Corstorphine RFC

Last updated

Corstorphine Cougars
Corstorphine cougars logo.png
Full nameCorstophine Cougars Rugby Football Club
Union SRU
Nickname(s)Cougars
Founded1950;73 years ago (1950)
League(s) Women:  Scottish Womens Premiership
 Men:  East Division 2
2019–20 Women:  Scottish Womens Premiership, 3rd of 6
 Men:  East Division 2
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body redquarters14.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts redsides.png
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks hoops red.png
Kit socks long.svg
Team kit
Official website
www.cougarsrugby.co.uk

Corstorphine Cougars RFC is an Edinburgh rugby union club. Formed in 1950, the club represented the western Edinburgh suburb of Corstorphine. In 2017 the club was rebranded as Corstorphine Cougars. [1] The Women's side play in Scottish Womens Premiership, the Men's side play in East Division 2.

Contents

History

The club was officially formed as Corstorphine RFC in 1950. They played in different variations of navy and red strips. Most often in red and blue quarter panels.

Rugby Union in Union Park, Corstorphine

Edinburgh University first used Union Park in the 1870s for sport. Royal HSFP used the park for a short period before leaving Union Park to move to Jock's Lodge. The Corstorphine Amateur Association was formed in 1920 to use the sports grounds. The Association included athletics, cricket, hockey, football (soccer) and rugby for youths residing in the area. The rugby club was disbanded along with the rest of the Athletics association in 1939 with the outbreak of the war.

Formation of Corstorphine RFC

Corstorphine RFC was formed from the ashes of the Amateur Association rugby club, after the 2nd world war in 1950. Former pre-war Association rugby union players Alex Watson and Jock Waugh persuaded John McLean and David Fell to recruit sufficient local players to form a 1st and 2nd XV to play in the Edinburgh District League for junior clubs.

During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s the club prospered winning the aforementioned league on several occasions. Full membership status to the Scottish Rugby Union was granted in 1973 with entry to the Division XI of the newly formed leagues. At its peak 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th XVs, along with a Codgers (over 35's) and a very large youth section, played rugby on the hallowed turf at Union Park.

The club achieved high points playing SRU Premiership 2 rugby and SRU Shield semi-final with a result coming down to the last play of the game before being beaten by Duns RFC. The club also made national news after defeating Premiership 1 side Kirkcaldy during a SRU cup run that was eventually ended in a hard-fought and close game against Premiership 2 side West of Scotland.

It also held the honour of holding the record for the longest-running fixture between Scottish and Irish clubs having played against Suttonians RFC from 1955 through to the late 1990s.

Merger

The club was merged with Royal HSFP in 2003. The new club was Royal High Corstorphine. The original idea of the new club was that it would be based jointly at Barnton - Royal High FP's ground - and at Union Park - Corstorphine RFC's ground.

Dissolve of the merger

As time went by 1st team matches were played at Barnton, with 2nd XV games at Union Park. With some of the then 1st team refusing to help support both grounds by playing a few games at Union Park it unearthed some fundamental differences in opinion on how a club should be run and funded. This caused friction between both Corstorphine and Royal High factions. The Royal High faction secretly moved to reform their own club in 2017, which forced RHC from the facilities at the school. This came at a cost as RHC were not in a position to compete in the National Leagues, opting instead to drop back to the East Region. League rules also meant 'Royal High' began as 'Barnton RFC' before the name was relinquished (Corstorphine retained the name Royal High Corstorphine for legal reasons until the 2018/19 season) Barnton also lost its league position in the National Leagues and was forced into the bottom regional league and became an associate member club. Corstorphine RFC remain as a full member club of the SRU. [2]

Corstophine Cougars

RHC was re-branded as the Corstorphine Cougars in 2017. It runs two men's sides who play in the East Region leagues, a women's side who play in the Premiership and Have recently started a women's development side. The club has re-established its minis section and are currently working in partnership with Forester RFC on Youth rugby in the area which is currently operating as Wolves Rugby [3]

Honours

Tours

Two very notable achievements in terms of tours at Corstorphine.

As mentioned earlier Suttonians RFC was long the destination for the club tour. The club holding the record for the longest running fixture between Scottish and Irish clubs having played against Suttonians RFC from 1955 through to the late 1990s. A link will be re-established in 2020 as the women's team take up the mantle of touring to Dublin.

In 1979 Corstorphine 3rd Team toured to the small Lake District town of Keswick RFC. This tour has continued to this day with the 40th tour celebrated in 2018. The two clubs play each year in April/May for the Corwick Trophy. This is possibly the longest running fixture between two Scottish and English Clubs. This is yet to be verified.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Rugby Union</span> Governing body of rugby union in Scotland

The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league system, known as the Scottish League Championship, and the Scottish National teams. The SRU is headed by the President and Chairman, with Mark Dodson acting as the Chief Executive Officer. Dee Bradbury became the first female president of a Tier 1 rugby nation upon her appointment on 4 August 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayr RFC</span> Scottish rugby union club, based in Ayr

Ayr Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club. Its professional men's side currently plays as Ayrshire Bulls in the Super 6 competition; and its women's side play in the Scottish Womens National One. The club also runs a "Club XV" which competes in the Tennent's National League 1, a 2nd XV "Ayr-Millbrae", which plays in the SRU West Reserve League Division 1, and various age group teams, from age 4, up to age 18.

Boroughmuir RFC is a rugby union club in the Scottish Rugby Union. The club's home ground is Meggetland, in southwest Edinburgh and the club plays in the Super 6, where they are known as the Boroughmuir Bears.

Haddington Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Haddington, East Lothian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murrayfield Wanderers FC</span> Scottish rugby union club, based in Edinburgh

Murrayfield Wanderers Football Club is a rugby union side based in Edinburgh, Scotland, founded by the merger of Edinburgh Wanderers and Murrayfield RFC in 1997.

The Scottish League Championship is the third tier of Scotland's national rugby union league system, and therefore part of the Scottish League Championship.

Dunfermline Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The men's team currently plays in National 4, the women's team currently plays in Scottish Womens Midlands & East One.

Edinburgh University Rugby Football Club is a leading rugby union side based in Edinburgh, Scotland which currently plays its fixtures in the Edinburgh Regional Shield competition and the British Universities Premiership. It is one of the eight founder members of the Scottish Rugby Union. In the years prior to the SRU's introduction of club leagues in 1973 and the advent of professionalism in the 1990s, EURFC was a major club power and it won the 'unofficial' Scottish Club championship several times. It remains a club with an all-student committee, and is only open to students of the University of Edinburgh. The club runs a men's team and a women's team; both playing in the university leagues.

Royal High Corstorphine RFC is a former Edinburgh rugby union club, formed from the merger of the Royal HSFP and Corstorphine RFC. The merged club was dissolved in 2017 as two clubs:- Corstorphine Cougars and Royal HSFP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Scotland</span> Popular team sport

Rugby union in Scotland is a popular team sport. Scotland's national side today competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and the Rugby World Cup. The first ever international rugby match was played on 27 March 1871, at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, when Scotland defeated England in front of 4,000 people. Professional clubs compete in the United Rugby Championship, European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup, while the Scottish League Championship exists for over 200 amateur and semi-professional clubs, as does a knock-out competition, the Scottish Cup. The governing body, the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), is one of the ten first-tier member nations of World Rugby.

The Scottish National League Division One is the second tier of the Scottish League Championship for amateur rugby union clubs in Scotland.

The Scottish Women's Rugby Union (SWRU) was the national governing body for women's rugby union in Scotland. It was responsible for the governance of women's rugby union within Scotland. Its role was all encompassing. It went from youth recruitment, through administrating all senior based competition, through to the performance and management of the Scotland women's national rugby union team.

Edinburgh Wanderers is a former rugby union club, founded in 1868. It was latterly a tenant of the Scottish Rugby Union, playing home fixtures at Murrayfield Stadium for nearly 75 years. In 1997 it merged with Murrayfield RFC to form Murrayfield Wanderers.

The Scottish National League Division Two is the third tier of the Scottish League Championship for amateur rugby union clubs in Scotland.

Royal High School Former Pupils is a rugby union club based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Royal HSFP was a founder member of the Scottish Rugby Union, the second oldest national governing body in the world.

The Women's domestic rugby union leagues in Scotland are organised in a similar vein to the men's domestic leagues: on a national basis for the top leagues and regional leagues below feeding into those leagues.

Kelvinside Academicals is a former rugby union team that played their home games at Balgray Playing Fields, Glasgow, Scotland.

Peebles Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Peebles RFC, in Peebles, Scotland. This was one of a group of Sevens tournaments instated after the First World War extending the original Borders Spring Circuit. The Peebles Sevens began in 1923.

The SRU Super Series, known as the FOSROC Super Series for sponsorship reasons, and prior to 2023 known as Super 6 is a professional league for Scottish rugby union clubs, which began in 2019. As of 2023, the league consists of two competitions;

The Scottish Unofficial Championship was the top league of Scotland's best amateur rugby union clubs. The Championship was 'unofficial' as the Scottish Rugby Union held that the sport should remain amateur and at the time did not sanction competitive games between the clubs.

References

  1. ↑ "Corstorphine Cougars RFC". www.pitchero.com.
  2. ↑ Rutherford, Stuart (15 August 2017). "Corstorphine Cougars look to a positive future after Barnton split". The Offside Line.
  3. ↑ Harper, Gavin (3 January 2019). "Corstorphine Cougars Women announced their Athlete Transfer Day".
  4. ↑ "Musselburgh Sevens". 7 June 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.