The first game played here was on 1 March 2001 with the official opening in August 2002. The official opening day saw world cup winning captain Martin Johnson open the club and grounds. This saw a select presidents team take on the current first XV. The ground is named in honour of Ivor Preece (1920–87), who played for and captained Coventry R.F.C. and the England national rugby union team in the 1950s and was president of Broadstreet RUFC.
The 46 acres (190,000m2) allow up to five rugby matches and one football match to be played with two of the rugby pitches floodlit. The rugby club and facilities plays host to all manor of rugby sides on varying levels. Not only Broadstreet RFC the grounds owners, but Coventry And District Union, Warwickshire RFU, Midlands RFU for training sessions and full games and previously Premiership side Wasps for training and Premiership Rugby Shield matches. In early 2008 for England Deaf Rugby Union in their matches against The Welsh Deaf Rugby Union in February and March saw the visit of The Scottish Deaf Rugby Union XV.
Wasps Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in relegation from the league and all staff being made redundant. They exited administration on 16 December 2022.
London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. The club is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is currently playing in the RFU Championship and share the Athletic Ground with Richmond.
Coventry Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club based in Coventry, England. The club enjoyed great success during the 1960s and 70s, with many players representing their countries. Coventry's home ground is the Butts Park Arena, which opened in 2004. Between 1921 and 2004, the club played at Coundon Road. The club plays in the RFU Championship following their promotion from the 2017–18 National League 1.
Wakefield RFC was an English rugby union club, founded in 1901 and folded in 2004 as a result of poor finances, with a trading loss of £105,000 for the season and unsecured creditors' loans of approximately £640,000. The club's final season was in 2003–04 when they were relegated after losing to Coventry RFC in their final match. The club was based at College Grove in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Nuneaton RFC is an English rugby union club. They were founded in 1879 and play at Liberty Way in Nuneaton. They currently play in the Regional 2 East Midlands, a sixth tier league in the English rugby union system.
Rugby union in England is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports. In 1871 the Rugby Football Union, the governing body for rugby union in England, was formed by 21 rugby clubs, and the first international match, which involved England, was played in Scotland. The England national team compete annually in the Six Nations Championship, and are former world champions after winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The top domestic men's club competition is Premiership Rugby, and English clubs also compete in international competitions such as the European Rugby Champions Cup. The top domestic women's competition is the Premier 15s.
Butts Park Arena is a multi-use sports stadium in Spon End, Coventry, England. Its main use is as a rugby stadium. It is the home ground for Coventry R.F.C. and was the home of Midlands Hurricanes. It was also formerly the home ground of the Coventry Jets, an American football team. From the 2017–18 season, the stadium is also the home of Coventry United, a non league football club and their Ladies team who play in the second tier FA Women's Championship.
The Rugby Lions RFC, nicknamed The Lions, is an English rugby union club based in Rugby, Warwickshire. The club plays its home matches at Webb Ellis Road. Its developmental squad is known as the Crusaders. The club also has a ladies team known as the Lionesses. It currently competes in Counties 3 Midlands East (South) at the ninth tier of the English rugby union system, having been readmitted to the league pyramid from at the start of the 2022–23 season.
Broadstreet Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, West Midlands, England. The club currently play in Regional 2 East Midlands; at the sixth tier of the English rugby union system, following their relegation from Regional 1 Midlands at the end of the 2023–24 season. The 2014–15 season was the third time the club had played in the fourth tier of English rugby, but the first time it had maintained at that level. Furthermore, the club have also recently enjoyed success, by winning the Warwickshire Cup.
Ivor Preece was an English rugby union footballer who represented and captained England Schools, England and Coventry. He is the only Coventry RFC player to have achieved this accolade. He was selected to play with the British and Irish Lions, on their tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1950.
Regional 1 Midlands is a level five semi-professional league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When this division began in 1987 it was known as Midlands Division 1. The format of the league was changed at the beginning of the 2009–10 season following a reorganisation by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), and the name change from National League 3 to Premier was introduced for the 2017–18 season by the RFU in order to lessen confusion for what is a series of regional leagues. Regional 1 Midlands is the highest regional rugby union league in the English Midlands.
Counties 1 Midlands West (South) (formerly Midlands 2 West (South)) is a level seven English rugby union league and level three of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the West Midlands region including Herefordshire, parts of Birmingham and the West Midlands, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, with home and away matches played throughout the season. When this division began in 1992 it was known as Midlands West 1, until it was split into two regional divisions called Midlands 3 West (North) and Midlands 3 West (South) ahead of the 2000–01 season. Further restructuring of the Midlands leagues ahead of the 2009–10 season, saw it changed to Midlands 2 West (South) and post the RFU's Adult Competition Review, from season 2022-23 it adopted its current name.
Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The present club was founded in 1920 from a merger between Plymouth RFC and Devonport Albion RFC. Since 2003 they have played their home games at The Brickfields stadium. Albion's traditional strip and club colours are white, strawberry and green.
Middlesex Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Middlesex, England; Middlesex is a historic county of England that covers areas in the ceremonial counties of Greater London, Surrey and Hertfordshire. The historic county is still in use when referring to sport, and some businesses in the area. Middlesex RFU was originally created as the Middlesex County Rugby Club but within six years was being referred to as the Middlesex County Rugby Football Union and is now known simply as Middlesex Rugby.
Oxford Harlequins Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Oxford, England. The men's 1st XV currently play in National League 2 East, a level 4 league, following their promotion from Regional 1 Midlands at the end of the 2023–24 season.
Warwickian Rugby Union Football Club or WRUFC, known as Warwickians, is a Rugby union club in Warwickshire, England. The team currently fields a 1st XV in the Midlands 5 West (South) League, and a 2nd XV.
Ben Maidment is an English rugby union player from Cuckfield, West Sussex. He currently plays for Jersey as a Number 8.
The Warwickshire Rugby Football Union is a governing body for rugby union in part of The Midlands, England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union for the city of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire. The current president is Yorkie Kinmond of the Earlsdon Rugby Club.
Gareth Collins is a former English-Welsh rugby union player who is currently head coach at Leicester Lions and Head of Psychology at The King's School Grantham. A Leicester Tigers youth player, Collins was a versatile back who made his name scoring tries, being one of the most prolific finishers in National League 2 North history with 152 tries scored during his time with Rugby Lions and Leicester Lions, which included a joint divisional record 32 tries in a season. As well as playing club rugby he has also represented Warwickshire in the county championships and has captained the England Counties XV.
Warwickshire 1 was a tier 9 English Rugby Union league with teams from Warwickshire taking part. Promoted teams moved up to Midlands 4 West (South) and relegated sides dropped to Warwickshire 2. Warwickshire 1 was cancelled at the end of the 2005–06 season with the majority of teams transferred into the newly introduced Midlands 5 West (South).
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