Ospreys Rugby Football Club, Wales (original) (raw)

Ospreys Rugby (Neath-Swansea Ospreys Rugby until 2005) is one of the four regional Welsh teams, which were set up in 2003 by the Welsh Rugby Union to boost professional rugby in Wales. The club emerged as a balanced partnership (50/50) between Neath RFC (founded in 1871, the oldest Welsh rugby club) and Swansea RFC (founded in 1873). The Ospreys won the Celtic League, played by the professional regional teams of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, in 2005 and 2007, and the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2008.

The name of the new club was chosen as a reference of the colours of the two founding clubs, black for Neath (once known as the [Welsh] All Blacks) and white for Swansea (once known as the All Whites). The osprey (Pandion haliaetus, aka sea hawk) is indeed a black and white bird of prey.

The flag used by the Ospreys' supporters is black with the osprey's "facial mask" in white, surmounting the name of the club, in white letters. Such flags were seen, for instance, during the quarters of the European Rugby Cup lost against Biarritz (28-29) in the Anoeta Stadium of San Sebastian, 10 April 2010.

http://www.ospreysrugby.com - Ospreys official website

Ivan Sache, 11 April 2010