 the welsh rugby union (wru) () is the governing body of rugby union in wales, recognised by the international rugby board.  the union's patron is queen elizabeth ii, and, despite openly being a supporter of the england national rugby union team, her grandson prince william of wales became the vice royal patron of the welsh rugby union as of february 2007. ==history==  the roots of the welsh rugby union lay in the creation of the south wales football club in september 1875; formed:  the south wales football club was superseded in 1878 by the south wales football union in an attempt to bring greater regulation to the sport and to select representatives from club sides to represent the international game. the swfu though were poorly organised, and although they arranged fixtures between a south wales team and various english clubs, they were often victims of fixture-clashes and were accused of lacking energy. in 1880, richard mullock, secretary of the newport athletic club, decided to take matters into his own hands and without the backing of the swfu organised an international match against england. the match took place on 19 february 1881, and was won by england seven goals, one dropped goal and six tries to nil. this heavy defeat lay the seeds for further reforms that would lead to the creation of the wru.smith (1980), pg 34â40. there is confusion regarding the official date of creation of the welsh rugby union. in march 1880 nine teams supposedly met at the tenby hotel
1881_establishments_in_Wales International_Rugby_Board_members Organisations_based_in_Cardiff Rugby_union_governing_bodies_in_Europe Rugby_union_in_Wales Sports_governing_bodies_in_Wales