Our History

CWMCARN UNITED RFC HISTORY

Rugby has been played in South Wales for about 150yrs, the game is not a Welsh game but is in fact an English public school and university game.

With the expansion of South Wales as an industrial area there was a great migration of people from the English counties next to South Wales, with this migration came the game of Rugby Football.

Rugby was first played in Cwmcarn in the 1880's and in 1888 the Cwmcarn Stars Rugby Football Club was formed from which Cwmcarn United developed. Not much of the history of this club is known and is lost in the annals of time, what we do know is that the team was in existence until the outbreak of the the Second World War having won the Monmouthshire Rugby Cup in 1917 and  the Cyrus Davies Cup in 1933. The Clubhouse for many years for the "Stars" was Cwmcarn Hotel and they played their home games on a field adjacent to Chapel Farm, where which later became the Abercarn and Cwmcarn Miners Welfare Ground "The Welfare". We also know that they played in black kit with a amber star emblem.

One notable player from this time was John William Taylor who was a schoolmaster at Pontywaun Intermediate School, Mr. Taylor had been a reserve wing threequarter in 1901 for the Welsh national side and captained the Cwmcarn Rugby team where he played at both wing and outside half, he was also a Lieutenant in The 2nd Battalion The Monmouthshire Regiment, a TA reserve regiment which was called up at the beginning of The First World War, Lt Taylor was Killed in action at Ypres on the 12th of March 1915 and is remembered with many other men of Cwmcarn on the war Memorial in the "flower park" Cwmcarn, we can only wonder how many more of the remembered played for the "Stars"

With the outbreak of the second world war the "Stars" went into hibernation like most clubs in South Wales and did not play any games during this time, when the war finally came to an end in August 1945 it was decided to restart the side by a group of miners at Cwmcarn Colliery the "Stars" was dropped from the name and the "United" was added, because of clothes rationing at the time it was impossible to get hold of any kit so it was decided to dye any kit, that could be begged, stole or borrowed, black. Unfortunately the dye was not very good and had a habit of running in wet weather ! this had the unfortunate result of dying the players black and combined with the number of colliers who played for the side they became known affectionately as the "Cwmcarn All Blacks". The Cwmcarn Hotel was again used as the clubhouse and games were played on Worthingtons' Field for the first season as the Welfare ground had been partially turned over to food production for the duration of the war and was unplayable. The emblem that that was chosen for the team at this time was a Phoenix rising from the ashes, signifying the reforming of the side after the Second World War, this was later dropped for the current emblem of two Lions rampant supporting a shield and rugby ball on a field of green.

to be continued...........................................