Our History

Cilfynydd RFC became members of the WRU in 1902 however evidence unearthed by the authors of the WRU’s official history proves that rugby was played in Cilfynydd in 1893. The South Wales Daily News of the 18^th December 1893 records Cilfynydd as playing Loudons, a Cardiff side at Sophia Gardens and losing by 1goal, 1 try and 3 minors to 3 minors. In 1993 the club celebrated its centenary with a successful unbeaten tour to Canada. Experiencing mixed fortunes in the early years the club finally took the Rhondda league by storm enjoying three unbeaten seasons prior to the outbreak of the first World War. The twenties were good years but it was the thirties when the Club enjoyed their greatest success. 1935/36 saw the All Blacks play the Mid District in Aberdare where Cilfynydd provided four of the team. This period also saw 4 successive Glamorgan League Championships commencing in 1935 /26 and 4 Glamorgan Knock Out Cup wins. The successful period heralded the emergence of three Welsh Internationals the village has produced Iorrie Isaacs, Maldwyn James and Glyn Davies. The Mid District Championship was won in 1955 and again in 1957 when the double was achieved with the winning of the Mid District Cup. 1966 saw a milestone in the history of the Club when the Clubhouse was opened and was the envy of many other clubs in the area and today still stands the test of time with facilities both on and off the playing field to be admired. In the early seventies the club was runner up in the Glamorgan County Silver Ball Competition as they were also in 1981, however the Club did lift the Mid District Cup in his year. 1983 – 84 saw the Club enjoy its finest ever season scoring 1033 points and lifting the Glamorgan County Silver Ball and Presidents Cup whilst being runners up in four other finals. The Silver Ball and Presidents Cup were retained the following season when a Club record of 183 tries was set and the 2^nd XV not to be out done were runners up in the Coleman Cup, a trophy they won in 1982, scoring 942 points with 142 tries. Cilfynydd has always encouraged its players to aspire to play at the highest level possible and though no formal links are in place with the “senior” clubs in the area, over the years  many of our  players have gone on to play for first class clubs such as Cardiff, Pontypridd, Bridgend and Newport.   The success in the mid 80s years was due in no small part to the return of a number of these players combined with a hard core of Cilfynydd stalwarts.  Cilfynydd were members of the inaugural Heineken League and enjoyed partial success in the first two years of the competition. However since the mid 90s the Club has been through a very lean period on the playing front and at present are in Division 5 South East. Though, this season has seen an improvement in the results which, has taken the club into third position of a very competitive league.  The players are aware that with ten games still remaining that promotion is still a possibility. Coaches Steve Smith and Jonathan Bunyan have to be commended on turning the playing fortunes around with a limited pool of players. The village has seen a decline in its population over the years and this has impacted upon the club so that we are no longer able to run a second fifteen and though we realise the importance of establishing a conveyor belt of players via a youth system the age range of the young people in the village does not make this possible. Our biggest challenge over the next few years will not only be keeping the players we have but attracting new players to the club. This is being made more difficult with the expansion of the leagues and the formation of new clubs in the area where we are all vying for a limited number of players. Funding is also an issue and as with many other clubs we are indebted to the sponsors especially Egan Waste, Duo Manufacturing, 1^st Choice Accident Repair and Colin Laver Heating for their generosity especially in the current economic climate and our challenge is to maintain and nurture these links with businesses in the area. We are also fortunate to have a loyal legion of supporters who turn up week in week out whatever the elements may be. Their support reflects the community spirit that is engendered within the club and besides rugby the doors are open weekly for Slimming Club, Line Dancing and village functions. Hopefully we can gain promotion this year and our aim is to move up the leagues and reach a division where we are comfortable and can sustain ourselves where the players, supporters and committee can all enjoy our rugby with a smile on our face.