Club History

Penallta RFC was formed around 1952 by a group of miners from Penallta Colliery. Mining, comradeship & togetherness brought the inaugural side together then & it is those roots that keep the side strong today. Throughout the early years Penallta battled on due to the hard work of a few voluntary workers, Founder member Len Hatcher, timekeeper at the Colliery, was a Trustee when Penallta purchased a Clubhouse alongside Penallta Pit.

In the 60s, Penallta developed into a strong side & in the 67/68 season played against a Welsh International 15 lead by Alun Pask. The club lost but managed to score a try through Mike Thomas, father of today’s second team coach – an indication of the family club that Penallta still is.

As the club emerged into the 70s, it was still very much a home to a village side & a social outlet for its players & the wider mining community. Throughout the 70s the club remained at the Cefn Llwyna. Despite job losses & seemingly endless downsizing, the NCB’s pit wheels continued to turn & its miners kept joining the pit team. In the later stages of the 70s, Penallta took a further step towards the direction of club enhancement, they introduced a Youth side & Penallta’s own brand of “sexy rugby” was born.

The Penallta side of the 80s & 90s enjoyed unparalleled success; they also stuck together as a side and earned a mountain of 1^st team caps. For the first time in its history Penallta began growing significantly as a club. A mini rugby section started up and a consistent youth team started to produce more players. In the early 80s Penallta started up a second side as so many players had joined the club. On the field things were going well but off it things were sadly going wrong. Miners on strike struggled to earn a living and the community suffered. Penallta Colliery closed down - the last shift left Penallta on November 1st 1991. Penallta RFC looked after its players as well as possible. It wasn’t an easy time for the Valleys but the Penallta spirit lived on regardless.

The 1990s & 2000s were up and down times for the Club – the downs of Robert Moore’s awful injury, relocation to the rickety Nalgo, the news that our pitch will soon become an A&E ward - But also the ups of wonderful Youth sides, attacking rugby, the achievement of WRU status & the headlong rush up the Leagues.

The victory in the 2001 Worthington Welsh Districts Cup was a fantastic achievement for the Pitmen. Penallta’s form during the competition was outstanding & they were rarely troubled. That form was emulated in the Rhondda & East Districts League where they were unbeaten & also in the Keith Jones Districts Cup where Penallta defeated Ferndale. It was some treble!

In 2003 Penallta gained probationary status as a member of the Welsh Rugby Union & haven’t looked back since. Champions of Divisions Five South East, Four South East & Three South East in consecutive seasons – comfortably beating many long-established WRU sides in the process, Penallta have gone on an unprecedented rise through the ranks.

Penallta runs three playing sides, as it has done for many years. All three teams are well-established, self sufficient & blessed with a high number of registered & talented players. Over the years, all three sides have tasted glory in some form – whether it be at 15-a-side or at sevens.

From its humble beginnings as a purely social side, Penallta’s first team has evolved into an extremely organised outfit. The birth of professionalism was a make-or-break time for Districts rugby & Penallta needed to embrace the changes in the sport so it could continue to compete with neighbouring clubs. The first team has continued to develop and have continued to prove their ability against WRU sides & are currently top of Division 2 East.

Penallta Athletic (or F-Troop) are Penallta’s “second string” side - historically was home to many of the veterans and social players. In recent seasons, the influx of young, up & coming players & the sheer quality and number of newcomers has meant the Athletic becoming a very strong side in their own right. The Athletic has proved to be a perfect breeding ground for the younger players & they are currently top of their Premier league and have qualified for the final of the 07/08 Keith Jones Cup.

Penallta Youth is highly regarded in the South Wales area and has recently been promoted to the Dragons Second (B) Division. The nature of youth rugby and the consistent crop of exciting young players who continually spring through the Mini Rugby system have ensured interest in the Youth section remains high. Barely a year goes by when Penallta fails to watch one of their own move onto a Professional Club. The rest move into senior rugby to further bolster Penallta’s future.

The Future – Penallta & Ystrad Mynach Mini Rugby

The Mini Rugby football club was formed in 1990. What started as a hopeful venture for a small group has turned out to be a wonderfully equipped and thriving rugby club, running 8 teams & a membership of over 140 players & is the envy of many a larger club.

The majority of players produced by the mini section grow into Penallta players – six players from the Squad who won the Welsh Districts Cup had come through the mini set-up & half the current Penallta team played their mini rugby for the Club & nearly all of them played Youth rugby at the Club. Those who show the ability, however, are positively encouraged to sign with larger clubs as the ethos of player development is absolutely paramount.

A recent example of this success is David Flanagan. David played 9 years of mini rugby with Ystrad Mynach before spending a year playing for Penallta Youth. The young fly half then signed for Pontypridd U21s & is now playing for the Cardiff Blues.

2006/07 saw 6 of the U16s squad selected at District level & two went on to play at regional level. Amy Williams achieved a welsh cap at women’s U17s level and both the U14s & U16s won the Gwent Dragons Cup.

The achievements of the mini set-up have been profound. Not only have the hundreds of players to come through the club been excellently coached but many have gone on to achieve honours in the sport.

The Start of a New Era

On March 1^st 2008, Penallta hands over its Ystrad Fawr pitch to the Local Health Authority for construction to begin on the new Ystrad Mynach Hospital & shortly after must vacate the old Nalgo club it has called home for many years. The next few years will be crucial to Penallta’s long term future as they become ‘nomads’ for the next six months. The club will take over the ground floor of the Education Offices on Caerphilly Road after major alterations have (hopefully) been completed over the summer. The Trinity Fields pitch immediately adjacent has benefited from extension drainage work and, with further work, will become the main playing field.

These changes will be extremely disruptive but Penallta Rugby Club, with the support of the community, will rise to the challenge!

Talents & Honours

Penallta has always prided itself on the development of exciting & talented players. The ethos within the club has always been to foster ‘fast, running rugby’. Penallta’s experienced coaching team & the players in each of the sides are all committed to the need to play exciting rugby.

Wales Internationals

Michael Voyle – Wales International, 22 caps
Matthew John – Wales Under 18s
Karl Rees – Wales Under 16s / Under 18s
David Flanagan – Wales Under 16s/ Wales Firs U19s / U21s

Welsh Districts Internationals
Jeff Davies
Darren Hooper
Mike Voyle
Steve Richards
Dean Davies
Dale Powell
Richard Scrivens

Welsh Districts International Squad 2003/04

Matthew Tucker
Gareth Davies
Karl Rees
Dale Powell

Wales Colleges Internationals

Stuart Lock
Matthew Tucker
Shaun Powell

Other Notable Players

Alan Lucas – Newbridge captain, over 150 games
Steve Barrett – Pontypridd, Crosskeys
Matthew Tucker – Newport
Garnett Price – Wrexham
Stuart Lock – Exeter
Steven Davies – Ebbw Vale
Gareth Davies – Cardiff
Andrew Jackson – British Army Squad
Shaun Powell – Amateur Dragons, Ebbw Vale

“Shaking the Tree Boss – Portraits of a Welsh Rugby Club”
Reproduced by permission of the authors M Guilfoyle & M Rowe
Book available from Penallta RFC – proceeds to Penallta RFC. Please contact the Club for your copy