abrupt end. The new clubs faced hostility from the rugby union scene, class prejudice and the rise of a more popular professional game, association football. Though the biggest issues for the Welsh League were an inability to challenge the more established clubs for players, a lack of support from the Northern Union and the mismanagement of the Welsh clubs. The Welsh League was weak in comparison with the more established northern clubs. Between the six clubs competing only one Welsh rugby union international was signed to their books, and that was Merthyr's Dai "Tarw" Jones. With little capital up front, they were seen as a poor alternative to players wishing to switch to the professional code. Ben Gronow was offered £25 and a job to join Ebbw Vale, yet he turned down the offer only to accept a fee of £125 to sign with Huddersfield. With few star players, the attendance at matches was low, and therefore the club takings suffered. The Northern Union was also unhelpful in these early attempts at creating a Welsh League, expecting the Welsh clubs to take care of themselves. When Ebbw Vale and Merthyr formed in 1907, the Northern Union allowed a travel subsidy of £10 every time they played in the north, but after the election of the other four clubs, this subsidy was reduced to £5, despite the problems facing the new clubs. The Northern Union also showed little support in helping the new clubs cope with the challenges of professionalism, and few questions were asked about the background of the people running each business. By 1910, Merthyr's administration was described as shambolic with no one appearing to be running the club; while financially it was reliant on unsecured loans that helped precipitate its rapid demise. Although difficult to measure, the uncaring attitude of the northern clubs also had an effect on the Welsh game. One commentator stated, 'if the game there [South Wales] cannot be made self-supporting, clubs in the north should not be taxed to make good its weakness.' When Tom Thomas failed to settle in Wigan, his club placed a hefty £60 fee on his head to transfer back to Wales. Merthyr raised the fee with great difficulty, and although it made good business sense for Wigan to get the best price for a player of little future use to them, it was the sort of short-sightedness that damaged