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 Northern Ireland against Scotland (a match which has first-class status) has been played annually since 1909. The Irish team was fairly strong in the mid and late 19th century, and sent several touring parties abroad, but development of the sport was adversely affected first by the Gaelic Athletic Association's ban on its members taking part in "foreign" sports and then by the creation of the Irish Free State; many of the best cricketers in Ireland had been British soldiers and civil servants and their withdrawal led to a decline in the overall standard of the game. There have been brighter spots in