| Clubhouse |
| Virginia Park, Virginia Close, Caerphilly CF83 3JA (click here to
view a map) Telephone No. (029) 2088 2573 Email: webmaster@caerphillyrugby.com Clubhouse with Large Bar and Lounge areas Function facilities including kitchen area and meeting rooms. Hire charges Lounge - Members Free, Non-members £100 Bar - Members Free, Non-members £50 Dining room: Members Free, Non-members £50 Resident DJ: £85 Buffet also available. For more information or to make a booking call Chris Thomas (Club Steward) on (029) 2088 2573 Hire charges do not include a £100 deposit which is refunded providing no damage is caused to the premises. Floodlit Grounds, East & West Stands (seated), North Terrace (standing), Club Shop & WC Facilities Ground capacity: 4,999 Member of the Welsh Rugby Union Affiliated to the Mid District Rugby Union & Glamorgan County Rugby Football Club, Rhondda & East Glamorgan Rugby Union, Cardiff & District Youth Rugby Union |
| Staff |
| President: J. Howard Rose Trustees: J.T.Lee, D.J.Srodzinski JP Life Members: R.J.Crockett, Elfed Davies, William Evans, John Ashley, Keith Hodge OBE, Colin Howell, J.T.Lee, H.E.Lewis, F.A.Brooks, J.H.Rose Vice Presidents: Dr. John Crossley, Dr. D. Huw Davies, T.W.Bishop, P.T.Brooks, Arthur Higginbottom, Tom Hughes, Gwynfryn George LL.B, Alex James, Richard James, Roy Jones, John Millett, Hugh Pritchard, Richard Parsons, Wayne Rawlins, J. Stuart Thomas, Paul Wells, Garnett Williams, Nigel Duggan, Karen Duggan, Gerald-Westlake-Toms, Vince Thomas. Chairman: Phil Emanuel Secretary: Mike Johns Assistant Secretary: Mark Hurley Treasurer: Rhys Ryland Assistant Treasurer: Jason Williams Office Manager: Brenda Watkins Membership Secretary: Robin Keevil Committee: Ray Bowcott, Fred Brooks, Andy Worthington, Glanville Piper, Paul Anzani Marketing Projects: Phil Whitfield, Chris Marsden Press Officer/Club Photographer: Mark Tamplin Club Steward: Chris Thomas |
| History |
|
On the 26th of August 1887,
"The Monmouthshire Merlin", a Gwent newspaper, reported that "...on Wednesday
evening, at a well-attended meeting at the 'Castle Hotel' , for the purpose of
establishing a rugby football club at Caerphilly, a strong committee was formed
with the following officers: President - Mr. T.S. Reynolds, Captain- Mr. Milwin
Jenkins, Vice-captain - Mr. A.F.Dinnant, Secretary - Mr. H.H.Powell, Treasurer
- Mr. O.E.Woods. The first reported game was in "The South Wales Daily News" on Monday 24th October when they defeated a Cardiff team, St. Andrews. By Christmas of this first season there was a regular second XV and the 1st XV had played on the Arms Park recording a no score draw against Cardiff(A)XV. The last reported game of 1887 was in "The Western Mail" on December 10th, which recorded the last trio of matches between Caerphilly and Machen with great interest manifested locally in the game owing to the former contests being drawn. The game had commenced at 3.00p.m. and after an uphill struggle the "Machinites" lost by one try and three minors to nil. The umpires were Mr. Lewis of Caerphilly and Dr. Thomas of Machen and after the game both teams adjourned to the "Castle Hotel" where luncheon was partaken. Caerphilly continued into the new year in winning ways and on March 3rd 1888 "The Western Mail" reported a fixture between Caerphilly 2nd XV and Bedwas resulted in a win for Caerphilly by one goal and four tries to nil. We seemingly completed our first season in style "The South Wales Daily Telegraph" on May 11th 1888 reported the "First Football Club Dinner". On Saturday evening the members of Caerphilly Rugby Football Club, brought their successful season to a close, when fifty of them, together with friends, sat down to a substantial dinner prepared by mine Host and Hostess Coggins of the Castle Hotel. Vice-captain , Mr. A.F.Dinnant, in responding to the toast of the evening "Success to the Caerphilly Rugby Football Club", stated that, "...the club had played 25 matches, won 12, drawn 8 and lost only 5". He said that he "...considered it extremely gratifying for a club which had only one season to have such a fine record". In the years to follow Caerphilly Rugby Football Club would enjoy many seasons of success and would suffer at the hands of industrial changes, war and hard times. They would carry many nicknames: "The Jackdaws", "The Harlequins", "The Harriers", "The Premiers", "The Cheesemen" and "The Castletown Men". They would change grounds and headquarters and be reformed several times, they would twice be admitted membership of the "Welsh Rugby Union" in 1900 and 1955, and in the late fifties build their club headquarters at Virginia Park. As Caerphilly approached its Centenary in 1987, success came on the field of play, winning three league section championships and the Mid District K.O Cup. Centenary season gave the club's supporters their first taste of major league rugby, when they had the opportunity to watch the Virginia Park team test their skills against the top sides in Wales, with Newport, Cardiff, Pontypridd and Crawshays amongst the visitors. The nineties brought success and and Heineken League Rugby, and for Caerphilly who had almost made it to the top at the early part of the Twentieth Century, an opportunity to reach their goal and make history achieving it. To date, Caerphilly Rugby Football Club, the Cinderella of Welsh rugby, and the pride of the Rhymney Valley have won over the media, survived the ever-changing whims of Welsh rugby and in a very short period of time flown the Caerphilly flag against the elite of England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italian rugby. At Virginia Park, national XVs from Canada and Georgia have been defeated. Caerphilly became the first Welsh club to reach the quarter-finals of the "European Shield" and have also been quarter-finalists in the "Principality Cup" on three occasions. Endeavour on the field has been matched by superb ground improvements, good house-keeping and strong organisation. All that has been missing is the overdue arrival of a generous Prince Charming to help propel the Castletown club into the twenty-first century. What has been achieved at Caerphilly is historic and unique, standing on its own merit. With support, the future would be assured. Now, as the new season is at hand, it is time to reflect on the toast made at the "Castle Hotel" on May 11th 1888. - "Success to the 'Caerphilly Rugby Football Club'" The success of Caerphilly RFC at Virginia Park in the last decade is well-documented and for most club members has always been the home of the club and rugby in Caerphilly. This is not the full story, although Caerphilly has played for the last fifty years at Virginia Park. Looking back, we find that following the inception of rugby at Caerphilly on August 25th 1887, Caerphilly RFC have used and vacated Virginia Park on several occasions. The ground has been home of many sport and grand events since the first Caerphilly rugby team played there in 1887 and many professional sportsmen earned an income in one way or another on the Park, long before our club's players, became paid men. In fact the list seems endless, football, boxing, horse racing, speedway, trotting, "Powder Hall" races for the fleetest foot with a prize of £100 - a lot of money in the twenties - you could buy a terraced house for that sum. There was also greyhound racing and hare coursing for the gambling man. We even had the first Bi-plane seen in the area land in front of a crowd estimated to be in the region of 20,000 people at Virginia Park, taking off only to crash in Trethomas. This event took place in 1912 and was organised by Mr. Coggins and Mr. Brinson. There were also Jazz Band contests, fetes, military displays, firework displays, carnivals and even foreign nobility were visitors to our Park. Keirs Hardy, one of the greatest politicians of the 20th century marched from Merthyr to Virginia Park to address a crowd of thousands. Lloyd George was at Caerphilly, we even had Princess Obelensky, daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia - she attended The Old Time Fair at Virginia Park on the 3rd June 1920, her visit was reported by the local papers. Her brother became a famous England International Rugby Player in (if I remember correctly!). The Park died a slow death during the thirties recession, but was put to good use by the fire brigade in the second world war, who used the derelict grand stand to house their equipment. In that period, Nazi Germany's famous Lord Haw Haw gave our field a mention in one of his propaganda radio broadcasts from Berlin, who he informed the British public that Virginia Park, Caerphilly's aerodrome had been destroyed by German bombs - of course there was no aerodrome! There had however in the thirties, been proposals to build a Municipal Airport on Virginia Park. German planes had in fact, dropped several bombs in the immediate area of the park causing no damage to property or local inhabitants - just leaving large craters! Later on American soldiers used the ground on occasion for various sporting activities, baseball, football etc. while stationed at their camp off Pontygwindy Road. In a few short years after the war ended a band of young rugby enthusiasts had formed a club and Caerphilly were back at Virginia Park and home at last. |
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