Whitland
Whitland
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WHITLAND RFC - Short History
WRITTEN BY TREFOR EVANS
Whitland RFC was founded in 1889
thanks to the efforts of Dr Rowland
Lewis Thomas, Parke, who also became
the club’s first President. He gained six
Welsh caps between 1889 and 1892, and
was captain in two of those games.
Little is known of the early history of
the club, but after the First World War
the club took part in the Pembrokeshire
Knock Out Cup in 1919-20 only to be
defeated in the first round by Kilgetty by
9 points to nil. Whitland did not win the
cup until 1950-51 when Neyland were
beaten by 3 points to nil. Since then the
Cup has been won some 10 times.
The first Pembrokeshire League
Championship was also won in 1950-
51, successfully defending the title
for the next two seasons. In all, the
Championship was won 13 times.
The last championship success
in 1992-93 earned Whitland a game
against Cilfynydd in the play offs for
a place in the Fourth Division of the
National Heineken League. Victory was
achieved in a memorable game held at
Pembroke and so season 1993-94 saw
Whitland enter the National League set
up for the first time. The club has gained
promotion up the leagues over the
years and played in various divisions
during many WRU reorganisations.
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Many memorable matches were
played in the old Welsh Cup in the 70’s
and 80’s, none more so than the one
against Pontypridd on 27th December
1971. At full time the score stood at
seven points all and, as was the rule
in those days, the result was decided
on the toss of the coin. Tradition has
it that the Ponty captain, Denis John,
said, “as we’ve had our tails between
our legs all game I’ll call tails.” His call
was correct and so Pontypridd went on
to the next round. Neath were fortunate
to gain a 7 points to 3 in 1975 and there
were also memorable games against
Aberavon, Pontypool, Cardiff and
Llanelli.
The Welsh Cup has also been a
source of success for the Youth team,
reaching the final on two occasions. The
first was in 1983 when against all the
odds Cardiff were defeated by 10 points
to 9. The final was again reached in 2009,
held at the Millennium Stadium, against
Bridgend Athletic. Despite an excellent
performance Whitland were defeated by
30 points to 18.
The various Junior and Youth teams
have been a successful breeding ground
for the club over the years with many
going on to gain caps at both school and
youth level.
In addition to Dr Thomas playing for
Wales, four other senior Internationals
have come from the club, namely Alan
Reynolds, Scott Williams, Michael
Phillips and Jonathan Davies, with the
latter two also representing the British
and Irish Lions.
The Second XV has also gained many
successes, with both the Pembrokeshire
League and Knock Out Cup being won
on many occasions.
The Ladies section was formed in
1994 and has continued to develop over
the years. The team won