| Full name | Bridgend Athletic Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1972 | |
| Location | Bridgend, Wales | |
| Ground(s) | Bridgend Ford Brewery Field and Newbridge Fields | |
| Chairman | Andrew Tellem | |
| Coach(es) | John Apsee | |
| League(s) | WRU Championship | |
| 2015/16 | 6th[1] | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
Bridgend Athletic RFC are a Welsh rugby union club based in Bridgend in South Wales. They are members of the Welsh Rugby Union playing in the WRU Championship and are a feeder club for the Ospreys.[2]
History
Bridgend Athletic RFC was reformed in 1972, after the Bridgend Youth team members in that year wanted to form a senior team so they didn't have to go their separate ways into senior rugby, hence the formation of the club which had previously existed up to 1939. The club become full members of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1983. 1989 saw the creation of the club's mini and junior section which is renowned for being among the best in the country. The club were promoted from Division 5 Central in 2001, were WRU Division Four East Champions in 2002, were then promoted from Division 3 to WRU Division Two West in 2003 through the league organisation and were promoted to Division 1 in 2004. They have suffered relegation from that league once, but recovered in 2009, winning WRU Division Two West. In 2012 they were included in the newley formed Swalec Championship, where they narrowly lost their opening game 28-29 to Bonymaen.
Club honours
- 2001-02 WRU Division Four East - Champions
- 2008-09 WRU Division Two West- Champions
- 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 16 - Champions
- 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 15 - Champions
- 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 14 - Champions
- 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 13 - Champions
- 2008-09 Ospreys Cup Under 12 - Champions
- 2014-15 [(Ospreys Cup)] Under 15 - Champions
- 2015-16 [(National Youth Cup)] Youth - Champions
Notable players
- Lee Byrne - Wales RU, Ospreys, Clermont Auvergne, Dragons
- Rhys Webb - Ospreys & Wales RU
- Scott Baldwin - Ospreys & Wales RU
- Phil Price- Dragons
- Tom Habberfield - Ospreys / Wales U20/Wales 7s
- Matthew Morgan - Ospreys / Wales U20. Wales RU
- Luke Morgan - Ospreys / Wales U20 / Wales 7s
- Nicky Griffiths - Wales 7s
- Lloyd Evans - Wales 7s
- Adrian Durston -Bridgend & Wales RU
- Matt Jones - Ospreys & Wales RU
- Tom Prydie - Dragons & Wales RU
- Josh Navidi - Cardiff Blues & Wales RU
Coaches
- Director of Coaching: John Apsee
- Technical Consultant: Ian Greenslade
- Backs Coach: Stuart Morris
- Forwards Coach: Gavin Thomas
References
- ^ "WRU official site". Archived from the original on 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
- ^ BBC News (2004-07-08). "Wales' regional rugby map". BBC. Retrieved 2008-05-18.