Cardiff Blues: Encyclopedia II - Cardiff Blues - History

Cardiff Blues - History

Once Rugby Union was forced to go professional in 1995, the old order changed overnight and by 2002 the Welsh Rugby Union was bankrupt whilst former rivals took the game on to new levels.

Months of negotiation between the nine former Premiership clubs and the Welsh Rugby Union finally reached a conclusions during the Summer of 2003 when an agreement was reached to establish a regional structure in place at the top of the game in Wales.

Cardiff Rugby Football Club was allowed to form a region by itself and was the first to launch as a new regional entity. The official Cardiff Blues launch event took place at the Cardiff Hilton on 6 June 2003.

Chief Executive, Robert Norster said, "A huge amount of effort has been made to ensure that the past 127 years of club traditions are not lost. We are delighted by the way these aspects have been respected and retained within the new modern brand."

Rugby is important in Wales. That is not to overstate the hold the game has on its people. The game is especially loved in the industrial South and West. One of the stated aims of the restructure of the game since it went professional in 1995, is to widen its popularity in rural Mid and semi-industrial North Wales.

Cardiff Blues, although not a joint venture between clubs, represent an area far wider than the city itself. Two other newly created regions, Neath-Swansea Ospreys and Newport Gwent Dragons, were initially created by combining forces of two rival clubs in their areas, whilst the Llanelli Scarlets were the only other of the old clubs to form a region by itself.

Initially, the Blues' region covered only the City of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan to the south. However, upon the demise of the Celtic Warriors region after one season, Cardiff Blues had their area expanded to incorporate parts of the Glamorgan valleys and south Powys.

This means that important rugby towns such as Pontypridd, Abercynon, Treorchy, Barry, Penarth (unofficial birthplace of the Barbarians) and Brecon to name but a few are now included within the geographic boundaries of this region.

Many of the worlds greatest players originated from this wider area. In fact, during the era when Cardiff RFC were the dominant club in world rugby, it was always accepted without question the huge contribution from the valleys surrounding the City of Cardiff.

These regions are as follows:

• Ospreys - Swansea RFC and Neath RFC (this region also includes Aberavon RFC amongst others)

• Newport Gwent Dragons - Newport RFC and Ebbw Vale RFC (who eventually went bankrupt, leaving Newport RFC as the only club involved, although the region also includes Pontypool RFC and Newbridge RFC amongst its ranks)

• Llanelli Scarlets - along with Cardiff RFC the only region to that 'escaped' as a standalone. It was, however, responsible for spreading development into North Wales — a massively untapped area of great potential.

• Cardiff Blues - Standalone representation, like Llanelli, but included Glamorgan Wanderers RFC, Penarth RFC, St. Peters RFC, St. Josephs RFC and other great clubs.

The Celtic Warriors initially formed as the fifth region and was the amalgam of Pontypridd and Bridgend RFC, another great club with strong traditions (it was Bridgend that produced the legendary JPR Williams). The Warriors folded after the first season of the regional era.

This final shock forced all of Welsh rugby to really look hard at itself and the options available. Finances, the support base as it stood, as well as playing talent meant only four, not five, professional rugby clubs could be sustained in this new professional world.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki