players from both Ebbw Vale (Chick Jenkins and Oliver Burgham) and Merthyr Tydfil (Dai "Tarw" Jones and David Davies). Rather than playing the game at either Ebbw Vale or Merthyr, the neutral ground of Aberdare Athletic Ground was chosen by the Northern Union. An earlier attempt to produce a professional team in Aberdare had failed, despite the fact that the town had been at the centre of the "shamateurism" row; mainly due to a failure to achieve financial backing and a failure to secure a playing field. After a crowd of 15000 paid £560 to watch Wales win 9-8, and the commercial potential of a Northern Union club became more apparent. A group of 'tradesmen and sportsmen' met in March 1908 to agree financing, and from this Aberdare RLFC was formed. The second match was another international, this time the first encounter between Wales and England on 20 April 1908. In similar circumstances the Northern Union chose another venue where professional sympathies lay, this time Tonypandy in the Rhondda Valley. Just a few weeks after the game, Tonypandy saw the emergence of their own Northern team, Mid-Rhondda. A second Rhondda team also formed at almost the same time, Treherbert RLFC joined the Union in April. The sixth and final Welsh team, Barry, joined at the same time, and they played their first match in September, against Treherbert. Welsh League XIII A Welsh League XIII was formed to face the Australia national rugby league team on their first tour. The first league tourists were the New Zealand team in 1908, who faced the Wales team, but Australia did not face Wales so the Welsh League XIII was the closest the Kangaroos came to facing the national side. The Welsh League XIII was made up of players from all six teams, but the majority came from Merthyr, who supplied eight of the thirteen players. The Welsh League XIII faced the Australians at Merthyr in front of a crowd of 6000, and won the game by a narrow 14-13 scoreline. A Welsh League XIII also played Ebbw Vale at the end of the 1908/09 season. Collapse of the Welsh League The Welsh League lasted for just two seasons, and the 1909/10 tournament had just three teams competing. Simply the League failed because the clubs failed and with no new clubs emerging the first attempt at bringing rugby league to Wales came to an