Three clubs, six derbies as Welsh rivals collide

Three clubs, six derbies as Welsh rivals collideImage source, Getty Images/Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Swansea, Wrexham and Cardiff have been in the same division at the same time on only six previous occasions ByGareth VincentBBC Sport WalesPublished42 minutes agoThe year was 1981. A pint was 50p, Prince Charles married Lady Diana and Only Fools and Horses graced TV screens for the very first time.In the Football League, meanwhile, Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham were rivals – until May, at least – in what was then called Division Two.At no point since have Wales’ three heavyweight clubs competed with one another in the second tier of English football, but that statistic is about to be wiped out.Wrexham climbed into what is now known as the Championship in 2024-25, the same year in which Cardiff were relegated to League One.But after Cardiff’s immediate return from the third tier – plus Wrexham’s play-off near-miss and Swansea’s newest mid-table finish – the 2026-27 Championship campaign begins with three Welsh teams ready to compete in the division where the Premier League is the ultimate prize.Back together in the second tier after 45 years Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham have been in the same division on only six previous occasions.It was most recently the case in 1994-95, when Swansea and Wrexham finished in mid-table in what is now League One, but Cardiff were relegated.The Welsh trio have been together in the second tier just twice before, in 1979-80 and 1980-81.Cardiff were Division Two regulars in that period, having played at the level in every season bar one after dropping out of the top flight in 1962.Wrexham were in the midst of a four-season spell in the division having climbed to the second tier for the first time in their history in 1977-78.Swansea, meanwhile, were on the crest of a wave following the inspired appointment of John Toshack as player-manager in the spring of 1978.Having won promotion from the fourth tier in 1977-78 and again from Division Three the following season, Swansea finished top of the Welsh pile in 1979-80.Toshack’s team ended up 12th in their first second-tier campaign since 1965, with Cardiff 15th and Wrexham 16th.The following year was historic for Swansea, as a final-day win at Preston saw them clinch promotion to the top flight for the first time.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Swansea celebrate winning promotion to the First Division in 1980-81, the season when they most recently competed alongside Cardiff and Wrexham in the second tierRichie Morgan’s Cardiff team, by contrast, scraped clear of relegation on goal difference, finishing 19th in a 22-team league.In what was the final year of two points rather than three being awarded for a win in the Football League, Arfon Griffiths’ Wrexham ended up only two points above Cardiff in 16th.Despite their struggle to avoid relegation, the Bluebirds had the best of the Welsh derbies in 1980-81, with two wins against Wrexham and two draws with Swansea.Wrexham managed one draw with Swansea, but lost 3-1 at Vetch Field in March as Toshack’s team edged closer to the First Division.Swansea’s remarkable progress continued the following year, when they looked like genuine contenders for the title until a late-season dip in form meant they ended up sixth, which remains the club’s best finish.A spectacular decline then began in 1982-83, as Swansea suffered the first of three relegations in four seasons.Their Welsh counterparts were also on the way down, with Cardiff and Wrexham relegated together from the second tier in 1981-82.While Wrexham dropped another division 12 months later, Cardiff bounced back with promotion, only to suffer successive relegations of their own in 1985 and 1986.That all meant that by 1986-87, the three Welsh clubs were reunited in the basement division.The battle to be Wales’ top club Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Cardiff and Wrexham met in the EFL Cup last season, but have not faced each other in the league since 2001-02After two seasons together at the bottom level, Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham were reunited – this time in the third tier – for a couple of seasons in the mid-1990s.And now, after more than three decades, they are together again.”Three Welsh teams in the Championship… it’s enormous for the country,” reported Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson.”There’s a mini-league going on [in Wales].”Wrexham came out on top last season, finishing four places above Swansea in 11th.Bookmakers make Parkinson’s men favourites to finish as Wales’ top club once more, with the Red Dragons tipped to push for a play-off place, Swansea in the middle of the pack and Cardiff among those with the longest promotion odds in the division.Brian Barry-Murphy reckons his team are capable of surprising the doubters – though the Cardiff head coach brushed off questions about the fight to be Welsh football’s leading club before Monday’s mouthwatering curtain-raiser against Wrexham.”We just want to do really well this season and try to get off to a good start on Monday,” he reported.Barry-Murphy was then reminded that when he took charge last summer, he described Cardiff as the biggest club in Wales.”Cardiff feels like the biggest club in the world to me,” he reported in response.”When I’m here the energy from the supporters is incredible.”Hopefully on Monday you’ll see an atmosphere that befits the stadium and the club and we’ll try to do our part by producing a performance that gives us a chance to win.”New Season, New Team!