The now-famous photograph of the Cardiff Ladies XV in the Cardiff clubhouse is believed to be the oldest known image of a women’s rugby team. It can be dated precisely, because it was taken on 15th December 1917, just before the players went out to meet their Newport rivals at the Arms Park. The encounter between Cardiff and Newport that day was a significant event and it has long enjoyed a strong claim to being the first genuine game of women’s rugby played in the public arena.
As with all civilian matches during the First World War, the proceeds were donated to charity. Cardiff RFC abandoned fixtures at the outbreak of war in August 1914, but by 1916/17 they began running a regular unofficial wartime XV to support various local and military charities. The women’s match was played in aid of the Cardiff City Battalion.
The Cardiff players were mostly employees of Hancock’s brewery, while Newport’s team was drawn from the staff of Lysaghts iron works. Unfortunately, the names of most of the participants were not recorded. The best-known member of the Cardiff team is Maria Lillian Eley (or Maria Evans as she then was in 1917). Born on 12th January 1900, she was therefore only seventeen when she turned out at full back against Newport. Maria lived to 106 and in March 2000, at the age of 100, she was guest of honour of Cardiff RFC at the match against Caerphilly at the Arms Park, where she was introduced to the crowd. Maria was apparently one of the recommendations for the first woman to be inducted into World Rugby’s Hall of Fame.
When asked in an interview with the Penarth Times, how she accounted for her longevity, she replied, ‘rugby’. Maria added, ‘We loved it. It was such fun with us all playing together on the pitch, but we had to stop when the men came back from the war, which was a shame. Such great fun we had.’ Evidently then, Cardiff Ladies played on several occasions. There is a brief reference in the press to them playing in Treorchy in May 1918 but no details of any of their other matches have yet been discovered.
As with all civilian matches during the First World War, the proceeds were donated to charity. Cardiff RFC abandoned fixtures at the outbreak of war in August 1914, but by 1916/17 they began running a regular unofficial wartime XV to support various local and military charities. The women’s match was played in aid of the Cardiff City Battalion.
The Cardiff players were mostly employees of Hancock’s brewery, while Newport’s team was drawn from the staff of Lysaghts iron works. Unfortunately, the names of most of the participants were not recorded. The best-known member of the Cardiff team is Maria Lillian Eley (or Maria Evans as she then was in 1917). Born on 12th January 1900, she was therefore only seventeen when she turned out at full back against Newport. Maria lived to 106 and in March 2000, at the age of 100, she was guest of honour of Cardiff RFC at the match against Caerphilly at the Arms Park, where she was introduced to the crowd. Maria was apparently one of the recommendations for the first woman to be inducted into World Rugby’s Hall of Fame.
When asked in an interview with the Penarth Times, how she accounted for her longevity, she replied, ‘rugby’. Maria added, ‘We loved it. It was such fun with us all playing together on the pitch, but we had to stop when the men came back from the war, which was a shame. Such great fun we had.’ Evidently then, Cardiff Ladies played on several occasions. There is a brief reference in the press to them playing in Treorchy in May 1918 but no details of any of their other matches have yet been discovered.