Ebbw Vale RLFC
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ebbw Vale Rugby League Football Club |
| Founded | 15 July 1907 |
| Exited | 1912 |
| Former details | |
| Ground(s) | |
| Competition |
Welsh League Northern Rugby League |
| 1912 | 25th |
| Records | |
| Champions | 2 (Welsh League) (1908–1909, 1910–1911) |
Ebbw Vale Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Ebbw Vale, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at Bridge End Field, Ebbw Vale were one of the first professional Welsh teams, and the last to disband in 1912 after the failure of the Welsh League. Ebbw Vale produced seven players who would go on to represent the Wales national rugby league team, and were seen as the only Welsh team of the time who could challenge the Northern League.
The Ebbw Vale rugby league team was the first club in Wales to 'turn professional' being founded on 15 July 1907, the same month that Merthyr Tydfil RLFC formed. The team formed out of Ebbw Vale RFC, an amateur rugby union team, whose members were enraged at the "...bogus amateurism in the Monmouthshire League". Rugby union, led by the Welsh Rugby Union in Wales, had strict laws, barring all players to accept any wages or expenses to play the union code of rugby. This rule was often broken, to not only keep players at a club, but also to prevent them from "Going North", to join the professional Northern League in England. Ebbw Vale made a stand, and after a meeting at the Bridge End Hotel in the town, the club voted 63-20 in favour of adopting professionalism and joined the Northern Union.
The switch to professionalism had been orchestrated by their secretary, William Evans, who not only steered the club to adopting Northern Union rules, but had also won guarantees from the NU Committee that the club would be paid £10 for every match played in the north. Evans was made secretary of Ebbw Vale Rugby Football Club Company Ltd., and the company was formed with capital of £250. The Welsh Rugby Union reacted by suspending all players, officials and the club for life. The Northern Union tried to counter this, by stating that no South Wales players would be allowed to switch to northern professional clubs unless refused places by Ebbw Vale and Merthyr first.
Ebbw Vale's first fixture as a professional club was against Keighly at Lawkholme Lane, on 7 September 1907, losing 26-3. The team's first home game was a week later on the 14 September, a 29-0 loss to Salford. Ebbw Vale's first win, was against fellow Welsh converts Merthyr Tydfil, beating them at Merthyr on 12 October 1907, this was followed the very next game with their first success over a northern team, a 10-2 victory against Swinton. The Swinton match was played in front of 2000 home supporters, while matches against Halifax in January 1908, and Barrow in February, saw crowds of around 4000. Ebbw Vale finished their first season with 30 games played in the Northern League, six won, two drawn and 22 lost, finishing 26th out of 27 clubs.
...
Wikipedia