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Cross Keys RFC

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Cross Keys RFC
Full nameCross Keys Rugby Football Club
Nickname(s)The Keys
Founded1885; 139 years ago (1885)[1]
LocationCrosskeys, Wales
Ground(s)Pandy Park (Capacity: 3,000)
PresidentWales Terry Howell
Coach(es)Wales Morgan Stoddart
Wales Greg Woods
Wales Gewsyn Price-Jones
Captain(s)Corey Nicholls
League(s)Welsh Premier Division
2023-2024Welsh Championship East - 3rd (promoted)
Team kit
Official website
www.crosskeysrfc.com

Cross Keys RFC (Welsh: Clwb Rygbi Pont-y-Cymer) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Dragons regional team.[2]

History

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Cross Keys RFC, Stade Bergeyre, France, 1 November 1921

The club achieved first class-status in 1909, winning the Monmouthshire league three times.[citation needed]

By 1920 the team had their first international player, when Steve Morris won a cap for Wales. Morris would win 19 caps and captained Wales in 1925.[3] Caps followed during the 1920s for Ossie Male and Lonza Bowdler, both returned over several seasons for Wales, facing not only Five Nations Championships but also touring teams.

In 1926 Cross Keys RFC found themselves in dire financial trouble, and requested help from the Welsh Rugby Union. The WRU refused an appeal for a cash loan, but instead agreed to send the Welsh national team to play in an exhibition match at Pandy Park. The sell-out crowd assured Cross Keys future and resulted in an historic win for the home team thirteen points to eight.[4]

Rugby observers have noted the high level of talent in the Cross Keys pack, and criticised the fact they went under represented in the national team during the 1920s[5] and 1930s.[6]

Cross Keys reached the final of the 2011–12 British and Irish Cup, losing to Munster A.[7] Cross Keys won their first Swalec Cup, defeating table topping Pontypridd at the Millennium Stadium in 2012.[8]

Club honours

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  • Welsh Club Champions - 1921–22, 1935–36
  • Welsh Division One Champions - 1992–93,[9] 1999–00[9]
  • British and Irish Cup Runners-Up - 2011–12
  • Swalec Cup Winners - 2011–12
  • Swalec Cup Runners-Up - 2013–14
  • Welsh Premier Division Runners-Up - 2013–2014
  • WRU Admiral Championship East Promotion (3rd) - 2023-24

Current squad

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Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
John Lavender Prop Wales Wales
Leon Brown Prop Wales Wales
Lewis Pryce-Jones Prop Wales Wales
Richard Cornock Prop Wales Wales
Jordan Rogers Prop Wales Wales
Jake Wisniewski Prop Poland Poland
Aaron Dowse Prop Wales Wales
Nathan Huish Hooker Wales Wales
Connah Vaughan Hooker Wales Wales
Connah Hughes Hooker Wales Wales
Chris Davies Hooker Wales Wales
Louis Tovey Hooker Wales Wales
Josh Wall Lock Wales Wales
Kiaran Lewis Lock Wales Wales
Osian Rowe Lock Wales Wales
Matthew Hall Lock Wales Wales
Brian Feeney Lock Wales Wales
Callum Hague Lock Wales Wales
Tom Lampard Lock Wales Wales
Harvey Reader Lock Wales Wales
Sam Taylor Flanker Wales Wales
Jake Davies Flanker Wales Wales
Jack Davies Flanker Wales Wales
Alfy Johnson Flanker Wales Wales
Ashley Gibson Flanker Wales Wales
Morgan Koloi Flanker Wales Wales
Will Gregory Flanker Wales Wales
Chris Johnsey Flanker Wales Wales
Lewis Robey Number 8 Wales Wales
Joe Thomas Number 8 Wales Wales
Kobi Rees Number 8 Wales Wales
Player Position Union
Dan Babos Scrum-half Wales Wales
Dan Buffrey Scrum-half Wales Wales
Zach Bartlett Scrum-half Wales Wales
Sam Ireland Scrum-half Wales Wales
Harri Ford Fly-half Wales Wales
Ben Murphy Fly-half Wales Wales
Drew Musa Fly-half Wales Wales
Owain Davies Fly-half Wales Wales
Kieran Vodden Centre Wales Wales
Alec Jones Centre Wales Wales
Kellan Nicholls Centre Wales Wales
Tom Sullivan Centre Wales Wales
Liam Thomas Centre Wales Wales
Corey Nicholls Centre Wales Wales
Adam Tetley Centre Wales Wales
Ralph Miller Wing Wales Wales
James Smith Wing Wales Wales
Lawrence Donnelly Wing Wales Wales
Josh Congreve Wing Wales Wales
Will Rees Wing Wales Wales
Walker Price Wing Wales Wales
Tom Gillespie Wing Wales Wales
Tom Davies Wing Wales Wales
Callum Tomsa Fullback Wales Wales
Ben Elliott Fullback Wales Wales
Jake Hillman Fullback Wales Wales
Morgan Johns Fullback Wales Wales

Notable former players

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The following list is made up of ex-Cross Keys players who have all won international caps as either a rugby union or rugby league player.

See also Category:Cross Keys RFC players

Games played against international opposition

[edit]
Year Date Opponent Result Score Tour
1985 9 October  Fiji Loss 12-26 1985 Fiji rugby union tour of Wales and Ireland[17]
2022 2 November  Poland Loss 37-12 2022 Rugby Europe Championship Preparations [18] [19]

Past Season Performance

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2006/06-2009/10

Season League Finish Number of Teams
2006-07 Premiership 13th 14
2007-08 Premiership 11th 15
2008-09 Premiership 9th 14
2009-10 Premiership 10th 14

2010/11-2019/20

Season League Finish Number of Teams
2010-11 Premiership 6th 14
2011-12 Premiership 6th 14
2012-13 Premiership 5th 12
2013-14 Premiership 3rd 12
2014-15 Premiership 3rd 12
2015-16 Premiership 4th 12
2016-17 Premiership 12th 16
2017-18 Premiership 11th 16
2018-19 Premiership 14th 16
2019-20 Championship 7th 14

2020/21-

Season League Finish Number of Teams
2020-21 COVID-19
2021-22 Championship 7th 14
2022-23 Championship 8th 14
2023-24 Championship East 3rd 12
2024-25 Premiership TBC 13

References

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  1. ^ The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales page 178, John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6
  2. ^ BBC News (2004-07-08). "Wales' regional rugby map". BBC. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  3. ^ A Century of Welsh Rugby Players 1890-1980, Wayne Thomas; Ansells (1979) pg.61
  4. ^ The Rugby Clubs of Wales pp149, David Parry-Jones (1989) ISBN 0-09-173850-4
  5. ^ Smith (1980), pg 259.
  6. ^ Smith (1980), pg 282.
  7. ^ "BBC Sport - British and Irish Cup: Cross Keys 20-16 Cornish Pirates". BBC Sport.
  8. ^ "Swalec Cup: Cross Keys 32-19 Pontypridd". BBC Sport. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  9. ^ a b "- the history of rugby through its competitions". Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  10. ^ Smith (1980), pg 463.
  11. ^ Smith (1980), pg 466.
  12. ^ a b Smith (1980), pg 469.
  13. ^ a b Smith (1980), pg 471.
  14. ^ a b Smith (1980), pg 472.
  15. ^ Smith (1980), pg 473.
  16. ^ Smith (1980), pg 474.
  17. ^ Stephen Jones, ed. (1986). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1986-87. Queen Anne Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-356-12361-8.
  18. ^ https://community.wru.wales/2022/11/03/stoddart-steals-away-win-at-pandy-park-as-poles-triumph/ [bare URL]
  19. ^ https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/23099522.cross-keys-beaten-poland-pandy-park-friendly/ [bare URL]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.
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