| Full name | Blaina Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Lambs | |
| Founded | 1875; 150 years ago (1875) | |
| Location | Blaina,Wales | |
| Ground | Central Park (Capacity: 2,000) | |
| President | Kevin Knapp | |
| Coach(es) | Craig Edwards, Frills & Kieron Dash | |
| League | WRU Division 1 East | |
| 2025/26 | N/A[1] | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
Blaina Rugby Football Club are aWelshrugby union club based inBlaina in the county borough ofBlaenau Gwent inWales. They presently play in theWelsh Rugby Union Division 1 East league and are a feeder club for theNewport Gwent Dragons.[2]
Towards the end of the 19th century industrialism in the lateIndustrial Revolution was spreading through theSouth Wales Valleys. With the migrant workers into theSouth Wales coalfield came the game ofrugby union and in 1875 players from local sides amalgamated to form a club which played on a ground provided by the Lancaster company. Their chief patron and founder was a Mr. Sidney Lancaster.[3] The club applied for and was accepted into theWelsh Football Union in 1895.[4] That same year, Blaina joined the newly formed Monmouthshire league, along with teams such asAbercarn,Cwmbran,Ebbw Vale andPontymister RFC began to produce a crop of players with good potential.[5]
In 1904, as part of theHome Nations Championship,Jack Evans became the first player to be directly capped for an international team from the club. Evans played just one match forWales, a draw away to England, but showed great commitment to his team throughout his life, and he refused several approaches to turn professional.[6] The draw of professionalism was a problem towards all union clubs, and Blaina lost one of their better internationals when Emlyn Watkins joinedLeeds RLFC in 1927, just after collecting three caps in the1926 Five Nations Championship.[7]
In 1913, the WFU decided to reintroduce a knock-out competition to combat the growing popularity ofassociation football. Although the competition was not a great success, its inaugural year saw Blaina faceAberavon in the final at Bridgend.[8] Blaina lost in the final 10-0.[9]
In May 2006 Blaina RFC were one of the 13 'Rebel' clubs who brought a vote of no confidence against the WRU, which centred on financing and the handling of former coachMike Ruddock's departure. The vote failed heavily with only 20 votes for the motion and over 300 against.[10]
See alsoCategory:Blaina RFC players
Jake BlackmoreTom Clapp (14 caps) - Wales captainJack Evans (1 cap)William EvansJack Gore (4 caps)Tom Graham (12 caps)Mike Ruddock (Wales B Cap)Emlyn Watkins (3 caps)Jack WetterJack Williams (7 caps)[11]
