Cardiff Demons will soon become part of South Wales Jets in a move both clubs hope can drive women’s rugby league forward in Wales.

THERE will soon be a new name in the world of women’s rugby league, after South Wales Jets and Cardiff Demons recently announced a partnership that will bring the Demons under the Jets banner.

With over 50 games under the Cardiff name since they were formed in 2021, the club will adopt the South Wales Jets title immediately following their final match of this year’s RFL Women’s Championship season.

Since they were formed, Cardiff Demons have done a lot for the women’s game in Wales. Winning their first ten matches, they won the southern-based women’s competition in 2021 and 2022. Last season, their first in the Women’s Championship main competition, they lost in the play-offs to eventual winners Featherstone Rovers. They’ve also qualified for the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup for the last four years, beating Super League sides in the last three to get there.

The club has also been very successful in producing international stars. Of the 64 players that the club fielded between 2021 and 2025, a total of 30 have played for Wales.

So, why the need for change? Well, the club has been a one-team outfit for almost all of its six seasons, experimenting in the girls’ game a few years ago, but that disbanded due to a lack of volunteers.

And that’s where a one-team organisation can often suffer. What Cardiff needed was a solid structure supporting them, and they’ve found that in South Wales Jets.

Demons head coach Ian Newbury does a lot more than coaching at the club, and he knew he needed some assistance. As it happens, both he and Jets chairman Liam Price had the same idea.

“I think it’s been excellent in terms of what we’ve achieved so far,” Newbury said.

“But, obviously, the drawbacks are financial if you go alone.

“And there’s not much coming from elsewhere other than what we’ve been able to bring in ourselves through commercial deals, and because of the financial situation in the UK right now, that’s pretty difficult, especially playing a sport that’s out of the area, I suppose you could say.

“In the last two years since we’ve gone up to the Championship, the big thing for us has been the travel, which is massive. A northern side only has to do it once or twice a year, whilst us and London are doing it six or seven times and it does take a toll on you.

“Last year was disappointing in how we finished it, but at the same time it’s a step forward in proving we can do it.

“So, I just happened to catch up with Liam, and he said that he wanted to have a conversation with me about something, and it turned out that it was the same thing I was thinking.”

Formed in 2023 with a men’s open-age side, South Wales Jets, based about half an hour north of Cardiff, have since grown into the largest rugby league club in Wales. Undefeated in the regular season for their first two years, South Wales Jets’ men’s side won the Wales Rugby League Grand Final in their first season. Last season, boosted by nine junior squads, they had 372 players turning out for the club, with their U13s side winning the Welsh title. They also have a branch in Carmarthenshire, the West Wales Jets, who have nearly 200 players on their books, plus they recently started a wheelchair side, who won the Welsh League this season.

“I respect what Liam has built with the Jets,” Newbury says.

“It’s a growing brand in terms of what they’ve done, and their drive to create a club that spans the south of Wales and does what it needs to do. It gives rugby league to those who want to play it.

“Hopefully, by being able to just have a bit more support and have a few more people involved in off-field affairs, we’ll be able to create a pathway that we tried a couple of times, but without the necessary finance, coaches, and back-of-house staff, it’s impossible to build these things, and we don’t want to lose the momentum.

“We have the momentum now in terms of the on-field product and going into the World Cup, so now we want to build a pathway, so that post-World Cup we can start to see it come to fruition.”

South Wales Jets already have female participation. They have girls playing throughout their U9-11 sides, but last year started a dedicated girls programme at U14 level, who are playing friendlies against northern England sides, and at the time of writing are still undefeated.

“It’s going to take five years to get some of these girls coming through,” Newbury admits.

“Already our players were involved too. Amberley Ruck and Ffion Jenkins were helping out in the coaching last year, and they’ve had an absolutely amazing start.

“Of course, the draw of rugby union in Wales is professional contracts, but let’s see what happens in the future if the NRL come in, what that might change and whether Wales is identified as a key growth area by the IRL.

“We just need to band together and make something happen and not have the kind of tribalism that’s probably come into the northern game and maybe ruined a number of pathways before.

“We’re going to be going from being under 50 people to over 500. This will change the overall financial incentive that might come when we go to sponsors and commercial partners. I think it’s all going to be positive.”

Jets chairman Liam Price believes that Women’s Super League isn’t out of the question for his newly adopted side.

“Ian and the Cardiff Demons have done an exceptional job over the past five years, building a successful side, winning honours, and developing a strong group of international players, often with limited resources,” he said.

“At the Jets, our ambition is to build on that success, strengthen the programme even further, and support the journey towards Super League.

“We firmly believe that becoming part of a larger organisation like the Jets will provide the platform, structure, and backing needed to take the Demons to that highest level.

“This now gives us a clear and structured pathway for female players, from under-9s right the way through to senior rugby league, and that’s something that hasn’t existed before in Wales, and it’s a huge step forward for the game.”

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 521 (June 2026)