Reading Hockey Club

Reading Hockey Club
Founded	1904
League	Men's England Hockey League ; Women's England Hockey League
Based in	Reading, England
Home ground	Sonning Lane
Colours	Sky Blue, Navy, Navy (H); Navy Blue, Sky, Sky (A)
President	Geoff Ash
Chairman	Tim Hunt
Members	950

Last updated August 10, 2025

Reading Hockey Club is a professional field hockey club based at Sonning Lane in the English town of Reading.^[1] It is one of the most successful clubs in the United Kingdom with National League and Cup honours. The men's team have been champions of England on six occasions and the women's team on three occasions.^[2]^[3]

RHC runs 11 men's teams, 8 ladies teams and has a flourishing junior (colts) section. It is also runs an England Hockey Talent academy. Players range from 5 to 70+ years old. RHC has over 500 senior and nearly 550 junior members and is based at a top class facility in Sonning Lane, where they have been since 1984. There are 2 pitches at the clubhouse, Sonning Lane Water and Sonning Lane Sand.^[4]

History

The origins of the club are slightly confusing despite the official formation listed as 1904. A club by the same name existed previously alongside a second club in Reading called Reading Thistles. Mentions of the Reading Hockey Club included a fixture cancellation due to Influenza in 1895^[5] and a defeat to Marlborough in 1900.^[6] The Athenian Hockey Club based in Earley, changed its name to Reading Hockey Club in 1903^[7] but to confuse matters further, the club is listed a being re-formed in 1912 following a meeting at the Queen's Hotel and then disbanded in 1913.^[8] Once the effects of World War I were out out the way, a new club was formed following a meeting at the George Hotel in September 1920, with a ground at Cintra. By the mid-1920s the club had multiple teams and played at Prospect Park.^[9]

A new two-storey clubhouse was constructed and built during 1985.^[10]

In 1997, Reading hosted the European Cup Winners Tournament, and more recently, Reading has hosted International matches, alongside charity matches for the Hockey For Heroes.^{[ citation needed ]}

The men's team have been champions of England on six occasions (1996–97, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12) and the women's team were premier league champions in 2010-11 and 2012-13.^[11]^[12]

In 2025, Reading won the women's 2024–25 league title ^[13] and the men's team won Division One South title to return to Premier Division again.

Players

Men's First Team Squad 2024–25 season

1. Chris Wyver (GK)
3. Charlie Ellison
5. Alexander May
6. Euan Dyer
7. Sam Welsh
8. Archie Vaughan
9. Ben Hooper
10. Tom Minall
13. Gregor Hearn
15. Rohit Jakhu
16. Michael Chapman (captain)
17. Callum Smith
18. Harrison Smith
19. Ben Bayley
20. Toby Heywood-Bourne
23. Daniel Cox
25. Harry Grinham
26. Johann Perera
28. George Johnstone
29. Owen Lloyd
42. Oliver Oke
Jonah Pedrette
Zac Hartley

Women's First Team Squad 2024–25 season

1 Ruby Butterfield (GK)
2. Nicki Cochrane (GK)
3. Anna Crowley
4. Lorna Mackenzie
5. Abbie Dixon
7. Emma Thomas
8. Emma Findlay
9. Jemima Copeman
10. Lizzie Neal
11. Annie Wilson
12. Mia Moore
13. Francesca Clements
14. Sammy Petch
16. Katie Partridge
17. Sarah Spooner
18. Anna-Rose Gabbitass
19. Georgia Jones
20. Caroline Spence
21. Lucie Daman (captain)
22. Hannah Kilpatrick
25. Eliza Chippendale
27. Joanne Pinner
28 Georgia Howe

^[14]

Major National Honours

National Champions

National Cup Winners

National Tournaments

Notable players

Men's internationals

Extended content

Player	Events	Notes/Ref
Tommy Alexander	CG (2018)
Tim Atkins
James Bailey	WC (2014)
Tom Bertram	Oly (2004)
Nick Brothers	WC (2006, 2010)
James Carson	CG (2018)
Tom Carson	WC (2014)
Nicholas Catlin	Oly (2012), WC (2014)
Darren Cheesman	CT (2012)	^[15]
Chris Cargo
Jonty Clarke	Oly (2008, 2012), CG (2006), WC (2006, 2010)
Owain Dolan-Gray	CG (2018)	^[16]
Benjamin Francis	CG (2018)
Jonny Gooch	2016–2017	^[17]
Howard Hoskin	CG (2002)
Dale Hutchinson	CG (2018)	^[18]
John Jackson
Hardeep Jawanda
Huw Jones	CG (2014)
Daniel Kyriakides	CG (2018)
Stuart Loughrey	WC (2018)
Iain Mackay	Oly (2012), CG (2010), WC (2010)
Richard Mantell	Oly (2008), CG (2010), WC (2006, 2010)
Simon Mantell	Oly (2008), CG (2006, 2010, 2014), WC (2006, 2014)
Simon Mason	Oly (1996, 2000, 2004), CG (1998, 2002), WC (1998, 2002)
Lee Morton	CG (2018)
Fred Newbold	WC (2023), EC (2021, 2023, 2025)	^[19]
Chris Newman
Richard Norris	1957–1959	^[20]
Mark Pearn	Oly (2000, 2004), CG (1998, 2002), WC (1998, 2002)
Duncan Riddell	CG (2018)
Liam Sanford	CG (2018), WC (2018)
Peter Scott
Dan Shingles	WC (2014)
Austin Smith	Oly (2008)
[[Peter Swainson]	2006–2009	^[21]
Robert Todd	CG (2002), WC (2002)
Jimmy Wallis	WC (2002)
Jon Wyatt	Oly (1996, 2000), CG (1998, 2002), WC (1998, 2002)

Key

Oly = Olympic Games
CG = Commonwealth Games
WC = World Cup
CT = Champions Trophy
EC = European Championships

Women's internationals