West Wales Raiders

The West Wales Raiders were a semi-professional rugby league club based in Llanelli, Wales. They competed in League 1, the third tier of the British rugby league system, from 2018 until 2022.

The club was founded in 2014 as an amateur club, Gwendraeth Valley Raiders, who competed in the Welsh Conference Premier. In 2015, the team joined the Conference League South and dropped Gwendraeth Valley from their name.

In July 2017, owner Andrew Thorne bought League 1 club South Wales Ironmen, relocating them to Stebonheath Park in Llanelli. The Ironmen were renamed West Wales Raiders in 2018 and continued to play at Stebonheath Park. The club withdrew from the league at the end of the 2022 season.

History

The club was founded in 2014 as an amateur club, Gwendraeth Valley Raiders, who competed in the Welsh Conference Premier in the 2014 season. In 2015, the team joined the Conference League South, and entering an 'A' team in the Welsh competition. The club also dropped Gwendraeth Valley from their name at this time. In December 2016, the RFL announced that the Conference League South would be discontinued for the 2017 season.

In July 2017, West Wales Raiders owner Andrew Thorne bought League 1 club South Wales Ironmen. The Ironmen moved to Llanelli's Stebonheath Park effective immediately. The club was rebranded the West Wales Raiders in 2018 and remained in League 1 and, as such, the Raiders can be regarded as a continuation of the Ironmen club, and their previous incarnation the South Wales Scorpions.

In April 2018, the club were on the receiving end of a record score and losing margin when they lost 0–144 to York. The previous highest scoring game was in November 1994 when Huddersfield beat Blackpool by 142–4; the losing margin was also equalled the next day in 1994 by Barrow who beat Nottingham City 138–0. An Australian news article after the York defeat suggested the team as "the world's worst rugby league team ever".

The West Wales Raiders finished the 2018 Betfred League 1 season winless and on negative points. The Rugby Football League imposed a four-point, retrospective deduction after the club pleaded guilty to breaching a number of Operational Rules regarding the fielding of ineligible players.

The 2019 season saw the West Wales Raiders again finish at the foot of the table but a win was registered in a home match against Coventry Bears. In 2019 they played 20 league matches and won 1, lost 19, scoring a total of 222 points and conceding 1091.

In 2020 former Wales rugby union international Gavin Henson briefly came out of retirement and signed for the Raiders.

In the 2021 League 1 season, West Wales finished bottom of the table failing to win a single game for the entire year. In the 2022 League 1 season, West Wales finished last on the table winning only one game for the entire year and losing their other 19 matches conceding 1196 points.

On 22 December 2022 the joint owners of the club, Andrew Thorne and Peter Tiffin, announced that the club had withdrawn from League One and the Challenge Cup for 2023.

Seasons

SeasonLeagueChallenge CupOther competitionsRefs Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Play-offs2015Conference League South161006634402203rdLost in semi-finals 2016Conference League South1450937851595th 2017colspan=14 2018League 12600261762106−414thR3 2019League 12010192221091211thR31895 Cup R12020League 1colspan="9"R3 2021League 1180117238942110thR3 1895 Cup R12022League 12010191401196211thR2

Records Overall P W D L F A Pts84218177653351colspan="7" Biggest win: 84–0 vs Gloucestershire Warriors (at Coney Hill, 15 August 2015) Biggest defeat: 144–0 vs York City Knights (at Bootham Crescent, 29 April 2018)

Notes

West Wales Raiders

Bron en licentie