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelli, and Newport. Known as the 'Big Four'; these clubs led the way in the game's development. It's been argued that the game's popularity could be down to the fact that rugby had originally been embraced by the betteroff students that attended the universities in the south and the west of the country. It would also explain why rugby never gained the same affection in the north of the country. South Wales was also a heavily industrialised part of the UK, and its workers were traditionally involved in more manual labour. This meant that they already had a physical advantage over other players who were perhaps in more white-collar work. Rugby was embraced by the working class as it gave them a sense of identity. At a more local level, many clubs were also being created from work places and social groups. As industrialisation spread and the towns and cities expanded, so too did the number of clubs popping up in the communities. Here in the capital, Cardiff Rugby Football Club was founded in 1876 following at meeting at Swiss Hall, Queen St. The club was the amalgamation of two clubs, Glamorgan and Cardiff Wanderers, and their first competitive game took place against Newport at Wentloog Marshes in December of that year. The club's home games were initially played at Sophia Gardens but they subsequently relocated to Cardiff Arms Park, named after the nearby pub. Originally the Arms Park had a cricket ground to the north and a rugby union stadium to the south and the first spectator stands appeared at the ground during 1881–1882. That same season also saw the first Welsh international match taking place, and the team included four players from Cardiff Rugby Football Club. It wouldn’t be until 1890, and their seventh attempt, that the Welsh national team achieved their overriding ambition and finally beat England. The team's first Triple Crown came in 1893 and was the launch pad for the first ‘Golden Era’, when Wales dominated the world game. They won Triple Crowns in 1902 and 1905 and were also runners-up in the 1901, 1903 and 1904 Home Nations Championship. They won the title in 1906 and even beat the touring Australian team in 1908. In 1905, Wales played New Zealand in what has since become known as 'Gêm y Ganrif' or 'The Game of the Century'. The game was part of the New Zealand 'Originals' tour, where they played 35 games. By the time the All Blacks arrived in Wales, they hadn't conceded a single point
in their previous 600 minutes of rugby. They had systematically demolished many of the best English clubs and had also put Ireland, Scotland, and England to the sword, without conceding any points to Ireland and England. Many thought that Wales would succumb to the All Blacks' dominance. On match day, the New Zealand players performed the Haka, which the Welsh crowd respected by falling silent. Not to be outdone however, Welsh player Teddy Morgan began a rousing rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, directed back at the All Blacks after they had finished their Haka. Other Welsh players joined in and the watching crowd added their voice. It was the first recorded account of a national anthem being sung at an international sports fixture. It has also been argued that the singing of the anthem helped Wales take a famous win over the All Blacks, the New Zealanders' only defeat on their tour. Wales scored the only try of the game, winning 3-0. New Zealand player Bob Deans had gone close to scoring a try but the referee deemed that he had touched down too short and the try was disallowed. The foggy conditions also added to the confusion of the onlookers. 1911 saw the final Home Nations Championship format, which Wales won, and they also won in the following year when France joined what became known as the Five Nations tournament. Wales scooped a Grand Slam in 1911 and it would be another 40 years before Teddy Morgan they would achieve one again. Following the First World War, the Welsh national team fell into decline. A national recession led to many players emigrating away from the country to find work. The player drain continued until the economy recovered in the early 1930s, and Wales won their first Five Nations title for a numbers of years, in 1931. The Five Nations was suspended during the Second World War and the 1940s and 50s saw a mixed bag for the Welsh team. Their dominance had waned and it wouldn't be until the late 1960s, when Wales recruited world-class players like Barry John, Mervyn Davies, and Gareth Edwards, that the Welsh team began chalking up victories. During 1969 and 1979, Wales lost only seven of their games and dominated the game in the northern hemisphere. Wales hosted New Zealand again at Cardiff Arms Park in November 1978, and lost 13-12 in another controversial scenario. Wales were leading the game with a few minutes to go when New Zealand lock Andy Haden dived out of a line-out in an attempt to earn a penalty. The penalty was awarded and replacement New Zealand fullback Brian McKechnie successfully kicked the goal. It was later discovered that Haden admitted that he and Frank Oliver had pre-agreed to jump out of the line-out should they find themselves in difficulty. As key players left the national side during the early 1980s, the team once again slipped into decline. Often referred to as 'the barren years', apart from the occasional win against the odds, including a Five Nations title and a first-ever win against South Africa in 1999 under Graham Henry, Wales struggled to maintain any consistent form. Following Henry's departure in 2002, fellow New Zealander Steve Hansen took over the role of coach. Under his leadership, the WRU restructured the game in Wales, adding five (which would later become four) regional teams that sat on top of the traditional clubs. In 2005, Wales won a famous Grand Slam under Mike Ruddock. It had been 12 years since Wales last beat England and a long-range kick from Gavin Henson set them on their way to a first-round win over the Old Enemy and set the side up for their clean sweep. Their success proved shortlived however and Mike Ruddock stepped down as national coach halfway through the 2006 Six Nations campaign. He was replaced by former Llanelli coach Gareth Jenkins but Wales's poor showing at the 2007 World Cup meant that Jenkins lost his job. His replacement was New Zealander Warren Gatland and his first match was against England at Twickenham in 2008. Wales hadn't beaten England there since 1988 but went on to win the game 26-19. Wales didn't stop there, beating all-comers in the tournament and winning another Grand Slam. Wales reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1987 in 2011, but narrowly lost to France, despite being down to 14 men for most of the match. Wales won further Grand Slams in 2012 and 2019. Gatland left Wales in 2019, only to return in 2022 after coach Wayne Pivac's tenure proved frustrating for both players and fans. 15
Page 1 and 2: News | People | Features | History
Page 3 and 4: Beulah Road residents and businesse
Page 5 and 6: Your letters WE letters WANT TO HEA
Page 7 and 8: Rhiwbina’s Gateway of India recru
Page 9 and 10: grated cheese. Yum! Once we had pas
Page 11 and 12: "We'd often know who was ill based
Page 13: YOURS SOONER THAN YOU MIGHT THINK T
Page 17 and 18: Guiding you home Our Specialist Pro
Page 19 and 20: wellbeing Make a list of your proud
Page 21 and 22: wellbeing ZONE OUT Taking a few mom
Page 23 and 24: MICHELLE MARSHALL SALON HAIR - BEAU
Page 25 and 26: 5 6 wellbeing 7 8 5. Detox Candle A
Page 27 and 28: very first advertiser. Paul smiled
Page 29 and 30: memories Beulah Road pre WW2 Mrs Sc
Page 31 and 32: FULL OF FLAVOUR All the meals on ou
Page 33 and 34: efore starting my own agency on Mus
Page 35 and 36: poetry THE STAR It's settled The sn
Page 37 and 38: 5 5. TALYBONT FALLS There's somethi
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Page 41 and 42: ) Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir c) C
Page 43 and 44: Pan-roasted salmon with pomegranate
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Page 47 and 48: won’t be much longer.’ Her foot

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