Cardiff Blues

The Cardiff Blues were formed in 2003 when the structure of rugby union in Wales changed. Until then, the country had nine professional teams. However, it had been clear for a number of years that the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) did not have the money to support such a large number of teams.

As a result, after a period of review, four regional professional rugby teams were formed. These were the Cardiff Blues, the Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets. However, the Cardiff Blues team was slightly different to the others. While the Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets were created when the other professional teams merged, Cardiff RFC remained a standalone team and simply changed their name to Cardiff Blues.

Since the formation of the Cardiff rugby team, the side have always competed in the PRO14 (which was previously known as the PRO12 and the Celtic League). Although the team have never won the competition, they have always been competitive and they finished second in consecutive seasons in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Since their formation, the Cardiff Blues have also regularly featured in the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup. Although the team regularly reach the knock-out rounds of the Heineken Champions Cup, they have never won the competition. But, in 2018, they did win the European Rugby Challenge Cup after beating Gloucester in one of the greatest finals of all time.