Prince William Cup

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, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who presented the cup, at the inaugural match, held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 24 November 2007.

Prince William Cup
SportRugby union
Instituted2007
Number of teams2
Country South Africa
 Wales
Holders Wales (2018)
Most titles South Africa (7 titles)

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 16cm at the rim to 8cm 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 4 4 0 0 149 84
Wales 7 4 3 0 148 130
Neutral venue 1 0 1 0 20 22
Overall 12 8 4 0 317 236

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

References
  1. "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. BBC Wales South West
  5. "Welsh Assembly session 06.11.07". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  6. Bethan Jenkins AM on Blogspot
  7. Adam Price MP calls on WRU to rename cup Archived 11 November 2007 at Archive.today
  8. Rename the Prince William cup to Ray Gravell petition
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