Neath Rugby Football Club was founded in 1871/72 when the first recorded rugby match in Wales took place, Neath against Swansea. Neath’s first appointed captain is said to have been Dr. T.P. Whittington who was capped for Scotland against England in 1873. In 1874, a 17 year old, Sam Clarke, started playing and he was to become the Club’s first Welsh international. From the beginning, games were played at The Gnoll, which was also used for cricket so other grounds in the Town were utilised, most notably the Bird-in-Hand Field where Neath’s Civic Centre is now situated.
In the early days, the team wore assorted dark jerseys and a player, allegedly E.C. Moxham, introduced the famous White Cross to break the monotony of their dark garb. Popular belief holds that the All Black jersey itself was adopted following the death of Dick Gordon after being injured while playing against Bridgend in 1880. Today, the club’s nickname, ‘The Welsh All Blacks’, comes from their iconic strip of black jersey, shorts and socks with a white cross. In 1880, Neath representatives attended a meeting in Swansea to discuss the future organisation of the game in Wales. A year later, the WRU itself was formed in March 1881 at the Castle Hotel, Neath but, oddly, Neath were not recorded as having been present at the inaugural Meeting. Local reasoning for Neath’s alleged absence is that either Neath’s attendance was taken as read due to the venue, or maybe Neath were not represented because their officials were too preoccupied making arrangements for the Cup final - played the same day at the Bird in Hand. Others, notably the WRU history “Fields of Praise”, imagine that it was due to the Neath’s strong links with the SWFU or even a dispute between Sam Clarke and Richard Mullock, the first secretary of the national Union.
Neath became the first senior Welsh club to celebrate its centenary in 1971/1972 – the Club was given the “Freedom of the Borough” and played the Barbarians, the Irish Wolfhounds and a WRU President’s XV. But the icing on the birthday cake came when scrum-half Martyn Davies became the first captain to lift the new WRU Cup when Neath beat Llanelli 15–9. In 1981, Brian Thomas returned in the then revolutionary post of Team Manager, ably assisted by two former captains in Ron Waldron and Glen Ball (of Ystalyfera fame) as coaches, David Shaw as team secretary and Alan Roper as fitness coach, and together they launched the Club on an era of unprecedented success. After losing a WRU Cup Final to Cardiff by 19–24 in 1984, Neath’s list of achievements gathered momentum :-
Initially in the professional era, Neath struggled to retain the services of players. Unlike many other clubs the Blacks did not have the advantage of a financial backer and naturally Neath’s considerable talents soon attracted others. A host of players flowed to other clubs. financial problems in 1997/98 saw Neath seek temporary assistance from the WRU. The ship was soon steadied and in 2000/01 Neath reached the final of the Principality Cup for the eighth time only to lose to Newport 8–13. That year Lee Jarvis broke Paul Thorburn’s long-standing record for points in a season when he accumulated 446 in just 25 games, as the Blacks ended the season in third spot after losing their final game at Swansea – victory would have seen them crowned champions again.
In 2015 Neath finished bottom of the Welsh Premier Division and Chairman Geraint Hawkes was punished by the High Court for financial irregularities. Problems continued on and off the field, Neath being relegated to the Championship in 2018-19. The current crop of Neath players are determined to maintain the Club’s proudest traditions. Unlike several established clubs, Neath is still strongly supported by the rugby public of Neath and beyond. As the Club celebrates its 150th Anniversary, Neath rugby is alive and kicking! The Supporters Club was re-started at the end of the 2012-13 season, with the aim of providing a link between the fans and the club, and the 2013-14 season saw the first Neath Supporters Hall of Fame, an event now taking place every season.
Ystalyfera have played Neath five times in the past in the form of friendlies. The first in the opening game of season 1908-09 at Neath, the hosts winning 25 – 5. The remainder were all at Ynysydarren; a 0 – 0 draw in 1909-10, a 9 – 31 loss in the Ystalyfera Centenary season 1984-85, a 5 – 38 defeat in the Ystalyfera 125 season, and a 17 – 38 pre-season friendly in 2017-18.
Following the glorious success of Ystalyfera reaching the Welsh Championship, our first League fixture versus Neath took place at Ynysydarren in season 2019-20, ‘Fera losing narrowly 9 – 15. The ‘Fera will thus be looking for their first win today!!!! Hwyl Fawr.
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