Sport in Wales Reardon from Tredegar, who won six World Snooker Championship titles, and when the first world rankings were introduced in 1976, Reardon became the first world number one snooker player. Some of Reardon's contemporaries included Gary Owen from Tumble and Cliff Wilson also from Tredegar. Wales has continued to produce world class snooker players since Reardon's time, including Terry Griffiths, Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens. Amateur participation in the sport is very high. The Cardiff Devils play in the Elite Ice Hockey League, the highest level of ice hockey competition in the United Kingdom. Australian rules football is a growing sport
Sport in Ireland only allowing "A" time athletes and swimmers to attend the games. This prevented several sportspeople from competing. One of the biggest international events in Ireland is international soccer. The Republic's national team first qualified for a FIFA World Cup in 1990, reaching the quarter finals of Italia '90. In rugby union, as of 2018, Ireland's national team is ranked 2nd in the world. Ireland has produced major stars such as Keith Wood, Brian O'Driscoll and Jonathan Sexton. In golf, Ireland has produced several top golfers such as Pádraig Harrington. The traditional Gaelic games of Gaelic football and hurling are played