St Helen’s ArchivePreserving the past for the future
One (Start)
Transcript:
The St Helens archive is proud to host students from Swansea University on work placement projects, an ongoing relationship that is hoped to continue. In 2022, Lewis Douglass & Cosmin Gregor produced works on Swansea RFC’s Romanian Tour of 1954. Their project in whole can be found on our website, under Education, and then, Student and Volunteer Projects. The project also saw the students produce a display within the temporary space at St Helens, a display which this audio trail now recaptures for perpetuity.
Each object in this short audio trail was chosen by Cosmin and Lewis for their display. This first part of the trail therefore begins with a pennant from the latter of the two games played during the tour in 1954. This pennant itself is gold and white, split down the middle for each colour. On the white half of the object, the text is red whilst on the gold half it is white.
The pennant reads ‘Asociata Sportiva’ or Sporting Association, ‘Constructurul’ - this being the name of the second team Swansea played versus during the tour, on the 26th of August 1954. The pennant also shows a red and white motif at its centre, a red and white flag within a red ‘c’ shape. The final section of text reads, ‘Bucharest’, with its Romanian spelling, and ‘1954’ with ‘Rugby’ spelled out vertically. Lastly, the pennant has red and white tassels, and a brown reverse.
Sharing the story of this historic tour is best begun earlier than the game in which this pennant represents however. After the end of the Second World War, with the occupation of Romania by the Red Army, the country became a Socialist Republic. In short, therefore in geography and in ideology, Romania was deep behind the Iron Curtain - that ideological dividing line between East and West Europe. It wasn’t until the Romanian Revolution of 1989 that the country moved towards democracy, placing Swansea’s tour of 1954 deep within the communist era of Romanian history.
While Swansea RFC were the first Welsh team to play behind the Iron Curtain, they were not the first team from the West. A year prior to the Swansea tour, in 1953, the 4th World Festival of Youth and Students was held where the Romanian rugby team played against a French Workers Committee team as well as a secondary Australian squad. The student project documents that a Welsh Swimmer Dick Smale attended this event, where he was asked to suggest a Welsh club to play in an event that was to be held the following year. Further research here at the archive, conducted since the student project, has also revealed a further reason for Swansea’s selection: Carwyn James, later to become legendary Llanelli and ‘Lions’ coach was playing for Swansea at this time. James had worked for the Ministry of Defence, and was also a fluent Russian speaker. Given the defection that followed the reciprocated 1955 tour, it could be argued that the selection was a purposeful effort.
The whole story continues in the further parts of this audio trail, but to temporarily flash-forward to the game that this pennant represents; thanks to gracious postponement of the second game of the tour due to the pains of the hot weather, Swansea RFC came out on top of their Romanian opponents, Constructurul Bucharest, by 16-5. More on this, as well as the larger story in the following entries. Please don’t forget to press next to follow on to the next entry in the trail, a participatory trophy awarded after the first game in the tour.