Cardiff may be known as the capital of Wales and the heartbeat of Welsh rugby and their regional team is pretty much the same.
* Get DStv to watch all the URC action *
Playing out of Cardiff Arms’ Park, the regional franchise was formed in 2003 and while the other Welsh regions had to be incorporated out of the nine clubs in the region, Cardiff was a standalone region that formed under their new banner as the Cardiff Blues.
Despite some calls to drop the Cardiff and follow the Southern Hemisphere tradition of going with the team nickname, Cardiff continued with both until last year, where they decided to drop the “Blues” from their name and revert to Cardiff Rugby.
With a rich tradition and some notable players who have played for them - including the great Jonah Lomu, albeit at the end of his career - Cardiff have been a Welsh powerhouse for a number of years and are well known for their battles with the Springboks over the years.
Cardiff Rugby was originally formed in 1876 and are the professional arm of Cardiff Rugby Football Club, who also compete in the Indigo Group Welsh Premiership and can be traced back to the late 1800s.
The club was founded following an amalgamation between Cardiff Wanderers and the Glamorgan Football Club and the first game took place on December 2, 1876, against great rivals Newport RFC.
The club initially played in an all black strip adorned with a skull and crossbones but following complaints from parents the colours were changed to the familiar Cambridge blue and black.
During the next 127 years, the Blue & Blacks became universally acknowledged as one of the world’s most famous and successful sides.
Cardiff have been credited for creating the modern three-quarter system, for which both they and the initiator, Frank Hancock, were inducted to the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2010.
Playing at Cardiff Arms Park, they claimed victories over major touring teams, including Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and achieved numerous national honours.
Cardiff also reached the inaugural European Cup final in 1996, where they slipped to an agonising extra time defeat to Toulouse.
With the advent of regional rugby in 2003, Cardiff was granted its own standalone team and the new professional side at Cardiff Arms Park initially played under the Cardiff Blues brand.
The region originally encompassed Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan but following the demise of the Celtic Warriors in 2004, proudly took on responsibility for a wider area that included Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr and Powys.
Cardiff Rugby currently represents a region including five unitary authorities (Cardiff, RCT, Merthyr, Powys and the Vale of Glamorgan) and 76 clubs, including Cardiff, Merthyr and Pontypridd in the Principality Premiership.
Cardiff Rugby remains proud of its heritage as well as the wider area it now represents, the many renowned clubs within it and their own unique achievements.
During the regional era Cardiff Rugby have twice won the European Challenge Cup (2010 and 2018), plus the Anglo-Welsh Cup (2009), while Cardiff RFC have added an eighth Welsh Cup title.
Cardiff Rugby have supplied more Wales internationals and British & Irish Lions than any other team with Josh Adams and Josh Navidi included on the 2021 tour to South Africa.
Former greats of the game including Cliff Morgan, Bleddyn Williams, Gareth Edwards, Barry John, Terry Holmes, John Scott, Neil Jenkins, Jonah Lomu, Gethin Jenkins and Sam Warburton have all proudly worn the Blue and Black, while there are 23 internationals in the current squad.
And while they may be struggling currently, the rich history and tradition make them formidable opposition for any team.
