Preston Grasshoppers R.F.C.

Last updated

Preston Grasshoppers
Preston grassh logo.png
Full namePreston Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club
Union Lancashire RFU
Nickname(s)Hoppers
Founded1869;155 years ago (1869)
Location Preston, Lancashire, England
Ground(s)Lightfoot Green (Capacity: 5,000)
ChairmanNeil Ashton
PresidentBob Thompson
Coach(es)Dan Orwin
Captain(s)Scott Richardson
League(s) National League 2 North
2023–24 11th
Kit left arm whiteborder.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body whitebluehoops.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm whiteborder.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks hoops navy.png
Kit socks long.svg
Team kit
Official website
www.pgrfc.co.uk

Preston Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team from Preston, Lancashire. The men's senior team play in the RFU National League 2 North, a level 4 league in the RFU league pyramid.

Contents

History

The club was founded on 28 September 1869 at a meeting held at the Bull Hotel, Preston, making it one of the oldest 'northern' rugby union teams.

The club were based at Farringdon Park (modern day Farringdon Crescent), New Hall Lane from 1924 until 1932, on the site of an old amusement park and cycling track. In 1929 the club agreed a six-year sub-tenancy with Preston speedway team, and a dirt track was constructed around the perimeter of the rugby pitch. The speedway syndicate folded in 1932 but a greyhound syndicate paid the Grasshoppers £2,000 (a huge sum at the time) to vacate the ground the same year. [1] [2]

While many notable players have played for the team before going onto play professionally (both in the Premiership and for England), Preston's most famous player is lock Wade Dooley. Nicknamed 'the Blackpool Tower', Dooley played for Grasshoppers in the 1980s and 90s (before rugby turned professional) and whilst working in the Lancashire Constabulary. Dooley gained 58 Test caps- 55 for England and 3 for the British & Irish Lions. [3] The main room at Grasshopper's modern ground, Lightfoot Green Lane, is named the Dooley Suite after him. [4]

When the national league structure was introduced in the mid nineties, Hoppers remained in National League 3 (North) until their promotion in the 1998–99 season. This was achieved with the help of Australian Michael Lough and winger Ian Bruce who, between them, scored over 50 tries.

In 2013, Preston Grasshoppers 2nd team won the Preston Sports Awards Team Performance of the Year. [5] At the end of the 2015–16 Season Preston Grasshoppers accepted an offer from the RFU to replace the grass surface at Lightfoot Green Lane with an artificial 3G pitch. The terms of the agreement mean that the RFU have exclusive use of the pitch for the next thirty years.

In 2017–18 the club made an immediate return to National 2 North by winning the Northern Premier League at the first attempt. Under longstanding Director of Rugby Gareth Dyer and head coach Paul Arnold, the side were the stand-out side in the division with number 8 Matthew Lamprey scoring 32 league tries during the campaign to set a new club record for tries in a league season, beating the previous best of 27 set by Michael Lough in the 1998–99 National 2 North championship winning season.

After a mid-table finish in National 2 North in the 2018–19 season, the club suffered an injury decimated season that resulted in relegation in a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No play was available at all in the 2020–21 season due to the pandemic but the team rebounded to National Two by finishing runners-up in the Northern Premier Division in the 2021–22 season. They also won the Lancashire Cup to crown a superb season.

Joel Unsworth succeeded Arnold as head coach for the 2022-23 season whilst Director of Rugby Gareth Dyer also departed after 15 years in the role. Alex Keay returned to the role and after a poor start to the season, Keay also assumed the Head Coach role. Grasshoppers now compete in the restructured National League 2 North.

Honours

[6] [7]

Notable former players

England

The following players have made appearances for England whilst playing for Grasshoppers:

The following players have made appearances for England after playing for Grasshoppers:

The following players have coached England after playing or coaching Grasshoppers:

Ireland

The following players have made appearances for Ireland after playing for Grasshoppers:

British & Irish Lions

The following players have made appearances for the British & Irish Lions whilst playing for Grasshoppers:

The following players have made appearances for the Lions after playing for Grasshoppers:

Other notable players

The following people have made appearances for Grasshoppers:

Current standings

2024–25 National League 2 North table
PosTeam
PldWDLPFPAPDTBLBPtsQualification
1 Lymm 111100430235+19511055Promotion place
2 Sheffield 111001396202+1949150
3 Leeds Tykes 10901372194+1789146
4 Fylde 10703353277+767136
5 Wharfedale 11605288300−128032
6 Chester 11506346351−57229
7 Preston Grasshoppers 11416321338−176327
8 Hull Ionians 11407308304+46426
9 Otley 10415248293−453223
10 Tynedale 11236241366−1255221
11 Hull 10307245334−894319
12 Billingham 11317235349−1144018
13 Sheffield Tigers 10118219310−915415Relegation place
14 Harrogate 10118240389−1495415
Updated to match(es) played on 23 November 2024. Source: National League Rugby [8]
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    John Richard Heaton Greenwood is an English former rugby union player and coach. A flanker, he played for Waterloo, Cambridge University, Lancashire and England. He later coached Preston Grasshoppers and England.

    Wade Dooley is a former England rugby union international who played lock forward. He played for his country 55 times and was known as the "Blackpool Tower", as a result of being 6 feet 8 inches tall and a police officer with Lancashire Constabulary in Blackpool.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Balshaw</span> British Lions & England international rugby union footballer

    Iain Robert Balshaw, MBE is an English former rugby union player who played on the wing or at full back for Bath, Leeds Carnegie, Gloucester and Biarritz Olympique. He won 35 international caps for England between 2000 and 2008, and three for the British & Irish Lions in 2001. He was a member of the England squad that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

    Fylde Rugby Union Club is a rugby union club based in Lytham St Annes, on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. The home venue is the Woodlands Memorial Ground on Blackpool Road in Ansdell and the first team play in English rugby's National League 2 North, the fourth tier of the English rugby union system, following their relegation from National League 1 at the end of the 2017–18 season. There are another two senior teams, the Hawks and the Vandals who play in the English North West Leagues; respectively in the NW Premiership and NW3 North. There is also a Colts team. In previous seasons the Colts have played in the Lancashire & Cheshire regional leagues.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds Tykes</span> English rugby union football club

    Leeds Tykes is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 2 North.

    Barrie-Jon Mather is an English former rugby league and rugby union player. A dual-code international player, he was the first Great Britain rugby league player to be capped by England at rugby union.

    BAE Warton RUFC is a rugby club based in Warton, Fylde, England.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">West Park St Helens</span> English rugby union club, based in St Helens, Merseyside

    West Park RFC is a rugby union club based in St Helens, Merseyside. The 1st XV currently plays in South Lancs/Cheshire 1 at the seventh level of the English rugby union system following their relegation from North 1 West at the end of the 2016–17 season.

    North Premier was a level five league in the English rugby union system, with the fourteen teams drawn from across Northern England. The other leagues at this level were London & South East Premier, Midlands Premier and South West Premier. The RFU reorganised the level five leagues for season 2022–23, with an increase from four to six and reducing the teams in each from fourteen to twelve. The teams in this league now play in either Regional 1 North East or Regional 1 North West.

    National League 2 North is one of three level four leagues in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in Northern England. The remainder of England is covered by the two counterpart leagues National League 2 East and National League 2 West. The champion club is promoted to National One. Relegation is to either the Regional 1 Midlands, Regional 1 North East or Regional 1 North West, depending on their location. Sedgley Park are the current champions.

    National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage League National Division Three when founded in 1987. Chinnor are the current champions.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancashire County Rugby Football Union</span> Rugby union in England

    The Lancashire County Rugby Football Union is the society responsible for rugby union in the county of Lancashire, England, and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union having been formed in 1881. In addition it is the county that has won the County Championship on most occasions

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Broughton RUFC</span> Rugby team

    Broughton Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club based in Salford, Greater Manchester, which at the time of the club's founding in 1869 was in Lancashire, England. Its home venue is the Broughton Cricket & Rugby Club pitch on Yew Street. Broughton, although it currently occupies a low position in the English rugby union league system, is notable for its early important contributions to the development of rugby union most predominantly in the north of England, but also nationally. Broughton also hosted the first ever rugby match played under floodlights.

    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.

    Preston were a British speedway team that existed from 1929 to 1932.

    The 2016–17 National League 2 North is the eighth season of the fourth tier (north) of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the second division was introduced. New teams to the division include Wharfedale who were relegated from National League 1 while Sheffield Tigers were promoted as champions of National League 3 North along with Scunthorpe (champions) and Hinckley (play-off) from National League 3 Midlands.

    Owen Bruynseels is a retired English rugby union player who played as a winger. He spent his entire career with Ealing Trailfinders, with over 200 appearances, that saw his club rise from the 6th division of English Rugby all the way up to the RFU Championship. An opportunistic try scorer he was one of the most prolific in National League 2 South history with 81 tries in four seasons. Since retiring from playing due to injury in 2015, he was inducted into the Ealing Trailfinders 'Hall of Fame' and remains at the club as team manager.

    Chris Johnson is an English rugby union footballer, currently playing at Fly-half or Centre for Sale in National League 1. An outstanding player who can kick points, drop goals, and score tries, he is one of the most prolific scorers of all time in both National League 2 North and National League 1, with over 3,000 points spread across the two divisions from his time with Huddersfield, Fylde and Sale. Johnson has also had a very successful representative career, winning the Bill Beaumont Cup five times with Lancashire, and captaining the England Counties XV.

    Oliver "Ollie" Brennand is an English rugby union footballer, who last played as a winger for Fylde in National League 1. He is Fylde's record try scorer with over 200 tries, and is also one of the most prolific try scorers ever in both National League 1 and National League 2 North. As well as playing club rugby he has also been capped by England Counties XV and Lancashire – with whom he has won the Bill Beaumont Cup four times.

    Farringdon Park was a multi-use park, gardens and sports stadium on New Lane, east of Preston, Lancashire, England.

    References

    1. ↑ "Preston Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
    2. ↑ "1900 – 1930". PGRF. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
    3. ↑ "Wade Dooley | Rugby Union | Players and Officials". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
    4. ↑ "Facilities". PGRFC. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
    5. ↑ "Skiddle Sponsors Preston Sports Awards - Could Grasshoppers Win Again?". Skiddle.
    6. ↑ "2000 - present".
    7. ↑ "Preston Grasshoppers".
    8. ↑ "National League 2 North". NCA Rugby.
    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.