Editing Cardiff Arms Park (section)

=== Rugby union ===
In 1876, the Cardiff RFC was formed and soon after they also used the park. On 12 April 1884, the first international match was played at the ground between Wales and [[Ireland national rugby union team|Ireland]], when 5,000 people watched Wales beat Ireland by two tries and a drop goal to nil.<ref name="Development" />

The Arms Park rugby ground became the permanent home of the [[Wales national rugby union team]] in 1964. Later, the National Stadium was also home to the [[WRU Challenge Cup]] from 1972 until the match held at the Stadium on 26 April 1997, at a much reduced capacity, between Cardiff RFC and [[Swansea RFC]]. Cardiff RFC won the match 33–26.<ref name="Challenge Cup">{{cite web |url=http://www.wru.co.uk/86_641.php |publisher=Welsh Rugby Union |title=Konica Minolta Cup: a brief history |access-date=7 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430014638/http://www.wru.co.uk/86_641.php |archive-date=30 April 2008 }}</ref>

{{Quote box
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| quote=''The game'' (between the Barbarians and the New Zealand All Blacks) ''is one I will never forget and those of us who played in it will never be allowed to forget. It is a match that will live with me forever. People tend only to remember the first four minutes of the game because of the try, but what they forgot is the great deal of good rugby played afterwards, much of which came from the All Blacks. After the success of the [[1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand|1971 Lions tour]], which captured the imagination of the whole country, it was an opportunity to bring a lot of that side together again.''
| source='''Gareth Edwards'''<ref name="Barbarian">{{cite web |author=Donna Gee |date=13 March 2007 |url=http://www.sportingo.com/Rugby/a2680_Was-this-greatest-rugby-try |publisher=SportBuzz |title=Was this the greatest rugby try of all time? |access-date=26 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727203637/http://www.sportingo.com/Rugby/a2680_Was-this-greatest-rugby-try |archive-date=27 July 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

The [[National Stadium, Cardiff|National Stadium]] is best known as the venue for what is considered to be "[[the greatest try ever scored]]" by [[Gareth Edwards (rugby union)|Gareth Edwards]] for [[Barbarian F.C.|the Barbarians]] against [[New Zealand national rugby union team|New Zealand]] in what is also called "the greatest match ever played" on 27 January 1973.<ref name="Amazon">{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/1973-All-Blacks-Barbarians-DVD/dp/B000UO9CPK|publisher=Amazon.com, Inc.|title=1973 All Blacks vs Barbarians DVD|access-date=11 May 2008|archive-date=13 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213221036/http://www.amazon.com/1973-All-Blacks-Barbarians-DVD/dp/B000UO9CPK|url-status=live}}</ref> The final result was a win for the Barbarians. The score, 23–11, which translates to 27–13 in today's scoring system.

The scorers were:
<br />
Barbarians: [[Try (rugby)|Tries]]: [[Gareth Edwards (rugby union)|Gareth Edwards]], [[Fergus Slattery]], [[John Bevan (rugby)|John Bevan]], [[J. P. R. Williams|J P R Williams]]; [[Try (rugby)|Conversions]]: [[Phil Bennett]] (2); [[Penalty (rugby)|Penalty]]: Phil Bennett.
<br />
All Blacks: Tries: [[Grant Batty]] (2); Penalty: [[Joseph Karam]].

The [[National Stadium, Cardiff|National Stadium]] hosted four games in the [[1991 Rugby World Cup]], including the third-place play-off.<ref name="World Cup">{{cite web |url=http://www.therugbyworldcup.co.uk/1991.html |publisher=therugbyworldcup.co.uk |title=RWC 1991 Staged in Europe |access-date=29 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515084912/http://www.therugbyworldcup.co.uk/1991.html |archive-date=15 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The National Stadium was also host to the inaugural [[Heineken Cup finals|Heineken Cup final]] of [[1995–96 Heineken Cup|1995–96]] when [[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]] beat Cardiff RFC by 21–18 after extra time, in front of 21,800 spectators.<ref name="1995 Cup">{{cite web |url=http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/79_119.php |publisher=ERC |title=Toulouse Win Inaugural Tournament |access-date=29 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229005136/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/79_119.php |archive-date=29 February 2008}}</ref> The following final in [[1996–97 Heineken Cup|1996–97]] was also held at the National Stadium, this time it was between [[CA Brive|Brive]] and [[Leicester Tigers]]. Brive won the match 28–9, in front of a crowd of 41,664.<ref name="1996 Cup">{{cite web |url=http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/80_118.php |publisher=ERC |title=Brive the Champions |access-date=29 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229005141/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/80_118.php |archive-date=29 February 2008 }}</ref>

In 2008, the rugby ground hosted all the games in Pool A of the [[2008 IRB Junior World Championship]] and also the semi-final on 18 June 2008, in which [[England national under-20 rugby union team|England]] beat [[South Africa national under-20 rugby union team|South Africa]] 26–18.<ref name="2008 Cup">{{cite web |url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=18&art_id=vn20080619070737915C982514 |publisher=Independent News & Media |title=England kill off Baby Boks' world title hopes |access-date=19 June 2008 }}</ref>

[[File:Blues Vs Edinburgh at the Arms Park.jpg|thumb|Cardiff Blues versus Edinburgh, 17 May 2009]]
Until February 2012, it had been assumed that the last professional rugby union game to take place at the Arms Park was on 17 May 2009, when [[Edinburgh Rugby|Edinburgh]] beat the Cardiff Blues 36–14 in a [[Pro14|Celtic League]] match during the [[2008–09 Celtic League|2008–09]] season.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/club/5339760/Edinburgh-beat-the-Blues-in-final-game-at-Cardiff-Arms-Park.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/club/5339760/Edinburgh-beat-the-Blues-in-final-game-at-Cardiff-Arms-Park.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Edinburgh beat the Blues in final game at Cardiff Arms Park
|access-date=3 April 2011 |first=Graham |last=Clutton |date=17 May 2009 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

However, on Tuesday, 7 February 2012, it was confirmed that Cardiff Blues would face [[Connacht Rugby|Connacht]] at the Arms Park on Friday, 10 February 2012. The [[Pro14|Pro12]] League game result was a win for the Cardiff Blues 22–15 and attendance of 8,000. The following Tuesday, it was announced that the match against [[Ulster Rugby|Ulster]] on Friday, 17 February, would also be at the Arms Park, resulting in a Blues win, 21–14 and attendance of 8,600. The agreement signed during 2009 tied Cardiff Blues to a 20-year contract to play a maximum of 18 games per season for a set fee, rather than per match at [[Cardiff City Stadium]]. But on 23 February, it was announced that the two Welsh 'derbies' against the [[Scarlets]] and the [[Ospreys (rugby union)|Ospreys]] would be played at Cardiff City Stadium, rather than the Arms Park, because of Cardiff Blues' anticipation that the attendance figures would far exceed the maximum capacity of 9,000. On 8 May 2012, it was announced that [[Cardiff Blues]] would be returning to the Arms Park on a permanent basis after just three years at the [[Cardiff City Stadium]].<ref name="Return">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17995008 |publisher=BBC |title=Cardiff Blues announce return to Arms Park |access-date=30 June 2012 |date=8 May 2012 |archive-date=11 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511070016/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17995008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 23 May 2014, the rugby ground hosted the final of the [[2013–14 European Challenge Cup|2013–14 Amlin Challenge Cup]] in which [[Northampton Saints]] beat [[Bath Rugby|Bath]] 30–16.<ref name="Amlin">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/27489558|publisher=[[BBC]]|title=Amlin Challenge Cup final: Bath 16-30 Northampton|access-date=25 May 2014|date=22 May 2014|archive-date=25 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525033201/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/27489558|url-status=live}}</ref>

; '''Rugby World Cup'''
Cardiff Arms Park hosted matches of the [[1991 Rugby World Cup]].

{|class="wikitable"
! Date
! Competition
!colspan=2| Home team
!colspan=2| Away team
! Attendance
|-
|6 October 1991 || [[1991 Rugby World Cup|1991]] [[Rugby World Cup]] Pool 3 || {{ru|WAL}} || 13 || {{ru|SAM|name=Western Samoa}} || 16 || 45,000
|-
|9 October 1991 || [[1991 Rugby World Cup|1991]] [[Rugby World Cup]] Pool 3 || {{ru|WAL}} || 16 || {{ru|ARG}} || 7 || 35,000
|-
|12 October 1991 || [[1991 Rugby World Cup|1991]] [[Rugby World Cup]] Pool 3 || {{ru|WAL}} || 3 || {{Ru|AUS}} || 38 || 54,000
|-
|30 October 1991 || [[1991 Rugby World Cup|1991]] [[Rugby World Cup]] Third-place play-off || {{Ru|NZL}} || 13 || {{Ru|SCO}} || 6 || 47,000
|}