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Celtic Warriors
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Welsh Rugby Regions 2003
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The were a regional
Rugby Union team from Wales, playing in the
Celtic League and
European Rugby Cup /
European Rugby Shield .
__NOTOC__
The were one of the five original regions of the
Welsh Regional Rugby Era. The club came into being in the summer of
2003 when the
WRU controversially elected to reduce the current top tier of Welsh Professional Rugby from nine clubs into five regions, attempting to mirror the successful formats in
Ireland and the
Southern Hemisphere countries of
South Africa ,
Australia and
New Zealand .
Officially representing the Mid-Glamorgan Valleys area, including Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare, Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Bridgend, and south Powys, the Celtic Warriors was in practice a combination of the
Pontypridd RFC and
Bridgend RFC Welsh Premier League Clubs. With
Bridgend RFC having clinched the 2002/2003 Welsh Premier League title and
Pontypridd RFC being consistently strong in that competitions, the Warriors were considered one of the strongest line-ups out of the Welsh regions.
However problems dogged the region from the very start, as they similarly did with the other merged regions of the
Neath-Swansea Ospreys and the
Newport Gwent Dragons . Discussions and arguments abounded about the team name, colours and home grounds for most of the summer of 2003. The name was a controversial choice but seen by many as a fair compromise (Bridgend's nickname was the Ravens while Pontypridd fans welcomed the Valley reference), however various marketing persons within the
WRU did not like it. '''The Crusaders''' and '''Celtic Crusaders''' met with widespread dissaproval from both sets of fans as it incorporated neither teams identity. '''Celtic Warriors''' was finally decided upon more out of the need for actually needing a name than from any real agreement.
Argument over team colours ran alongside the naming problem until a compromise blue, black and white shirt was unveiled and satisfied most people, as did the initial decision to play an equal number of games at
Bridgend 's
Brewery Field and
Pontypridd 's
Sardis Road .
The team itself performed admirably well for a squad almost completely rebuilt over the summer, acquitting themselves well in both the
Celtic League and
European Rugby Cup . However financial problems at
Pontypridd RFC led to the sale of their half of the Warriors to
Bridgend RFC owner
Leighton Samuel , which he in turn gifted to the
WRU , a move that would later condemn the club. Further problems abounded as Samuel made the decision to abandon
Pontypridd 's
Sardis Road in favour of playing all Warriors games in
Bridgend . This brought the club into conflict with over 50% of its fan base and attendances (which were not great before) fell even further.
A farcical episode followed in the Spring and early Summer of 2004 where
Leighton Samuel repeatedly threatened and revoked threats of selling the club; one such instance went as far as Samuel accepting an offer from the
WRU before changing his mind. Unfortunately, the transaction was already considered to be legally binding, and so the Warriors became 100% owned by the
WRU who controversially decided to liquidate the club in the Summer of 2004.
What followed was scandalous even by the standards of Welsh rugby, with players' contracts effectively torn up as they were pushed around to fill holes in the other four regional sides. A number simply chose to turn their back on the Welsh game and head for
England ,
France ,
Ireland or even
Italy .
This left the ex-Warriors' fans feeling alienated from the professional game.
The Warriors' legacy will be inherited by a
Rugby League club in 2006. On June 22, 2005, the Welsh team manager's plans were accepted by the
Rugby Football League , so a club known as
Celtic Crusaders now play at Brewery Field in the
LHF Healthplan National League Two . It is hoped that this team will gain promotion to
Super League .
The shared their home games between
Bridgend 's
Brewery Field ground (home of
Bridgend RFC ) and
Pontypridd 's
Sardis Road ground (home of
Pontypridd RFC ).
Season |
Pos |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Bonus |
Points |
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2003/2004 |
4th |
22 |
14 |
0 |
8 |
9 |
65 |
Season |
Pool/Round |
Pos |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Bonus |
Points |
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2003/2004 |
Pool 6 |
2nd |
6 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
20 |
- Brent Cockbain (Lock) - Wales International, British and Irish Lions 2005
- Gareth Cooper (Scrum Half) - Wales International, British and Irish Lions 2005
- Mefin Davies (Hooker) - Wales International
- Dafydd James (Wing/Centre) - Wales International, British and Irish Lions 2001
- Ryan Jones (Flanker/No.8) - Wales International, British and Irish Lions 2005
- Gethin Jenkins (Prop) - Wales International, British and Irish Lions 2005
- Neil Jenkins (Outside-Half) - Wales International, British and Irish Lions 1997 and 2001, World Record Points Scorer, Wales' most capped player
- Christian Loader (Prop) - Wales International
- Sililo Martins (Scrum-Half) - Tonga International
- Maama Molitika (Flanker) - Tonga International
- Kevin Morgan (Full-back) - Wales International
- Sonny Parker (Centre) - Wales International
- Richard Parkes (Flanker) - Wales International
- Robert Sidoli (Lock) - Wales International
- Ceri Sweeney (Outside-Half) - Wales International
- Gareth Thomas (Wing/Centre/Full-back) - Wales International, British and Irish Lions 2005 (Captain 2nd and 3rd Tests)- Welsh Record Try Scorer
- Lee Thomas (Centre/Outside-Half) - Wales Youth International
- Gareth Wyatt (Wing) - Wales International
