Mid-Rhondda Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Tonypandy, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at the Athletic Ground in Tonypandy, Mid-Rhondda were one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folding after just a single season. Mid-Rhondda later became Mid Rhondda F.C., a notable association football team in the Rhondda Valleys. Club history Formation In 1907 the first two rugby league teams in Wales were formed, Ebbw Vale and Merthyr Tydfil. Although South Wales was best known for its rugby union teams, events in Aberdare and the Rhondda between 1905 and 1907 had revealed several clubs were breaking amateur rules and were paying their players. This led to club and player suspensions by the Welsh Rugby Union, and this in turn led to some clubs considering switching to the professional Northern Union and rugby league. On 1 January 1908, Aberdare hosted a Wales versus New Zealand encounter in the world's first full international rugby league game. Then, on 20 April, Tonypandy was chosen as the location for the very first rugby league encounter between Wales and England, with the match played at the local Athletic Ground. Wales won 35–18, and a crowd of 12000 was recorded. The Mid-Rhondda club, also known as the Mid-Rhondda Social and Athletic Club, was formed just a few weeks after the Wales vs. England game and was admitted to the Northern Union on 30 June 1908. The club headquarters was at the Cross Keys Hotel in Tonypandy, and their home pitch was the Athletic Ground, later known as King George's Park. With the formation that year of three other Welsh league teams, Barry, Aberdare and Treherbert, a Welsh League was formed allowing Mid-Rhondda to compete in two leagues. 1908–09 Mid-Rhondda played their debut in the Northern Rugby League on 5 September 1908 in a home fixture with Bradford Northern. A crowd of 2000 watched the game, in which Mid-Rhondda took an early lead before eventually losing 15–5. This was followed by a string of defeats to Treherbert, Ebbw Vale and Merthyr, before the club faced international opposition, the first touring Australian team. Mid-Rhondda were the Australians' first opponents of the tour, and a crowd of 7500 was recorded for the match, one of the largest attendances of the tour. The Australians led 18–0 at half time, but tries from Frank Wrentmore and