Sponsorship Opportunities

Be a part of a new era for rugby league in South Wales.

The newly formed South Wales Scorpions Rugby League Football Club are looking for potential sponsors, from programme advertisements to matchday sponsors and shirt and kit sponsors.

The club will be playing in Co-operative Championship 1 and will be seen be a nationwide audience throughout 2010 at grounds over England and Wales plus in newspapers and on television news with the potential of live Sky Sports coverage.

All home games will be played at The Gnoll in Neath, the birthplace of Welsh rugby.

BE A PART OF A NEW BEGINNING!

Packages from as little as £25.

Please contact Mark Rowley on 07850 105516 or email mark.rowley@cymrurl.com.

500 members reached on Facebook

South Wales Scorpions RLFC are delighted to have recruited 500 Facebook members in their first week and the club hopes to reach 1,500 by the time the 2010 season starts on Sunday 28 February with a home game against Workington Town at The Gnoll (kick-off 2pm).

"To have recruited over 500 fans in such a short space of time with no games being played yet just shows how popular that the Scorpions will be," said Scorpions director Mark Rowley. "We will be making further announcements regarding our coaching staff and other parts of the club in January, and we've had an excellent response for our open trials for players in Trefforest on January 10th. We've had a lot of positive messages from potential supporters and we all now can't wait for February 28th."

Click on the Facebook image above to join.

We are the Scorpions!

Wales’ newest professional rugby league club has been named “South Wales Scorpions RLFC”.

The newly formed club, who will play their home matches out of Neath RFC, open their inaugural Co-operative Championship 1 campaign with a home game against former Super League club, Workington Town, at The Gnoll on Sunday 28 February (kick-off 2pm).

The Scorpions moniker was chosen following an internet and radio campaign to suggest a nickname for the club. Congratulations must go to supporter James Bowes from Cardiff for originally suggesting the nickname. He will be sent two season tickets for the Scorpions as a prize.

“We’d like to thank all the fans for submitting their entries,” said Scorpions’ chairman Phil Davies. “We chose Scorpions above all other names as we felt we needed a new identity. It’s a new nickname for professional rugby league and one that is completely original for the area.

Of the two other possibilities, Celts had connotations from the Crusaders while Phoenix suggested a rising from the ashes. There have been a few suggestions that the mascot could be called “Sting” and the junior teams be known as “The Stingers”.

“We hope you all get behind the new team in the new year. I can further inform you that we have a website which is currently under construction at www.scorpionsrl.com. All the latest club news will be posted here for fans to read as soon as any is announced. The complete website, designed by a professional organisation, will be online before we kick off in February.

“I for one now can’t wait for 2010 to begin. In January, maybe before, we’ll be able to announce our head coach and after that, our squad. There are exciting times ahead as we continue to develop rugby league in Wales.”

The Scorpions have also launched their new badge which comes in two colours, the pink and black version will be the primary badge and worn on the home kit while the yellow version will go on the away kit.

Ticket prices confirmed for 2010

South Wales RLFC have announced their season ticket and match admission prices for the 2010 Co-operative Championship 1 season.

The newly formed club, who will play their home matches out of Neath RFC, open their inaugural campaign with a home game against former Super League club, Workington Town, at The Gnoll on Sunday 28 February (kick-off 2pm).

Match admission prices per game for anywhere in the ground are just £8 for adults and £4 for concessions (under 16s, students and seniors) but for the ten-game season, season tickets will cost just £60 for adults and £30 for all concessions giving fans a 25% saving.

Fans will be able to order their tickets early in January.

The new club are also hoping to come up with a nickname by tomorrow.

South Wales RLFC director Mark Rowley said: “Our favourites are Celts, Phoenix and Scorpions, all of which were suggested by fans on internet message boards. All three have their merits, Celts has tradition in the area and fans will already have songs with that name in, Phoenix has a rising from the ashes connotation while Scorpions is something brand new and original and we Welsh always play with a sting in our tale.

“The board are now considering all three names and, all being well, we will make a further announcement tomorrow.”

Swansea Sound to join in the campaign for new name

Swansea Sound’s “Kevin Johns Breakfast Show” has joined in with the campaign to find a nickname for the new rugby league club, South Wales RLFC.

The newly formed club, who will play their home matches out of Neath RFC, open their inaugural Co-operative Championship 1 campaign with a home game against former Super League club, Workington Town, at The Gnoll on Sunday 28 February (kick-off 2pm).

If you listen to Kev Johns’ show on Swansea Sound between 6am and 10am tomorrow on 1170MW, DAB or online at http://www.swanseasound.co.uk/breakfast.php, he will announce details of the competition where you can win two season tickets to watch all the South Wales RLFC games live at The Gnoll throughout 2010.

South Wales to hold open trials for players

South Wales RLFC are holding an open trial for players for their first season on Sunday 10th January at 1pm at the University in Glamorgan playing fields in Trefforest.

The newly formed club, who will play their home matches out of Neath RFC, open their inaugural Co-operative Championship 1 campaign with a home game against former Super League club, Workington Town, at The Gnoll on Sunday 28 February (kick-off 2pm).

Players need to apply by filling in an form. These will be online by the end of this week at www.cymrurl.com and on the new South Wales RLFC website that will go live next week.

"The open trial is for League or union players to come along,” said South Wales director Mark Rowley. “The player base is fantastic here in South Wales. We know that we'll be able to use players who were in the Crusaders reserve team last season but there is still a lot of untapped talent out there.

"We'll be a 99 percent Welsh club which will be good for our identity. We won't be importing any players at all from Australia or New Zealand. We want Welsh players to go on and play Super League.

"Moving from the Conference to the Super League is too big a step. They need this middle ground in order to go on and play Super League and then for Wales. As a nation, we’re building towards qualification for the 2011 Four Nations and 2013 World Cup and this club is an important stepping stone in player development."

"We are hoping to develop links where players can travel back and forth. We’ll be more than a feeder side as players will be able to travel both ways. If the Welsh youngsters are not being used by the Crusaders, hopefully we can get them back.

"We’re hoping to be good enough to gain promotion to the Championship within two years and in six years time, we want to be able to compete for a Super League licence. I'm confident that we have the structure here to enable that to happen.”

Mark Rowley talks to League Express

OUT of the Ashes of the Crusaders sudden 127-mile relocation from Newport to Wrexham spring South Wales RLFC, Rugby League's newest professional club who will play their first League match on February 28th against Workington Town (kick-off 2pm).

The new club will only play Championship One matches this season and will not enter either the Northern Rail Cup or the Challenge Cup, whose formats had already been agreed upon. They will rely mainly on players who played reserve-team football for the Crusaders last season - the Super League side will no longer run a team at that grade.

Mark Rowley, one of the South Wales directors, told 'League Express' that the club will not sign any players from Australia or New Zealand and that they aim to be in the Championship in two years and applying for a Super League licence in six years.

"It all came about two or three weeks ago when the talk of the Crusaders going to North Wales materialised," said Rowley.

"I'm confident that the structure is all there. We have very good people on board. Phil Davies is the owner of the club and the board of directors includes Mike Nicholas, John Devereux and myself.

"John has been the sponsor of amateur Rugby League in Wales for the last five years. He has a number of business interests.

"Other people have agreed to come on board but that won't be publicised just yet."

The side will play their matches at The Gnoll, the home of Neath RUFC, which holds up to 6,000 people and Rowley is confident of attracting healthy first-year crowds, claiming that any negativity among local Rugby League fans over the Crusaders relocation has been extinguished by the formation of the new club.

"We've budgeted a worst-case scenario of 200 a game but we're confident that we'll get 600-700 a game," he said.

"I thought there was some negativity around to be fair, but people seem to be coming round and we've answered some people's questions. The birth of a new club will alleviate the frustration here.

"In six years we hope to be able to compete for a Super League licence and we hope to be in the Championship in two years, even though this first year might not be easy.

"As for players, none are signed on at the moment but there will be an open trial on 3 January for League or union players to come along. The player base is fantastic here and we'll be able to use players who were in the Crusaders reserve team last season.

"We'll be a 99 percent Welsh club which will be good for our identity. We won't be importing any players at all from Australia or New Zealand. We want Welsh players to go on and play Super League.

"Moving from the Conference to the Super League is too big a step. They need this middle ground in order to go on and play Super League."

Rowley is confident that the new outfit will soon be able to announce a new coach.

"I can't say anything about the new coach at the moment but we will be interviewing three or four people this week," he said.

South Wales RLFC fixtures announced

South Wales RLFC will, as announced last week, kick-off their inaugural season in Co-operative Championship 1 with a home game against the former Super League club Workington Town on Sunday 28th February.

The full season’s fixtures were announced today with the much anticipated home “local derby” match against London Skolars taking place a week before Easter on Sunday 28th March.

The club, who will be playing their home games out of the famous Gnoll ground in Neath, will only play league matches in their inaugural season and will enter the Northern Rail Cup and Carnegie Challenge Cup from 2011 onwards.

Executive chairman of Wales Rugby League and one of the South Wales’ club’s directors Mark Rowley said: “We’re looking forward to the first game on February 28th which we’re delighted to see is at home. We anticipate that we will get a good crowd as there has been a lot of excitement regarding our launch. We have an enormous player base to call on in South Wales now so I know that we have the structure down here to be very competitive.”

Full South Wales RLFC fixture list

Sunday 28th February - Workington Town (h) 1pm
Sunday 14th March - Doncaster (a) 3pm
Sunday 21st March - York City Knights (a) 3pm
Sunday 28th March - London Skolars (h) 2pm
Monday 5th April - Hunslet Hawks (h) 2pm
Sunday 11th April - Oldham (h) 2pm
Sunday 25th April - Swinton Lions (a) 3pm
Monday 3rd May - Blackpool Panthers (h) 3pm
Saturday 8th May - Gateshead Thunder (a) 7pm
Sunday 16th May - Rochdale Hornets (h) 2pm
Sunday 23rd May - London Skolars (a) 3pm
Sunday 13th June - Swinton Lions (h) 2pm
Sunday 27th June - Workington Town (a) 3pm
Saturday 3rd July - Blackpool Panthers (a) 3pm
Sunday 11th July - Gateshead Thunder (h) 2pm
Sunday 25th July - Rochdale Hornets (a) 3pm
Sunday 1st August - Oldham (a) 3pm
Sunday 8th August - Doncaster (h) 2pm
Sunday 15th August - York City Knights (h) 2pm
Sunday 21st August - Hunslet Hawks (a) 3pm

South Wales club to join The Co-operative Championship One

The RFL 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.

The new club, South Wales RLFC, will be independently run by a brand 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.

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.”

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 Champions One and Northern Rail Cup fixture lists will be published in full next Monday (December 14).