Prince William Cup
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2007 |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Country |  South Africa Wales |
| Holders | South Africa (2021) |
| Most titles | South Africa (8 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.
The 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 for Prince William has caused considerable controversy in Wales. Many people 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. On-line petitions were launched. The matter was raised in the National Assembly for Wales by Helen Mary Jones AM backed by a number of other AMs[5] including Bethan Jenkins.[6] Amongst MPs, Labour MP Paul Flynn and Plaid's Adam Price MP called for the WRU to honour Ray Gravell as a patriotic Welshman rather than Prince William, regarded by many in Wales as an Englishman who openly supports the England rugby and football teams.[7]
An online petition has been created calling for the cup to be renamed to honour Ray Gravell.[8]
Matches
| Details | P | South Africa
|
Wales
|
D | South Africa points | Wales points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 193 | 126 |
| Wales
|
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 216 | 199 |
| Neutral venue | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 22 |
| Overall | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 429 | 347 |
Results
- ST – Summer Test
- AI – Autumn International
See also
References
- ^ a b "Nicola and Mari". BBC. 24 November 2018.
- ^ "Prince William Cup to go on display". principalitystadium.wales. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ BBC Wales South West
- ^ "Welsh Assembly session 06.11.07". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ Bethan Jenkins AM on Blogspot
- ^ Adam Price MP calls on WRU to rename cup Archived 11 November 2007 at archive.today
- ^ Rename the Prince William cup to Ray Gravell petition
- Webarchive template archiveis links
- Use dmy dates from April 2021
- Use British English from July 2012
- History of rugby union matches between South Africa and Wales
- Rugby union controversies
- Rugby union international rivalry trophies
- 2007 establishments in Wales
- 2007 establishments in South Africa
- William, Prince of Wales