South Wales Scorpions
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| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | South Wales Ironmen Rugby League |
| Website | ironmenrl.wales |
| Colours | Black |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
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| CEO | Neil Williams |
| Chairman | Marc Lovering |
| Coach | Phil Carleton |
| Manager | Lee Byrne |
| Captain | Connor Farrer |
| Competition | Kingstone Press League 1 |
| 2016 League 1 | 14th |
 Current season
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South Wales Ironmen Rugby League (Welsh: Dynion Haearn De Cymru) is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Merthyr Tydfil. They play in League 1, the third tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom. The club was formed in 2009 as South Wales Scorpions, initially playing at The Gnoll in Neath before spells at Caerphilly, Mountain Ash and Maesteg. The club was rebranded to Ironmen to coincide with the move to Merthyr Tydfil in 2017.
The club will play in a home strip of black whilst the away kit is grey.
Many professional and semi-professional Welsh teams played rugby league in the otherwise English competitions since the formation of the Northern Union in 1895. The latest attempt to expand the game to South Wales began when the Crusaders joined the National League Two in 2006. The club was initially based in Bridgend.
The idea of a second professional side in Wales was discussed before the Celtic Crusaders had even played a game. The Crusaders' plan was to help a Rugby League Conference Welsh Premier club join the National Leagues to act as a feeder club if Crusaders reached Super League. The idea was also talked about in mid-2009 when Rugby Football League decided that Super League Reserves would be turned into an under-20 competition, a move that could have halted the development of rugby league players in the area after they turned 21 years old.
The formation of the Scorpions was accelerated after the Crusaders left South Wales and moved to Wrexham F.C.'s Racecourse Ground.South Wales RLFC were formed by a consortium of businessmen led by Phil Davies in late 2009. They were accepted into Championship One the third tier of British rugby league for the 2010 season.
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