St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground facts for kids
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| Location | Brynmill, Swansea, SA2 0AR | ||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 51°36′45″N 3°57′56″W / 51.61250°N 3.96556°W | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | City and County of Swansea Council | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Swansea Council | ||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 4,500 | ||||||||||||||
| Surface | Grass | ||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||
| Broke ground | 1873 | ||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1873 | ||||||||||||||
| Renovated | 2024-2025 | ||||||||||||||
| Tenants | |||||||||||||||
| Swansea RFC Swansea Cricket Club Swansea University RFC |
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St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground, often called St Helens Ground, is a famous sports place in Swansea, Wales. The City and County of Swansea Council owns and runs it. It's mostly used for rugby union and cricket. Since it opened in 1873, it has been the home for Swansea RFC (a rugby team) and Swansea Cricket Club.
St Helen's has a rich history in rugby. It hosted the very first home game for the Wales national team in 1882. Wales played many matches here, including games for the Five Nations Championship, until 1954. More recently, the Wales women's team has used the ground.
For cricket, Glamorgan County Cricket Club used St Helen's regularly from 1921 to 2019. The ground has also hosted two big international cricket matches. One was between England and New Zealand in 1973. The other was a 1983 World Cup game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. St Helen's is also famous for being the place where Sir Garfield Sobers hit six sixes in one over. This was a first in first-class cricket!
St Helen's has also hosted international games in other sports. The Wales rugby league team played 13 matches here between 1945 and 1978. Two of these were part of the 1975 World Cup. An international football match between Wales and Ireland also happened here in 1894.
In 2024, it was announced that the Swansea Ospreys rugby union team would move to St Helen's for the 2025/26 rugby season. This means the cricket facilities will be changed for rugby. Swansea Cricket Club will leave the stadium after about 150 years.
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History of St Helen's Ground
Since it opened in 1873, St Helen's has been the home of the Swansea Rugby Football Club and the Swansea Cricket Club.
On June 19, 1928, a young Dylan Thomas won a mile race at the ground. This was during Swansea Grammar School's Sports Day. He kept a newspaper photo of his win until he passed away.
In 2005, the stadium could hold 10,500 seated people. The old east stand, which was very well-known, was taken down. A new metal stand was built in its place. In late 2007, part of the wall around the ground was rebuilt. This made space for a new car park for the Patti Pavilion.
St Helen's Ground is said to have the tallest freestanding flood light in Europe. The light in the north-eastern corner stands at 150 feet (40 meters) tall.
In 2024, it was decided that the Swansea Ospreys rugby union club would take over from Swansea Cricket Club. The Ospreys will become the main tenants from the 2025/26 rugby season. Swansea Cricket Club had been there since 1875 and is now looking for a new home. The stadium will be updated in 2024/25 with new stands. It will become a rugby-only field with a special 4G pitch. Swansea RFC and Swansea University RFC will keep playing rugby there.
Rugby Matches at St Helen's
The very first home international rugby game for Wales was played at St Helen's. This was on December 16, 1882, against England. The ground also saw New Zealand's first win over Wales in 1924.
St Helen's hosted its last major international match on April 10, 1954. After that, it was not used for big international games until 1997, when Wales played Tonga. The decision to stop using Swansea for international rugby in the 1950s was due to several reasons. The ground was very large (50,000 capacity), and there were travel delays for fans and players. Also, games at Cardiff Arms Park brought in more money.
However, St Helen's has hosted three games for the Welsh women's internationals. The first women's international game there was in April 1999 against England. The most recent was in November 2009, when Wales beat Sweden 56–7.
Swansea RFC made history at St Helen's on September 28, 1935. They beat New Zealand 11–3. This made them the first club team ever to beat the All Blacks. Swansea also defeated the world champions Australia 21–6 in November 1992. This was Australia's first match of their Welsh Tour.
Between 1919 and 1952, St Helen's was also the home of Swansea Uplands RFC. This club later moved to Upper Killay.
During the 1975 Rugby League World Cup, Australia beat Wales 18–6. Over 11,000 fans watched this game. The two teams played again at Swansea in 1978, with Australia winning 8-3.
International Rugby League Games
Here is a list of international rugby league matches played at St Helen's:
| Game # | Date | Result | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 November 1945 | .svg){kind=small} Wales def.  England 26–10 |
30,000 | Part of the 1945–46 European Rugby League Championship |
| 2 | 16 November 1946 | England def. Wales 19–5 |
25,000 | Part of the 1946–47 European Rugby League Championship |
| 3 | 12 April 1947 | Wales def.  France 12–5 |
12,000 | Part of the 1946–47 European Rugby League Championship |
| 4 | 18 October 1947 |  New Zealand def. Wales 28–20 |
18,283 | Wales vs New Zealand match |
| 5 | 6 December 1947 | England def. Wales 18–7 |
10,000 | Part of the 1947–48 European Rugby League Championship |
| 6 | 20 March 1948 | France def. Wales 20–12 |
6,462 | Part of the 1948–49 European Rugby League Championship |
| 7 | 20 November 1948 | .svg){kind=small} Australia def. Wales 12–5 |
9,224 | Part of the 1948–49 Kangaroo Tour |
| 8 | 5 February 1949 | Wales def. England 14–10 |
9,553 | Part of the 1948–49 European Rugby League Championship |
| 9 | 31 March 1951 | Other Nationalities def. Wales 27–21 |
5,000 | Part of the 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship |
| 10 | 16 February 1975 | Wales def. France 21–8 |
23,000 | Part of the 1975 European Rugby League Championship |
| 11 | 19 October 1975 | Australia def. Wales 18–6 |
11,112 | Part of the 1975 Rugby League World Cup |
| 12 | 2 November 1975 | Wales def. New Zealand 25–24 |
2,645 | Part of the 1975 Rugby League World Cup |
| 13 | 15 October 1978 | Australia def. Wales 8–3 |
4,250 | Part of the 1978 Kangaroo Tour |
Football Matches at St Helen's
Here is a list of Wales International football matches played at St Helen's:
| Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 February 1894 |  Ireland |
4-1 | 7,000 | Played as part of the 1893–94 British Home Championship |
Cricket Highlights at St Helen's
In 1968, something amazing happened at this ground. Garfield Sobers hit six sixes in one over in first-class cricket. Sobers was playing as captain for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan.
Glamorgan County Cricket Club plays some of its home matches at St Helen's. They also play at their main ground, SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, and Penrhyn Avenue in Rhos-on-Sea. This is part of their promise to play across all of Wales.
Wales Minor Counties Cricket Club also uses St Helen's as a home base. They have played minor counties cricket since 1988. They are currently the only non-English team in the Minor Counties Championship.
International Cricket Centuries
Only one century (100 runs) has been scored in a One Day International (ODI) match at St Helen's:
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | Dennis Amiss |  England |
121 |  New Zealand |
18 July 1973 | Won |
