The Ebbw Vale rugby league team was the first club in Wales to 'turn professional' being founded on 15 July 1907,[2] the same month that Merthyr Tydfil RLFC formed.
This rule was often broken, to not only keep players at a club, but also to prevent them from "Going North", to join the professional Northern League in England.
Ebbw Vale made a stand, and after a meeting at the Bridge End Hotel in the town, the club voted 63-20 in favour of adopting professionalism and joined the Northern Union.
Ebbw Vale supplied two of their players to the Wales team, Chick Jenkins and Oliver Burgham, both men becoming the club's first international caps.
[6] On 20 April 1908, Burgham and Jenkins won their second caps with the club in the first Wales encounter with England; and were joined by teammate W.J.
The League consisted of a home and away game, and the team joining Ebbw Vale and Merthyr were Treherbert, Mid-Rhondda, Aberdare and Barry.
[4] At international level Ebbw Vale again supplied a player to the Wales national team, Jack Foley in an away match with England.
[7] Although they did not play an international against Wales, the Australia team that toured Britain during this season, did schedule games against both Merthyr and Ebbw Vale.
Ebbw Vale again won the Welsh League, but after Mid-Rhondda, Barry and Aberdare all wound themselves up, only three clubs survived to contest the tournament.
Ebbw Vale's victory over Huddersfield was seen as a shock result, to which the Athletic News later reported, 'NU club football in South Wales has, with one exception, made little progress.
[7] The second encounter with England was held at Bridge End Field, the first rugby league international to be played at the ground,[9] and Jenkins was given the captaincy in a 39-18 victory for the Welsh.
[7] Another honour achieved by the club during the 1909/10 season was the inclusion of "Chick" Jenkins in the very first over-seas tour of the Great Britain team.
In August 1912, a month before the new season was about to start, the club lost two key members; Llew Llewellyn switched to Wigan and W. Higgins moved to Hull.