Celtic Crusaders today become only the fourth Welsh rugby League club to
play Warrington
and the first for 82 years.
Wales was seen as a target area for expansion for the Northern Union in the mid 1900’s.By 1908 there were six Welsh clubs in the
Northern Union, Merthyr Tydfil, Ebbw Vale,
Mid-Rhondda, Treherbert, Barry and Aberdare, four years later there were
none.Warrington played three of these early Welsh
clubs in league matches.
Warrington’s first trip to South Wales
was in November 1907, when they visited Ebbw Vale and came away with a 16-0
victory.The Warrington
team contained three Welshmen, scrum half John Jenkins, and forwards George
Thomas and Frank Shugars, all of whom played for Wales whilst at Wilderspool. Warrington
easily won the return match at Wilderspool 40-9, as Ebbw Vale finished the
season next to bottom of the league with just six wins.
In the 1908/9 season Warrington
played two Welsh clubs Merthyr Tydfil and Ebbw
Vale.The Wirepullers turned their trip
down to South Wales into a mini tour in October 1908, winning 28-12 at Merthyr Tydfil on Saturday and drawing two days later at
Ebbw Vale 10-10.A highlight being 8
goals and 2 tries by Jack Fish in the Merthyr match.Both return matches at Wilderspool were tight
affairs with Warrington
winning 5-0 and 11-3.Merthyr Tydfil
finished the season in a creditable 8th , two places above Warrington.
Warrington played Merthyr Tydfil
and Ebbw Vale again the following season.The side scored 14 tries in an easy 56-0 win over Merthyr
Tydfil at Wilderspool, Jack Fish scoring 4 tries and kicking 6
goals.Aussie Larry O,Malley scored a
hat-trick of tries in the 16-5 home win over Ebbw Vale.In the week after losing to Leeds in the
Challenge Cup semi-final Warrington again went
down to South Wales. On the Wednesday Ebbw
Vale were beaten 3-0 and the following day they lost 6-13 to Merthyr
Tydfil.This match was Warrington’s 7th
in a crowded final 13 days of the season and was only the home side’s second
win of the season.
Merthyr Tydfil travelled to Warrington
for the 1910/11 season fixture but failed to complete the season and so the
match in Wales
was cancelled.Warrington won the match at Wilderspool 19-3.
The 1911/12 season proved to be Ebbw Vale’s last in the Northern Union.Warrington won the home
fixture 18-10 and the away game was drawn 8-8.
The Rugby League expanded the league again in 1926/7 with
Castleford and Pontypridd joining.Warrington beat Pontypridd in both matches, 13-8 in Wales and 21-8
at Wilderspool on Easter Saturday.The Warrington side played four matches in five days over the
1927 Easter period, nine of the Warrington
team played in all four matches, of which three were won.Pontypridd resigned from the league part way
through the following season.
Cardiff joined the league for one season in 1951/2, but did not have a fixture
with Warrington.Cardiff
resigned from the league after winning just five matches in the season and
finishing next to bottom of the league.
CardiffCity joined the
second division for the 1981/2 season and played at NinianPark.They were a team made up of “old” rugby
league professionals and former Welsh rugby union players including Steve
Fenwick, Tommy David and Paul Ringer.Former Wire players Mike Nicholas and Frank Wilson played for Cardiff.The club survived for four seasons, the last
as Bridgend before folding.
The last attempt to establish rugby league in Wales was in 1996 when a team called South Wales joined the second division.Andy Currier, David Williams and Paul
Williamson joined from Warrington
and Woolston Rovers provided four players in Neil Kelly, Clint Rylance, Neil
Mawdsley and Mark Wallington.The team
were coached by ex-Wire coach Clive Griffiths.They pulled out of the league at the end of the season following a 6th
place in the Second Division Championship
Pictures
Jonathan Davies and Rowland Phillips out of
the Wilderspool tunnel.
Mike Nicholas takes a high shot at Wilderspool.
Warrington's Frank Shugars in his Welsh International shirt.
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