St Helen’s ArchivePreserving the past for the future
Item
OT176
Object ID
OT176
Type
Rights Holder
CIC
Provenance
David Dow
Season
Description
Season Ticket for Neath Swansea Ospreys 2003-04 season. Blue plastic wallet with Neath-Swansea Ospreys logo in black; "Ospreys Season Ticket 2003/2004" beneath. Inner sleeve has ticket holder's name and membership number. Wallet contains tear off tickets. Dimensions: w5" x h3 1/3" (w12.7cm x h8.5cm).
Info
This is a season ticket for Ospreys Rugby during their first season of existence. Being at that time a combination of squad members drawn from Neath RFC and Swansea RFC, they were called the Neath Swansea Ospreys, as indicated by the branding on the season ticket. This featured a cross pattée (often referred to as a 'Maltese' cross), the emblem of Neath RFC and an Osprey bird, the emblem of Swansea RFC featured from 1973 though the 'eighties and again after 2003.
The season ticket is made out to David Dow, a Swansea RFC supporter (though it was issued at Neath RFC). The set of vouchers or tickets within comprise 20 vouchers to enter matches at the venues of The Gnoll Neath or St Helen's ground Swansea as fixtures dictated. The matches were shared between these two ground for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons prior to the move to the newly constructed Liberty Stadium (now Swansea.com Stadium). The wallet also contains 5 vouchers for applications to international matches and 5 'Special' vouchers for additional fixtures (cup ties etc). The vouchers are unused due to the owner being a club photographer for Swansea RFC and also accredited to photograph Ospreys matches, thus the tickets were not needed and remain in the wallet.
The 2003-04 season was played under Head Coach Lyn Jones and captains Scott Gibbs and later Barry Williams. The Neath Swansea Ospreys won just two of their Heineken Cup matches, drawing one and losing three. In the Celtic League their record was: played 22, won 10, drawn 1, lost 11. At the end of the season the Celtic Warriors region folded and, with the introduction of 'Warriors' players and the extension of the region to include the Bridgend area, the region was rebranded as "Ospreys". This ticket represents the earliest days of the West Wales region after the 2003 reorganisation of the top flight teams into regional rugby and as such is a valuable part of Welsh rugby history from a period of great change.
The season ticket is made out to David Dow, a Swansea RFC supporter (though it was issued at Neath RFC). The set of vouchers or tickets within comprise 20 vouchers to enter matches at the venues of The Gnoll Neath or St Helen's ground Swansea as fixtures dictated. The matches were shared between these two ground for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons prior to the move to the newly constructed Liberty Stadium (now Swansea.com Stadium). The wallet also contains 5 vouchers for applications to international matches and 5 'Special' vouchers for additional fixtures (cup ties etc). The vouchers are unused due to the owner being a club photographer for Swansea RFC and also accredited to photograph Ospreys matches, thus the tickets were not needed and remain in the wallet.
The 2003-04 season was played under Head Coach Lyn Jones and captains Scott Gibbs and later Barry Williams. The Neath Swansea Ospreys won just two of their Heineken Cup matches, drawing one and losing three. In the Celtic League their record was: played 22, won 10, drawn 1, lost 11. At the end of the season the Celtic Warriors region folded and, with the introduction of 'Warriors' players and the extension of the region to include the Bridgend area, the region was rebranded as "Ospreys". This ticket represents the earliest days of the West Wales region after the 2003 reorganisation of the top flight teams into regional rugby and as such is a valuable part of Welsh rugby history from a period of great change.
Keywords
ospreys, neath swansea ospreys, 2003-2004, regional rugby, season ticket
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