Barry RLFC
Encyclopedia
Barry Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league
club based in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
playing in the Welsh League
and Northern Union
. Based at the Trinity Street Ground in Barry, the club was one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folding after just a single season.
was the sport of choice for most villages and towns. Association football was viewed as a north Wales activity, and cricket was the summer game. At the end of the 19th century, clubs in the north of England
had broken away from the International Rugby Board
, and started a professional version of rugby which later became known as rugby league
. Rugby union was a strict amateur sport, and any player or club that took any form of payment were likely to be suspended from the game. This was very difficult to administer, as clubs were beginning to experience their star players "Going North", to the professional game where they would be paid to play rugby. In 1907, two rugby league teams formed in South Wales and joined the Northern Union, they were Ebbw Vale
and Merthyr Tydfil
. This led to further clubs considering the switch to the Northern Union game, Barry being one of them.
In 1908, the Barry Herald reported that Barry was 'going strong for a NU club'. A meeting was held soon after at the Windsor Hotel in Barry, presided over by a Mr J. White, where the discussion was to form a Northern Union club. In August, the Herald predicted that 'Barry will loom large in the football world', and that 'crack NU Rugby teams from the North of England' were expected to visit. The club formed soon after and the local Trinity Street ground was acquired as the team pitch while the team colours would be the same as Cardiff Rugby Football Club
, that is Cambridge Blue jerseys and socks and black shorts.
To run the professional club a company needed to be formed, so with capital of £250 pounds in 10 s
shares Barry Northern Union Rugby Football Club Ltd. was formed. These subscribers came from all parts of the town who needed to present a minimum of 50s cash subscription or £5 to qualify for the board of directors. For match days, Barry Railway Company
offered 'special facilities' for those travelling from Cardiff
and the Rhondda Valleys
.
, on 5 September 1908. The game was played at home, and a 'large crowd' watched Barry win their first match 6-3. A week later the team travelled by train from Barry to the West Yorkshire to face their first Northern team, Keighley
. Barry were outclassed, and lost the match 31-0, though the eight and a half hour journey to reach the venue may have had an effect. The next match was played at home, and Barry faced another major team from England, this time Leeds
. Barry lost the game 17-3 in front of just 2000 paying spectators; and this number generally declined as the season progressed. Barry lost their third game in a row when they faced Ebbw Vale, but then managed their second Northern Rugby League win when they defeated Aberdare
13-5. However on 17 October, in an away fixture to Ebbw Vale, a depleted Barry lost 37-0 and then a 'very weak team' lost 6-31 to Widnes
.
Despite 'probably the best gate of the season', Barry's home encounter with Oldham
was a terrible result, losing by 54-0. Then in an away fixture to Merthyr, Barry could only field 11 players, with their club secretary having to fill in at full-back. Results continued to be poor, with defeats to Mid-Rhondda
, Aberdare, Keighley and Treherbert. On 12 December the team was drawn to play Aberdare in the first round of the Challenge Cup
, and managed to acquire a few new players, leading to a rare 9-5 home win. Barry then failed to show for a Welsh League encounter with Ebbw Vale, and their progress in the Challenge Cup was halted by a home defeat to Mid-Rhondda. This was the start of a seven game losing streak. Their losing run was broken on 20 February 1909, when the team would first beat Northern opposition, Widnes
. The match, played at Trinity Street, saw a large crowd assembled to see the club's newest recruit, Dickie David
. David, an ex-Cardiff and Wigan player who had been capped for the Wales rugby union team
, failed to show for the game, saying he could not appear due to business. Even without their new star player Barry were victorious winning 12-6 despite trailing 2-6 at half time. This would be Barry's final win, as their last four games ended in defeat, including heavy losses to Leeds (56-0) and Ebbw Vale (38-0).
Barry ended the season bottom of the Welsh League, and in the Northern Rugby League they finished 29th out of 31 clubs with 3 wins, no draws and 15 losses.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club based in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
playing in the Welsh League
Welsh League
The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales. Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournament to take place...
and Northern Union
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
. Based at the Trinity Street Ground in Barry, the club was one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folding after just a single season.
Formation
At the beginning of the 20th century, rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
was the sport of choice for most villages and towns. Association football was viewed as a north Wales activity, and cricket was the summer game. At the end of the 19th century, clubs in the north of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
had broken away from the International Rugby Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
, and started a professional version of rugby which later became known as rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
. Rugby union was a strict amateur sport, and any player or club that took any form of payment were likely to be suspended from the game. This was very difficult to administer, as clubs were beginning to experience their star players "Going North", to the professional game where they would be paid to play rugby. In 1907, two rugby league teams formed in South Wales and joined the Northern Union, they were Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale RLFC
Ebbw Vale Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Ebbw Vale, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at Bridge End Field, Ebbw Vale were one of the first professional Welsh teams, and the last to disband in 1912 after the failure of the Welsh...
and Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil RLFC
Merthyr Tydfil Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at College Field, Merthyr Tydfil were one of the first professional Welsh teams, and folded in 1911 after the failure of the Welsh League...
. This led to further clubs considering the switch to the Northern Union game, Barry being one of them.
In 1908, the Barry Herald reported that Barry was 'going strong for a NU club'. A meeting was held soon after at the Windsor Hotel in Barry, presided over by a Mr J. White, where the discussion was to form a Northern Union club. In August, the Herald predicted that 'Barry will loom large in the football world', and that 'crack NU Rugby teams from the North of England' were expected to visit. The club formed soon after and the local Trinity Street ground was acquired as the team pitch while the team colours would be the same as Cardiff Rugby Football Club
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
, that is Cambridge Blue jerseys and socks and black shorts.
To run the professional club a company needed to be formed, so with capital of £250 pounds in 10 s
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
shares Barry Northern Union Rugby Football Club Ltd. was formed. These subscribers came from all parts of the town who needed to present a minimum of 50s cash subscription or £5 to qualify for the board of directors. For match days, Barry Railway Company
Barry Railway Company
The Barry Railway Company was a coal pit owner developed and owned railway company, formed to provide an alternate route for the sea export of coal mined in the South Wales valleys to the existing monopoly of the Taff Vale Railway and Cardiff Docks...
offered 'special facilities' for those travelling from Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and the Rhondda Valleys
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
.
1908-1909 season
Barry's first game under the Northern Union rules was against fellow newly formed Welsh team, TreherbertTreherbert RLFC
Treherbert Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Treherbert, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at the Athletic Ground, Treherbert were one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folding after just two seasons...
, on 5 September 1908. The game was played at home, and a 'large crowd' watched Barry win their first match 6-3. A week later the team travelled by train from Barry to the West Yorkshire to face their first Northern team, Keighley
Keighley Cougars
Keighley Cougars are a professional rugby league club from Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. As of 2012 they will play in Co-operative Championship having won the Co-operative Championship 1 play off final 32-12 against Workington...
. Barry were outclassed, and lost the match 31-0, though the eight and a half hour journey to reach the venue may have had an effect. The next match was played at home, and Barry faced another major team from England, this time Leeds
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
. Barry lost the game 17-3 in front of just 2000 paying spectators; and this number generally declined as the season progressed. Barry lost their third game in a row when they faced Ebbw Vale, but then managed their second Northern Rugby League win when they defeated Aberdare
Aberdare RLFC
Aberdare Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Aberdare, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union...
13-5. However on 17 October, in an away fixture to Ebbw Vale, a depleted Barry lost 37-0 and then a 'very weak team' lost 6-31 to Widnes
Widnes Vikings
Widnes Vikings RLFC are an English professional rugby league club based in Widnes, Cheshire. They currently play in the Engage Super League, the top tier of European rugby league, after being awarded a license to compete in the top-flight Super League from 2012 onward...
.
Despite 'probably the best gate of the season', Barry's home encounter with Oldham
Oldham Roughyeds
Oldham Roughyeds is an English professional rugby league club based in Oldham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Championship One. Oldham is one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895....
was a terrible result, losing by 54-0. Then in an away fixture to Merthyr, Barry could only field 11 players, with their club secretary having to fill in at full-back. Results continued to be poor, with defeats to Mid-Rhondda
Mid-Rhondda RLFC
Mid-Rhondda Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Tonypandy, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at the Athletic Ground in Tonypandy, Mid-Rhondda were one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folding after just a single...
, Aberdare, Keighley and Treherbert. On 12 December the team was drawn to play Aberdare in the first round of the Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
, and managed to acquire a few new players, leading to a rare 9-5 home win. Barry then failed to show for a Welsh League encounter with Ebbw Vale, and their progress in the Challenge Cup was halted by a home defeat to Mid-Rhondda. This was the start of a seven game losing streak. Their losing run was broken on 20 February 1909, when the team would first beat Northern opposition, Widnes
Widnes Vikings
Widnes Vikings RLFC are an English professional rugby league club based in Widnes, Cheshire. They currently play in the Engage Super League, the top tier of European rugby league, after being awarded a license to compete in the top-flight Super League from 2012 onward...
. The match, played at Trinity Street, saw a large crowd assembled to see the club's newest recruit, Dickie David
Dickie David
Richard "Dickie" Jenkin David was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. He was capped for the Wales national team on only one occasion, but faced two national touring teams with Cardiff...
. David, an ex-Cardiff and Wigan player who had been capped for the Wales rugby union team
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
, failed to show for the game, saying he could not appear due to business. Even without their new star player Barry were victorious winning 12-6 despite trailing 2-6 at half time. This would be Barry's final win, as their last four games ended in defeat, including heavy losses to Leeds (56-0) and Ebbw Vale (38-0).
Barry ended the season bottom of the Welsh League, and in the Northern Rugby League they finished 29th out of 31 clubs with 3 wins, no draws and 15 losses.