Vardre RFC
Nickname(s)Magpies
Founded1921
LocationClydach, Wales
Ground(s)Maes y Bioden
ChairmanPhillip Thomas
PresidentDai Waghorn
Coach(es)Steve Thomas, James Garland
League(s)WRU Division 1 West Central
2023-24Champions, 1st
Team kit

Vardre Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of Clydach, Swansea in West Wales[1]. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union[2] and is a feeder club for the Ospreys.[3]

The club was founded in 1921 and has produced a number of established Welsh internationals and international referees such as Derek Bevan and Max Wiltshire. The Club in recent years have enjoyed vast success seeing multiple promotions between 2017 and 2024 Moving from Division 5 to Division 1 of the West Central Leagues. Also winning divison 3 in 2022-23 and division 2 in 2023-24

Club honours

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Winners - 2023[4]

Winners - 2023

Runners-Up 2023

Runners-Up 2024

Players and coaches

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Current squad

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Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Taylor Bamford Hooker   Wales
Liam Thomas Hooker   Wales
Corey Westermark Hooker   Wales
Charlie Evans Prop   Wales
Nathan Hills Prop   Wales
Haydn Manorek Prop   Wales
Lewis Thomas Prop   Wales
Scott Allen Lock   Wales
Josh Collier Lock   England
Jack Sterio Lock   Wales
Kyle Rees Lock   Wales
Charlie Thomas Lock   Wales
Max Wood Lock   Wales
Liam Cordin Flanker   Wales
Matthew Dawson Flanker   Wales
Cameron Hartnoll Flanker   Wales
Dylan Hills Flanker   Wales
Adam Humphreys Flanker   Wales
Dafydd Weaver Flanker   Wales
Daniel Llewellyn Number 8   Wales
Player Position Union
Liam Garland Scrum-half   Wales
Lewis Garland Scrum-half   Wales
Luke Jones Scrum-half   Wales
Ben Williams-Jones Scrum-half   Wales
Callum Hanney Fly-half   Wales
Lewis Humphreys Fly-half   Wales
Tom Bevan Centre   Wales
Shane Davies Centre   Wales
Duggie Jamieson Centre   Wales
James Garland Centre   Wales
Dafydd Roberts Centre   Wales
Luke Curtis Centre   Wales
William Evans Wing   Wales
Callum Roache Wing   Wales
Brandon Richards Wing   Wales
Richard Brunton Fullback   Wales
Jordan Garland Fullback   Wales
Ashton Shepard Fullback   Wales

Controversy

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In 2019 began a decline in club support due to a fault on the access bridge to the field owned by Welsh Water.[5] This issue has led to debate in Welsh Parliment with Assembly members questioning Welsh Waters support to the communities it serves. Conservative MS for South West Wales, Tom Giffard, said people in the community used to clean the bridge.

"Now instead, there's debris building up around the bridge... building a dam and therefore is a risk of flooding," he said.

"I want Welsh Water to assess that and see whether the fact that the bridge is closed is having an impact on flood risk in the area." he added.

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References

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  1. ^ Whatsthepont (2013-05-07). "Vardre Venice of Swansea Valley". Whatsthepont. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  2. ^ WRU (2024-01-01). "Vardre RFC". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  3. ^ BBC News (2004-07-08). "Wales' regional rugby map". BBC. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  4. ^ Joe Jones (2024-05-23). "Best Rugby Team Every Part of Wales". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  5. ^ Aimee Thomas (2022-03-16). "Bridge Closure threatens rugby Club". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-03-16.