Senghenydd RFC and the 1913 explosion

Senghenydd RFC, the rugby union club of the Aber Valley village above Caerphilly, was formed in the 1898/99 season around the workers who came from Welsh port towns to take jobs at the newly sunk Senghenydd pits. Five of its members were among those killed in the Universal Colliery explosion of 14 October 1913, the worst mining disaster in British history, and the club still keeps the memory: since 2025 its under-16s have played for a Universal Colliery Cup, with a miner's lamp as the trophy.

The mining history in this record

The club formed in the 1898/99 season, built around the migrant workers who had come to Senghenydd from the port areas of Wales for work in the new coal mines. In 1904 the religious revival led by the lay preacher Evan Roberts swept south Wales; rugby was condemned as a wicked sport, and so many players were converted that the club disbanded for want of a team. A side re-formed in 1907 as Senghenydd Bluebells RFC before taking back the old name, and it won the Cardiff and District League second division and the Lord Ninian Stuart Cup in 1911/12.

On 14 October 1913 an explosion at the Universal Colliery killed 439 miners and one rescuer. Five members of Senghenydd RFC were among the dead; the sources read do not name them. In the 1914/15 season the club was admitted to the Welsh Rugby Union, but the First World War stopped competitive rugby before it could play as a member.

People

The five club members killed in 1913, not named in the sources read. Evan Roberts, the revivalist preacher whose 1904 campaign emptied the club of players.

Legacy today

The club plays at the Welfare Ground in Senghenydd and had its most successful years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, winning the Mid-District Championship five times in six seasons and, in 1970/71, the Glamorgan County Silver Ball with a perfect league record of twenty wins from twenty. On 10 October 2025, four days before the anniversary of the explosion, its under-16s, the Young Saints, played Whiteheads RFC under the Welfare Ground floodlights for the first Universal Colliery Cup, a miner's lamp bought by the team's own fundraisers. It began as a way of raising money for a tour; the club hopes each under-16 side will play for it every year as its last game in junior rugby.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The club formed during the 1898/99 season, built around immigrant workers who came from port areas around Wales for work in the newly sunk Senghenydd coal mines. (later recollection) ¹
• The 1904 religious revival led by Evan Roberts caused Senghenydd RFC to disband for lack of players; a team re-formed in 1907 as Senghenydd Bluebells RFC. (later recollection) ¹
• Five members of the Senghenydd rugby team were among those killed in the 1913 explosion at Senghenydd Colliery. (later recollection) ^2,1
• On 10 October 2025 Senghenydd RFC's under-16s played Whiteheads RFC at the Welfare Ground in the first match for the Universal Colliery Cup, a miner's lamp, honouring the 440 who died in 1913. (contemporary account) ³

Mines

• Universal Colliery — Caerphilly
  Five members of the Senghenydd rugby team died in the 1913 explosion at this colliery.

Disasters

• Senghenydd colliery disaster, 1913 — 14 October 1913
  Five members of the Senghenydd rugby team were among the dead.

Regions

Caerphilly

Sources

1. (secondary) Senghenydd RFC — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) History of rugby union in Wales — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Young Saints honour Senghenydd's mining legacy with new memorial rugby cup (Richard Gurner, 13 October 2025) — Caerphilly Observer

Record created: 19 September 2026 · Last researched: 19 September 2026