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Glynneath RFC was formed in 1889 and moved to its current home at Abernant Park in 1901. The 1909-10 season saw Glynneath RFC admitted as a member of the Welsh Rugby Union. The ‘Golden Period’ (1919-1922) saw Glynneath finish with the following record: Played 129, Won 86, Drawn 27, Lost 16. It was decided in 1959 that Glynneath RFC should seek out a permanent clubhouse, as they had previously been using The Rock Hotel. Abernant House was purchased for the sum of £4,000. A further £10,000 was spent on the premises to transform it into a spacious modern rugby club. It was officially opened on 7 October 1959. Probably the most well-known era of the club was the 'Invincible Season' in 1961-62. The team, captained by Bas Thomas, played a total of 41 games in that season, winning 37 and drawing just 4 fixtures. They also won the Championship Cup, League Shield and Silver Ball Trophy. This run also continued for 11 games in the following season until they were defeated by St Luke's College (Exeter). Including the 1960-61 season, Glynneath RFC went on a run of 55 games unbeaten. 1964 saw wholesale changes in Glynneath's facilities - with the building of a grandstand, an extension to the clubhouse, and the installation of floodlights. The official opening took place on 22 December 1964. However, a black day in the club's history occurred in 1977 when the dance hall was completely gutted by a fire. The clubhouse was reopened in 1980 following a massive fund-raising effort to effect repairs.

Glynneath were accepted as members of the West Wales Championship League in 1987-88, competing in Section F. They finished their league campaign unbeaten and set two new records - WWWRU Cup for most tries (105) and the Eurof Davies Shield for most points (564). They went on to win Section E in the following season, and also enjoyed a successful run in the Schweppes Cup beating Maesteg en route to their 5th Round exit against Bridgend. They were also awarded the Team of the Round Trophy for the victory over Maesteg. During this season they also broke their own record with 129 tries and 676 points. During the centenary season of 1989-90, Glynneath RFC finished as Runners Up of Section D maintaining their consistant rise the leagues. They were crowned Champions of Section C (1990–91), Section B (1991–92) and Section A (1993–94). The club also won the Tovali Cup in the 1990-91 season. Glynneath were the last team to win Section A and went on to win a Heineken League play-off against Cardigan which placed them in Division 3.

Probably the biggest game at Abernant Park took place on 28 January 1995, when they took on Llanelli in the SWALEC Cup. International players Nigel Davies, Rupert Moon, Robin McBryde, Craig Quinnell and Phil Davies, played for Llanelli. The game also saw the return from injury of Ieuan Evans. A crowd of 3,000 and a camera crew were present during the wet and windy conditions to see Llanelli win by 27-0. In the 2007-08 season, the club became champions of Division Four South West. This started a sequence of four Championship wins in six years, culminating in Glynneath winning Division 1 West with an unbeaten record in 2013-14. During this period Glynneath also won the Glamorgan County Silver Ball in 2012 and 2014, only to lose in the West Wales Bowl final to Ystalyfera 11-31 at Dunvant in 2011, and losing to Llandovery 10-50 in the West Wales Cup final at the same venue in 2012. 2014 to 2017 saw Glynneath average within the Championship before relegation back to Division One West Central. Remaining here thru the COVIT seasons with the 2019 West Wales Cup final versus Ystalyfera not played due to fixture congestion at the end of the season! Champions in 2024 plus a losing Division One Cup final versus Llanelli Wanderers 19-22 saw a return to the Championship (West) where Glynneath have started with four wins at the top of the table.