South Wales team confirmed

Friday 11th December 2009

Above: The Wales international side prior to the rugbyleague.com European Cup final. Could some of these players be part of the new Neath based Championship One club?

The RFL say their Board of Directors has approved an application from a consortium of South Wales businessmen to enter a team into the Co-operative Championship One in 2010.

In a statement released jointly by Wales Rugby League and the RFL, it has been confirmed that the new club, to be known as South Wales RLFC, will be independently run by a new management team and will play its home fixtures at The Gnoll, Neath.

The consortium is headed by local businessman Phil Davies who will head a wholly Welsh board which also features Mark Rowley, the Executive Chairman of the Wales Rugby League.

The new club has been launched as uncertainty over the future of the Crusaders engage Super League outfit increases. Their proposed move to Wrexham - which created the need for Wales RL to maintain a presence in the South of the Principality  - has yet to be fully confirmed.

It's understood that negotiations relating to the takeover of the Crusaders by the Wrexham-based consortium are still ongoing.

But news of the new club will be a boost for the grassroots of Welsh Rugby League which has now filled a gap created by the departure of the Crusaders. 

Speaking about the Neath-based side, Wales Rugby League Executive Chairman Mark Rowley said, "I'm confident in the people involved and I believe the team will flourish."

It's also thought that Iestyn Harris, who is on the backroom staff of the Crusaders, is likely to have some involvement with the Championship One side.

Nigel Wood, the RFL Chief Executive, said: "After careful consideration and following close consultation with existing Cooperative Championship clubs the board felt that welcoming the new club to Championship One was the right thing to do.

"The sport has made great strides in Wales in the last few years and in 2009 over 1,500 players have played the sport in the Principality, a 300 per cent increase on participation levels before Celtic Crusaders were formed four years ago.

"The new club is a vital link in the playing pyramid in Wales and maintains a career pathway for the cream of Welsh talent.

"Wales remains a strategically important region for Rugby League and we are delighted that Phil Davies and his fellow directors have shown the commitment they have to the sport in South Wales."

Meanwhile the RFL have clarified that South Wales RLFC will not participate in the Carnegie Challenge Cup or Northern Rail Cup in 2010 and will begin life with a home match in The Co-operative Championship One against Workington Town on Sunday February 28 at The Gnoll.

The Co-operative Championship and Championship One and Northern Rail Cup fixture lists will be published in full next Monday (December 14).