Full name | Middlesex Rugby Football Union | |
---|---|---|
Union | RFU | |
Founded | 1879 | |
Region | London | |
Chairman | Peter Baveystock(Grasshoppers RFC) | |
President | Tom Brownsell(Hendon RFC) | |
| ||
Official website | ||
www |
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.
FR Adams Esq of Richmond F.C. called a meeting at the Bedford Hotel at which a resolution was passed bringing the club into being. He served as the Club and Union's first president until 1883 being succeeded by E. Temple Gurdon (also of Richmond F.C.).
The world-famous Middlesex Sevens were organised by Dr. Russell-Cargill and the Middlesex Hon. Secretary CS Bongard, the first tournament taking place according to one source [1] in 1925 and others [2] in 1926. This was the first seven-a-side rugby festival in England. The first tournament took place at Twickenham in aid of Middlesex hospital was won by Harlequins.
Asterisk denotes President of the R.F.U.
Two asterisks denotes member of the International Rugby Board
Current Kit |
Middlesex County Rugby Union was originally created as a rugby club and as such fulfilled fixtures for six years before becoming the Union for clubs within the county. After becoming a union the club continued to operate selecting players from its constituent clubs to play representative matches for the county and to go on tours.
Very early in its history, Middlesex played Surrey under floodlights at the Old Deer Park. This is possibly the first rugby match played under floodlights as electric light had only just been invented. A floodlit game was the ideal opportunity to try out the new technology although the game was not a great success by all accounts. [3]
On 24 October 1905, Middlesex played the touring South African side at Richmond for their ninth match. The Springboks won 9 – 0, their narrowest score so far in the tour; a penalty by Douglas Morkel and try by Brink made the half time score 6 – 0 whilst in the second half the only points came from a try by Loubser. Middlesex fielded a cosmopolitan team including Jim Louwrens the South African College scrum half of 1901, three Welshmen who were also later to play for Wales (Harding, Jenkins & Williams) and the Scottish international Geddes. The match referee was Cartwright.
On 2 September 1964 Staines RFC played a Middlesex XV on the occasion of the opening of their new ground, "The Reeves".
Year | Winners | Opponents | Score | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
1893 | Yorkshire | Cumberland, Devon, Middlesex | ||
1905 | Durham County | Middlesex | 9–8 | West Hartlepool |
1929 | Middlesex | Lancashire | 8–8 | Twickenham |
8–9 | St Anthony's Road ground, Blundellsands | |||
1951 | East Midlands | Middlesex | 10–0 | Northampton |
1952 | Middlesex | Lancashire | 9–6 | Twickenham |
1954 | Middlesex | Lancashire | 6–24 | St Anthony's Road ground, Blundellsands |
1955 | Lancashire | Middlesex | 8–14 | Twickenham |
1956 | Middlesex | Devon | 13–9 | Twickenham |
1966 | Middlesex | Lancashire | 0–6 | St Anthony's Road ground, Blundellsands |
1968 | Middlesex | Warwickshire | 9–6 | Twickenham |
1976 | Gloucestershire | Middlesex | 9–24 | Athletic Ground, Richmond |
1977 | Lancashire | Middlesex | 17–6 | St Anthony's Road ground, Blundellsands |
1979 | Middlesex | Northumberland | 19–6 | Twickenham |
1985 | Middlesex | Notts, Lincs & Derby | 12–9 | Twickenham |
1987 | Yorkshire | Middlesex | 22–11 | Twickenham |
1990 | Lancashire | Middlesex | 32–9 | Twickenham |
Middlesex were the English county champions for the sixth time in 1968, having defeated Warwickshire in the final (tries by Brian Stoneman and Sandy Hinshelwood helped them to their 9–6 win at Twickenham). [4] At least ten of the players that had participated in the final went on the tour in July of that year. Middlesex played a total of seven matches on a tour that lasted a little over two weeks, two games being played in Uganda and five in Kenya. The tourists won all seven matches comfortably and reported that the standard of rugby in the region had dropped noticeably since some members of the touring party had last played there. It was generally felt that the East African sides lacked stamina and tactical nous; [5] the latter is understandable as the opportunities for playing high level rugby in the region were limited, though the former is surprising as much of the region is at altitude and it would be expected that the visitors would suffer more than the hosts.
The Middlesex tour party consisted of 70 members though the minority of these were players, the majority were officials and non-playing members who were travelling as supporters. Amongst the players, at least three had previously toured East Africa; Patrick Orr (twice, with Anti-Assassins in 1965 and Richmond F. C. in 1963), Chris Ralston (with Richmond F. C. in 1963) and Brian Stoneman (twice, with Richmond F. C. and Combined (Oxford and Cambridge) Universities, both in 1963). [1]
Date | Opposition | Location | Result | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
1968-07-06 | Uganda | Kampala | won | 5–47 |
1968-07-08 | Uganda Invitation XV | Entebbe | won | 0–32 |
1968-07-10 | West Kenya Province | Eldoret | won | 3–57 |
1968-07-13 | Central Province | Nairobi | won | 6–35 |
1968-07-14 | Scorpions RFC | RFUEA Ground, Nairobi | won | 0–47 |
1968-07-17 | Coast Invitation XV | Mombasa | won | 0–16 |
1968-07-20 | East Africa | RFUEA Ground, Nairobi | won | 0–28 |
Middlesex scored 262 points in seven matches, an average of more than 37 per game. In total they conceded only 14 points. They scored 61 tries, 32 conversions, three penalty-goals and two dropped-goals. Top scorer was Gordon MacDonald (45 points, all from goal-kicking), Ricky Parsons was second highest scorer (33 points, from 5 tries, the rest from goal-kicking), Mike Alder was third (31 points from 6 tries, the rest from goal-kicking). Top try scorers were Tim Rutter and Robin Jolliffe (7 each), Mike Alder and Roger Weaver (6 each). Francis Mann was the outstanding player of the tour. [5]
The tour had been organised by the Middlesex Hon. Secretary Barry Boyden, his assistant Cyril Brandon and the RFUEA's appointed Tour Chairman Bernard Nicholls. As with all rugby tours to East Africa in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, it would not have been possible without the hosting arrangements offered by the rugby fraternity in Kenya and Uganda; in order to cut down on costs, members of the tour party were welcomed into the homes of the hosts and provided for in a manner that was acclaimed by those that were lucky enough to have toured the region. [6] Hence the frequency with which first time tourists rapidly made certain they returned a second or third time.
These players have played test rugby.
This article contains embedded lists that may be poorly defined, unverified or indiscriminate .(August 2013) |
There are currently 88 clubs affiliated with the Middlesex RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. All these clubs are based in Greater London – in what used to be the historic county of Middlesex, although a large number of clubs are also members of the Surrey RFU.
The Middlesex RFU currently helps run the following competitions for clubs based in the historic county of Middlesex (now part of London):
Wasps Rugby Football Club is 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 to the RFU Championship, and all staff being made redundant. They exited administration on 16 December 2022.
The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot. The event was held at the end of the rugby union season in May every year for 75 years and moved to August in 2001 due to lack of available stadium dates and players in May. The Middlesex Sevens tournament was last played in 2011, as the new Premiership Rugby 7s Series caused many of the top clubs that previously took part to pull out.
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. The club share the Athletic Ground with Richmond.
Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs. It fields teams in both men's and women's rugby; the men's first team currently play in the RFU Championship following their promotion from National League 1 at the end of the 2019–20 season, while the women's first team play in the Women's Championship.
Hampshire Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the county of Hampshire, England. It represent clubs sides not just from Hampshire but also from the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, who take part in many of the competitions organized by the Hampshire RFU.
Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premiership Rugby. They were promoted to the league after they won National League 1 in 2014–15.
Joe Gray is a rugby union coach for London Scottish in the RFU Championship and a retired player. He played for Harlequins in Premiership Rugby across two spells. He is the only player in history to have won every trophy available to players in the top two tiers of English rugby, including both European trophies. He played as a hooker, and previously played for Northampton Saints and Saracens.
Rosslyn Park Football Club is a rugby union club based in south west London.
The Marlborough Nomads was a 19th-century English rugby union club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union. They also supplied a number of players for the sport's early international fixtures.
London Cornish RFC is a rugby union club which was originally formed for Cornish expats in London. It was established in 1962 by a group who met in Fleet Street's Cock Tavern, and were originally known as the ″Cornish Exiles″.
The Scorpions RFC is an invitation rugby team in East Africa that was established upon principles that have many parallels with the Barbarian F.C. in terms of values, playing style, selection policy and the lack of a home ground. The team wears black shirts and white shorts and, like the original Barbarians and the French Barbarians, players wear socks of their choice provided that they have played for the team that the socks represent.
The Anti-Assassins Rugby Union Football team (A-As) was an invitation team that selected players from the northern counties of England to play friendly charitable matches locally and to go on tour. The team was remodelled in 2004, teaming up with the Wooden Spoon Society to become the Spoon AAs.
The Surrey County Rugby Football Union is the union responsible for rugby union in the county of Surrey, England, and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union having been formed in 1879.
The Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union is the union responsible for rugby union in the county of Gloucestershire, England and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union. Formed in 1878, it has won the county championship on numerous occasions.
Hove Rugby Club is an English community rugby union club, who play at Hove Recreation Ground in Shirley Drive Hove, and are affiliated to the English RFU via the Sussex RFU. They currently play in London 2 South East - a league a level 7 of the English rugby union system - following their relegation from London 1 South at the end of the 2018–19 season.
Oxford Harlequins Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Oxford, England.
Herts/Middlesex 2 is a tier 10 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the second division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally was encompassed by the historic county of Middlesex. Each year some of the clubs in this division also take part in the RFU Junior Vase - a level 9-12 national competition.
Herts/Middlesex 1 is a tier 9 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the top tier competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally was encompassed by the historic county of Middlesex. When it was formed ahead of the 1992–93 season it was known as Herts/Middlesex, changing to its current name by the 1996–97 season.
Rugby union is one of the most popular sports, in terms of both participants and spectators in London. London has several of England's leading rugby union clubs, and the city is home to 13 teams playing in national leagues, and many regional amateur leagues regulated by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. However, several of these teams, due to necessity, have found homes at stadia outside the boundaries of the capital. The sport is well established, especially in the middle-class suburbs to the north and west of the city. Four of the twelve clubs currently in the Gallagher Premiership have London origins.
The Middlesex RFU Senior Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organised by the Middlesex Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 1971–72 season, with the inaugural winners being Saracens. It is the most important cup competition organised by the Middlesex RFU ahead of the Senior Bowl and Senior Vase. The cup was originally open to all sides in Middlesex, including such illustrious names as Harlequins, Saracens and Wasps, but after the 1986–87 season and the incorporation of the Courage Leagues the cup was for limited to the smaller clubs in the county.