Bryncethin Rugby Football Club is a Welsh

Rugby union in Wales

Rugby union is the national sport of Wales and is considered a large part of national culture. Rugby is thought to have reached Wales in the 1850s, with the national body, the Welsh Rugby Union being formed in 1881...

 rugby union

Rugby 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...

 team based in Bryncethin

Bryncethin

Bryncethin is a small village located just north of the M4, Junction 36 in Bridgend county borough, Wales. Situated approximately 3 miles north of Bridgend, it is surrounded by the villages of Sarn, Brynmenyn, Aberkenfig, Abergarw, Tondu and Ynysawdre....

, South 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...

. Formed in 1890, the club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union

Welsh Rugby Union

The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...

 and presently play in the WRU Division Five South Central.

Club history

Formed in 1890, Bryncethin quickly achieved WRU membership and by the turn of the century were represented in club competitions. In 1903 the club reached the final of a South Wales Cup, losing to a far more well established club, Llwynypia RFC

Llwynypia RFC

Llwynypia RFC was a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Llwynypia in the Rhondda. The team provided several international players during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most notably Willie Llewellyn, who was not only selected to represent Wales while playing at the club, but...

. After the First World War, the club played at Pandy Park, under the promotion of a group of local businessmen.

In 1924 the club was represented at an international level for the first time, when Ivor Thomas was selected to play for Wales

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...

 against England in the Five Nations Championship

1924 Five Nations Championship

The 1924 Five Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-seventh series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby...

. Thomas only won the one cap, but later went on to play for Bridgend and Cardiff

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...

.

In the late 1920s the club relinquished their WRU status, but continued playing as Bryncethin United, but after the Second World War the club reformed and again sought, and were awarded, WRU membership.