BACK in the traditional heartlands of the game in Wales, the South Wales Scorpions Rugby League Club were formed to fill the gap that was left by the Crusaders' departure.
The Scorpions have started life in Co-operative Championship One and stunned the sporting world by beating the experienced former Super League club Workington Town 22-20 in their first ever game last Sunday.
A team like the Scorpions was always on the cards, even if the Crusaders had remained in South Wales. Back in 2006, it was talked about by one of the Crusaders founders Chris O'Callaghan that should the Crusaders reach Super League then another Welsh professional side would be formed in its place.
Last year, before the Crusaders even thought about upping sticks, the idea was talked about again as it was felt that, with Super League ditching its reserve league in favour of an under 20 competition, there was nowhere else to go for up and coming Welsh players if they hadn't managed to secure a regular Super League place by the time they had turned 21 years old.
The Scorpions' formation may have been accelerated but the club have certainly started as they mean to go on. Their first team squad of 25 contains 24 players who are qualified to play for Wales, 22 of whom were born in Wales and 19 of whom came through the Crusaders academy or have played for local amateur clubs in South Wales.
The Scorpions also have the potential to take British-born Crusaders players on loan and can dual register Crusaders first team squad players who are under 23 years old to assist with their development.
The Scorpions' 22-20 win over a club that had just celebrated its 65th anniversary was an outstanding achievement. For many of the players, it was there first foray into the professional game and they came through it with flying colours. Man of the match Steve Parry was outstanding after coming on as substitute, his try topping off a fine performance.
Parry said: "I was very pleased with last Sunday. It's always good to get a try on your debut. I think the game went well especially in the first half.
"The boys in the pack made it easy for me and helped me to make a couple of runs which steadied the nerves. My aim now is to play well this weekend, do my best and improve on my game."
Parry is one of many players who have signed for the Scorpions from local Welsh Rugby League Conference Premier clubs.
"The step up has been pretty good," he said. "It's obviously a lot harder than Valley Cougars but the coaching staff have helped me get to grips with it and I'm learning all the time."
This Sunday, South Wales Scorpions take on South Wales Thunder at Carmarthen Athletic RFC (kick-off 1pm). The Thunder are a relatively new side themselves, having only played a couple of games so far.
With a team selected from players who turn out in the successful Welsh Conference Premier League, South Wales Thunder were formed late last year to give young Welsh players a chance to play rugby league all year round as the Conference season runs from just May to August.
The Scorpions will field more of a development side in this game with coach Anthony Seibold making sure that any squad player who didn't get a game against Workington Town, will take the field against South Wales Thunder while no Crusaders dual registered or loan players will take part. Loz Wildbore has also been rested.
Seibold says: "I wanted to give all of our players a game against Wigan a couple of weeks ago but that match of course was called off. They'll get a chance to impress on Sunday now. Obviously our team for Doncaster the following week will depend on who we get back from the Crusaders but it's up to these guys to impress on Sunday to earn a place in the squad for the following week."
The Scorpions coach says that he hasn't ruled out making more new signings and if anyone impresses him from the South Wales Thunder side then they could also get a chance to turn professional.
"The door isn't closed," Seibold adds. "The Thunder guys will be keen to impress too as I'm sure a few of them trialled for the Scorpions but didn't make the cut, and they'll want to prove a couple of points. If we see someone who performs well this week, there could be an opportunity for them to join our squad as we're always looking for quality Welsh players."
The fact that there is a team like South Wales Thunder is testament to the growing interest of young men who want to play rugby league in Wales. The Welsh Conference (which will probably now be renamed the South Wales Conference after positive developments in the north) is set to expand to at least 12 teams this summer and they will be divided into two divisions for the first time with each team playing ten games before competing in the play-offs.
The Premier Division will consist of Valley Cougars, Bridgend Blue Bulls, Cardiff Demons, Blackwood Bulldogs, Newport Titans and a new West Wales "Super Club", the Carmarthenshire Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion (CPC) Bears.
The regional division, which will be contested on a Merit Table basis will include Torfaen Tigers, Tydfil Wildcats, Dinefwr Sharks, Neath Port Talbot Steelers, West Wales Wildboars and Ammanford Rhinos with the possibility of more teams also joining.
The official launch of this league is set for early April at The Senydd in Cardiff Bay where all clubs, including representatives from the Crusaders and the Scorpions, including Iestyn Harris, will be present.
This Sunday, Blackwood Bulldogs take on Oldham Roughyeds, a team in South Wales Scorpions' division, who beat Swinton Lions 38-20 in their first Championship One game of the season last Sunday.
Blackwood Bulldogs, last year's Welsh Conference Premier champions are the first non-professional Welsh side to reach the Third Round of the Challenge Cup in ten years following defeats of Edge Hill University and Edinburgh Eagles in their first two ties.
In 2000, Cardiff Demons lost 90-0 to Keighley Cougars, who were then riding high at the top of the Northern Ford Premiership, the division below Super League at the time.
This Sunday's game is set to be played at Sedgley Park RUFC as Oldham are currently a club without a home ground. Kick-off is at 3pm.
Blackwood Bulldogs chairman Andrew Smith said: "Everyone in Blackwood is looking forward to Sunday's game. We know how tough it will be, Oldham are a professional side who have played five competitive games already this season while we'll only be on our third game of the year with some of our lads maybe having to play rugby union the day before. But we'll have a strong side going up there as usual and we're once again determined to do Wales proud.
"We'll go out there full of confidence as we do want to win. Cup shocks have happened throughout the competition's history and who knows? We could pull off another one this Sunday if we play well as we want to be drawn against the Crusaders in round four."
Full-back David James, who scored a hat-trick for the Bulldogs in the last round, will play for South Wales Scorpions after Blackwood's cup run ends and has been training with the new professional side since its inception.
James said: "It will be a really good experience to go up against Oldham this Sunday. We're fielding more or less the same team as in the earlier rounds so we know that we can do a good job. It'll also be good for me to see how Oldham play as hopefully I'll be facing them again twice more this year when the Scorpions play against them."
With all of this positivity coming out of Wales it's not surprising that local and national media are queuing up to cover the sport.
Sky Sports' "Boots N All" programme are showing highlights of South Wales Scorpions' opening game on this Wednesday night's show after the full game was covered live on BBC radio.
ITV Wales are planning a special report on the evening news this Friday, focussing on the exploits of both South Wales Scorpions and Blackwood Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs' second round game was covered by BBC's Super League Show and they are set to do the same for the Oldham match.
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