Llanelli RFC
 |
|
| Union | Welsh Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Bois Sospan Turks |
| Founded | 1875 |
| Location | Llanelli, Wales |
| Ground(s) | Parc y Scarlets (Capacity: 14,870) |
| President |
 Derek Quinnell
|
| Coach(es) |
Kevin George |
| League(s) | Welsh Premier Division |
| 2011–12 | 2nd |
| Official website | |
| www |
|
Llanelli Rugby Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 (though often recorded as 1872) Since the regionalisation of Welsh rugby Llanelli are now a feeder club to the Scarlets regional team.
The club began the 2008–09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pemberton. Sosban Fach (Welsh for "little saucepan") is a nickname of Llanelli RFC; "Sosban Fach" is the name of a Welsh song, which is sometimes sung by the club's fans during matches as the club anthem. The team colours are scarlet and white.
Llanelli RFC was founded on 11 November 1875 when a group of local gentlemen met at the Athenaeum in Llanelli to form a rugby football club. Several sources state that Llanelli formed in 1872, and the club officially celebrated its centenary in 1972; though more recent information suggests that the centenary year was chosen to coincide with the visit of the 1972 touring All Blacks.
The first recorded match was played on 1 January 1876, against Cambria, a team based in Swansea. The result was a draw, but Llanelli were declared winners as they had grounded the ball defensively fewer times than their opponents. Their second match was against Swansea on 5 February 1876, another draw, played at Felinfoel.
During this early period the team played in blue shirts and blue caps at Peoples Park. Llanelli RFC moved to Stradey Park in 1879, switching their colours to blue and white in the same year. The team switched their colours three more times before 1884, adopting black, then rose before switching to red and chocolate quarters.
In 1884 Llanelli played an Irish XV who stopped off in the town, having played Wales in Cardiff a couple of days previously. In this match the team played in scarlet shirts, and this has remained the club's first colour ever since; it also led to the club's nickname "The Scarlets" and the name of the regional team (Scarlets) nearly 120 years later. Their first major trophies came in 1884 and 1886 with the South Wales Challenge Cup, the forerunner of the modern Welsh Cup. December 1888 saw the team beat a touring New Zealand Natives team by 3–0 with a dropped goal from Harry Bowen. The team claimed their first full international scalp in 1908 when they beat Australia 8–3. This would be the first of many famous victories over touring international sides. Players that wore the Scarlet jersey in this pre-war era included Albert Jenkins, who scored over 121 tries for the club as a centre.
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