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Prince William Cup
SportRugby union
Instituted2007
Number of teams2
Country South Africa
 Wales
Holders South Africa (2023)
Most titles South Africa (9 titles)

The Prince William Cup was created in 2007 by the Welsh Rugby Union and celebrates 100 years of rugby union history between Wales and South Africa. It is named after the Vice Royal Patron of the WRU, the Prince of Wales, who presented the cup, at the inaugural match, held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 24 November 2007.

Trophy

The trophy was chosen by Prince William, from three different designs presented by specialist jewellers. Mari Thomas from Llanelli and Nicola Palterman from Neath won the commission to create the cup.[1] The pair, who have exhibited their jewellery around the world from London to New York City, claim the creation of the 55 cm high, 1.5 mm gauge trophy as their biggest and most elaborate creation to date. The Prince William Cup is inspired by the landscapes of South Africa and Wales.[1] The trophy is silver lined with 23 carat gold plate and is cone shaped tapering from 16 cm at the rim to 8 cm at its base.[2] The trophy is the ninth of its type in world rugby and was presented to the winner of the first clash by Prince William himself.[3]

Controversy

The naming of the cup after Prince William has caused controversy in Wales. Opponents to the name called on the WRU to rename the trophy in honour of Welsh international rugby star Ray Gravell, who died on 31 October 2007.[4] During a tribute to Gravell at the inaugural match the stadium announcer asked the crowd to remember Ray as 'gwir dywysog Cymru', a true prince of Wales. Gravell's funeral was attended by over 10,000 people, including Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales. Following The Cambrian, calling for the cup to be renamed in tribute to Gravell, it was raised in the National Assembly for Wales[5] by Plaid Cymru AM Bethan Jenkins, although the Welsh Government stated it has no view nor responsibility over the issue.[6] Amongst MPs, Labour MP Paul Flynn and Plaid's Adam Price MP also called for the WRU to honour Ray Gravell, as did an online petition.[4][7]

Matches

Details P  South Africa  Wales D South Africa points Wales points
South Africa South Africa 6 5 1 0 193 126
Wales Wales 11 6 4 0 216 199
Neutral venue 1 0 1 0 20 22
Overall 18 12 6 0 429 347

Results

Year Date Venue Home Score Away Trophy
winner
2007 24 November Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  12–34  South Africa South Africa
2008 7 June Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein South Africa  43–17  Wales South Africa
14 June Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 37–21
2008 8 November Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  15–20  South Africa South Africa
2010 5 June Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  31–34  South Africa South Africa
2010 13 November Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  25–29  South Africa South Africa
2013 9 November Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  15–24  South Africa South Africa
2014 7 June Kings Park Stadium, Durban South Africa  38–16  Wales South Africa
14 June Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit 31–30
2014 29 November Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  12–6  South Africa Wales
2016 26 November Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  27–13  South Africa Wales
2017 2 December Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  24–22  South Africa Wales
2018 2 June RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. South Africa  20–22  Wales Wales
2018 24 November Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  20–11  South Africa Wales
2021 6 November Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Wales  18–23  South Africa South Africa
2022 2 July Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria South Africa  32–29  Wales South Africa
9 July Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 12–13
16 July DHL Stadium, Cape Town 30–14

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Nicola and Mari". BBC. 24 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Prince William Cup to go on display". principalitystadium.wales. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Prince William is the new patron of Welsh Rugby Union, taking over from Her Majesty". royalcentral.co.uk. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Stradey to stage Gravell funeral". BBC News. 5 November 2007.
  5. ^ "Welsh Assembly session 06.11.07". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  6. ^ Jenkins, Bethan (6 November 2007). "Bethan Jenkins AC/AM: Renaming Prince William Cup to Ray Gravell/ Ail enwi cwpan Tywysog William i Ray Gravell". Bethan Jenkins AC/AM.
  7. ^ Price, Adam (5 November 2007). "Adam calls to rename cup after our Grav with Westminster Motion". www.adampriceblog.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 November 2007.
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