Newcastle Emlyn RFC
Encyclopedia
Newcastle Emlyn RFC is a Welsh
rugby union
club based on the outskirts of the town in the community of Adpar, Ceredigion
on the north bank of the River Teifi
. The club currently plays in Division 3 West
of the WRU
National Leagues and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets
.
which agreed that it should be named in Welsh
‘Clwb Rygbi Castell Newydd Emlyn’ and that the red and white hooped jerseys worn by the football club should be adopted.
Mike Heycock of Felingeri Flour Mill, Cwmcou donated a set of jerseys and became the club’s first President.
The first games were played at Gelligatti fields next to the town cemetery. Four pine trees were felled in Cwm Morgan and transported by coal lorry to the town where they were stripped and painted in the club's colours for use as goal posts. The Headmaster of Emlyn School helped by allowing the use of the changing facilities and the occasional use of the school’s pitches for second team games.
The club’s H.Q. was established at the ‘Red Cow’ in Adpar and the old disused stables, ‘Y Stabal’, became the committee room, tea room, and changing room.
Clive Griffiths of Llanelli RFC
was the team’s first coach who went on to become the Wales defence coach under Graham Henry
and subsequently Mike Ruddock
.
On Saturday 4 September 1977 Clwb Rygbi Castell Newydd Emlyn played its first game of rugby union
football. The first team played at Laugharne
against their 2nd XV and the Emlyn 2nd XV played a Cardigan 3rd team at the Secondary School field in Cardigan
.
Although affiliated to the Llanelli and District Junior Rugby Union the club did not play in the league in its first year of existence but during the season, 1977/78, the 1st XV had played 37 games achieving ten wins and two draws with the first victory on the 1st October against Fishguard
, 7-0. The Second XV played fourteen matches with one victory.
At the beginning of the 1978/79 season the club moved to a field on Cwrcoed Meadows, which was large enough for two pitches and training lights were also installed. The First XV played in the newly formed Section E of Llanelli and District and were promoted as runners-up behind Carmarthen Athletic Druids, in addition they reached the semi-finals of the Llanelli and District Cup. The Geraint Howells
Knockout Cup for local teams was won by Emlyn in
the 1987/88 season.
The 1980s saw a period of consolidation. The First XV were promoted to Section C of Llanelli and District, in 1979/80 and remained there for the next few seasons. By the 1987/88 season the club was playing in Section A of Llanelli and District and finished as Runners-up in the Championship.
At the end of the season 1988/89 the club was admitted as probationary members of the Welsh Rugby Union.
.
The legend of Gwiber Castell Newydd Emlyn (the Wyvern of Newcastle Emlyn) is a local tradition. It tells how on one of the fair days when the town was full of people a fierce winged viper called a wyvern
breathing fire and smoke, alighted on the castle walls and having cast threatening glances around settled down to sleep. Its appearance on the castle at first brought terror to all but after the fear had died down a few brave townsfolk sought to destroy the fearsome monster. A soldier devised the plan of wading the river Teifi to a point of vantage on the castle side and letting a red cloak float in the river and shooting the gwiber in a vulnerable under part of the body. The creature, so violently startled from its slumber, caught sight of the cloak and fell upon it with horrible shrieks and tore it to shreds. The assailant meanwhile, escaped to a place of safety. The wyvern in its death throes turned onto its back and floated down the river. From its wound gushed forth a most loathsome venom which polluted the water and killed all the fish. The legend tells of the great joy of the townsfolk when they saw the monster dead.
Mini Cup Competition and went on to play the final rounds at the National Stadium in Cardiff. The Minis or Junior section has continued to grow with the club now fielding teams at all ages from 8 to 16.
The club has also had two players who have gained Welsh Youth Caps, namely Huw Morris and Rhys Jones. The former was selected to play second row for the Welsh Youth against the England Colts, at Leicester, on the 3rd April 1987.
Rhys Jones played for the Welsh Youth in 1990/91, against France, Japan, and England, and went on the Welsh Under 19 Tour to Canada and played in a test match.
Josh Turnbull was part of the 2006 Wales Under 19 Grand Slam
winning team and captained the side against Ireland in February 2007
On the 27th August 1992, Neath RFC
played a ‘trial’ match on the new fields and on Saturday 4 October 1992 the official opening ceremony of the field, floodlights and changing rooms was performed by the Welsh Rugby Union Chairman and Treasurer Mr. Glanmor Griffiths. A 250 seater stand with seats from the former Cardiff Arms Park
has also been completed.
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...
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...
club based on the outskirts of the town in the community of Adpar, Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
on the north bank of the River Teifi
River Teifi
The River Teifi forms the boundary between the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales for most of its 75 mile length, flowing into the sea below the town of Cardigan. The catchment of the river is estimated to be 1,008 square kilometres yielding an average flow at Glan...
. The club currently plays in Division 3 West
WRU Division Three West
The Welsh Rugby Union Division Three West is a rugby union league in Wales.- Competition:There are 12 clubs in the WRU Division Three West...
of the WRU
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...
National Leagues and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets
Llanelli Scarlets
The Scarlets are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Llanelli, south-west Wales the team play at the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, as well as competing in the LV= Cup and the Heineken Cup...
.
Club history
The club was formed on the 5th of July 1977 following a public meeting held at the Emlyn Hall, Newcastle EmlynNewcastle Emlyn
Newcastle Emlyn is a town straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in west Wales and lying on the River Teifi.Adpar is the part of the town that lies on the Ceredigion side of the River Teifi...
which agreed that it should be named in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
‘Clwb Rygbi Castell Newydd Emlyn’ and that the red and white hooped jerseys worn by the football club should be adopted.
Mike Heycock of Felingeri Flour Mill, Cwmcou donated a set of jerseys and became the club’s first President.
The first games were played at Gelligatti fields next to the town cemetery. Four pine trees were felled in Cwm Morgan and transported by coal lorry to the town where they were stripped and painted in the club's colours for use as goal posts. The Headmaster of Emlyn School helped by allowing the use of the changing facilities and the occasional use of the school’s pitches for second team games.
The club’s H.Q. was established at the ‘Red Cow’ in Adpar and the old disused stables, ‘Y Stabal’, became the committee room, tea room, and changing room.
Clive Griffiths of Llanelli RFC
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
was the team’s first coach who went on to become the Wales defence coach under Graham Henry
Graham Henry
Graham Henry is a New Zealand Rugby Union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. He played rugby union for Canterbury and cricket for Otago in the Plunket Shield. Henry was heavily criticized following the All Blacks quarterfinal exit at the 2007 Rugby World...
and subsequently Mike Ruddock
Mike Ruddock
Mike Ruddock, OBE is a Welsh rugby union coach, currently coach of the Ireland Under-20 Rugby Union Team and Lansdowne FC . Ruddock was the coach of the Worcester Warriors until his resignation on 28 April 2010 following their relegation from the Guinness Premiership...
.
On Saturday 4 September 1977 Clwb Rygbi Castell Newydd Emlyn played its first game of 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...
football. The first team played at Laugharne
Laugharne RFC
Laugharne Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of Laugharne, West Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Rugby Union Division Three West League.-History:...
against their 2nd XV and the Emlyn 2nd XV played a Cardigan 3rd team at the Secondary School field in Cardigan
Cardigan, Ceredigion
Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire. It is the second largest town in Ceredigion. The town's population was 4,203...
.
Although affiliated to the Llanelli and District Junior Rugby Union the club did not play in the league in its first year of existence but during the season, 1977/78, the 1st XV had played 37 games achieving ten wins and two draws with the first victory on the 1st October against Fishguard
Fishguard
Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300 . The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5043 at the 2001 census....
, 7-0. The Second XV played fourteen matches with one victory.
At the beginning of the 1978/79 season the club moved to a field on Cwrcoed Meadows, which was large enough for two pitches and training lights were also installed. The First XV played in the newly formed Section E of Llanelli and District and were promoted as runners-up behind Carmarthen Athletic Druids, in addition they reached the semi-finals of the Llanelli and District Cup. The Geraint Howells
Geraint Howells
Geraint Wyn Howells, Baron Geraint was a leading Welsh Liberal Democrat politician.Howells was born in Ponterwyd in Cardiganshire. He was the son of David John and Mary Blodwen Howells, both farmers.-Education:...
Knockout Cup for local teams was won by Emlyn in
the 1987/88 season.
The 1980s saw a period of consolidation. The First XV were promoted to Section C of Llanelli and District, in 1979/80 and remained there for the next few seasons. By the 1987/88 season the club was playing in Section A of Llanelli and District and finished as Runners-up in the Championship.
At the end of the season 1988/89 the club was admitted as probationary members of the Welsh Rugby Union.
The club crest
The dragon on the club badge represents ‘Gwiber Emlyn’ The Emlyn Wyvern which originally was a banner with a large red dragon emblazoned on it, the banner of Owain GlyndŵrOwain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
.
The legend of Gwiber Castell Newydd Emlyn (the Wyvern of Newcastle Emlyn) is a local tradition. It tells how on one of the fair days when the town was full of people a fierce winged viper called a wyvern
Wyvern
A wyvern or wivern is a legendary winged reptilian creature with a dragon's head, two legs , and a barbed tail. The wyvern is found in heraldry. There exists a purely sea-dwelling variant, termed the Sea-Wyvern which has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail...
breathing fire and smoke, alighted on the castle walls and having cast threatening glances around settled down to sleep. Its appearance on the castle at first brought terror to all but after the fear had died down a few brave townsfolk sought to destroy the fearsome monster. A soldier devised the plan of wading the river Teifi to a point of vantage on the castle side and letting a red cloak float in the river and shooting the gwiber in a vulnerable under part of the body. The creature, so violently startled from its slumber, caught sight of the cloak and fell upon it with horrible shrieks and tore it to shreds. The assailant meanwhile, escaped to a place of safety. The wyvern in its death throes turned onto its back and floated down the river. From its wound gushed forth a most loathsome venom which polluted the water and killed all the fish. The legend tells of the great joy of the townsfolk when they saw the monster dead.
Junior rugby
Age grade rugby has always been played at the club. In the season 1980/81 the junior team won the PembrokeshirePembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
Mini Cup Competition and went on to play the final rounds at the National Stadium in Cardiff. The Minis or Junior section has continued to grow with the club now fielding teams at all ages from 8 to 16.
Youth rugby
In 1983/84 the Youth XV was formed under the coaching of the former Llanelli prop Huw Jones. The Youth team has produced players not only feeding into the senior sides but also winning county and district caps.The club has also had two players who have gained Welsh Youth Caps, namely Huw Morris and Rhys Jones. The former was selected to play second row for the Welsh Youth against the England Colts, at Leicester, on the 3rd April 1987.
Rhys Jones played for the Welsh Youth in 1990/91, against France, Japan, and England, and went on the Welsh Under 19 Tour to Canada and played in a test match.
Josh Turnbull was part of the 2006 Wales Under 19 Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
winning team and captained the side against Ireland in February 2007
Playing facilities
During 1991 it became apparent that in order to develop its playing facilities to the standard required the club needed to purchase playing fields. An agreement was reached to purchase 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of land which was developed into three rugby pitches, one floodlit, a car park and changing rooms.On the 27th August 1992, Neath RFC
Neath RFC
Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...
played a ‘trial’ match on the new fields and on Saturday 4 October 1992 the official opening ceremony of the field, floodlights and changing rooms was performed by the Welsh Rugby Union Chairman and Treasurer Mr. Glanmor Griffiths. A 250 seater stand with seats from the former Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
has also been completed.