Harlow rugby club
Encyclopedia
Harlow Rugby Club is a rugby union
club based in Harlow
, Essex
.
Harlow Rugby Club currently fields four senior teams, plus a very vibrant ladies team. The first XV currently compete in London Three North East.
Harlow initially played in a white and green striped strip. The New Town Development Corporation provided grounds for the club at a token rent of £15 per annum rent. This ground wasn’t usable to begin with so the club played rugby on a local farmer's field for the interim.
The Ram Gorse Club House was opened by Sir Richard Costain in 1959. Over the years, membership grew as Harlow attracted members from all over the UK, and especially from Wales
. Harlow fielded more and more teams on match days. During the 1980/81 season Harlow were able to field seven different teams on a Saturday. During these years one of Harlow’s cornerstone teams was the Saints. The Saints have had two unbeaten seasons during their time, 1975/76 (a season in which Mike Ryland played every game) and 1982/83.
The strength in depth at Harlow continued over several decades due tp some great coaching teams but also from a constant tide of juniors coming into the game. Gwynne Harris, the PE Advisor for West Essex Education Authority for a number of years, was responsible for bringing many high quality sports teachers from the Welsh colleges to the town during its boom years. The sports teachers encouraged their pupils to join the club and the club built what would be one of the highest quality junior rugby set-ups in the UK.
When leagues were formed in 1987/88, Harlow were placed in Eastern Counties Division One. They
gained promotion every two years until finally reaching London Division One in 1993. Harlow have never won the Essex Cup, however, Harlow has won the Eastern Counties Cup twice; firstly in 1995 and secondly in 1997, and in 1999 a Harlow Sevens
squad reached the Middlesex 7s
finals and played on the hallowed turf at Twickenham Stadium
beating Richmond
in their last tournament as a professional club.
, Saracens
, Leicester, and Bristol
were just a few of the first-class teams Harlow Colts played and expected to beat. During this period, a number of Harlow players - Dave Hurley, Jonathon Locke and Wayne Kearns, were selected to play first-class rugby for leading clubs. Jonathon Locke and Wayne Kearns both achieved junior international honours for England and Ireland respectively. More recently, Harlow junior, Steven Pope, has represented London Wasps
, Blackheath R.C.
, London Welsh and Swansea RFC
rugby clubs and he has also represented England Divisions against South Africa
.
There are currently over 150 juniors and minis registered with the club.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club based in Harlow
Harlow
Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
Harlow Rugby Club currently fields four senior teams, plus a very vibrant ladies team. The first XV currently compete in London Three North East.
Club history
The club came into existence on December 8th 1955 at a meeting in the Essex Skipper pub in Harlow. Founder members included; Alexander J McCowan, Dr John Huntley, Ron Bracewell, Ron Strudwick, Ron Parkin, Derek Jennings and Eric Jones.Harlow initially played in a white and green striped strip. The New Town Development Corporation provided grounds for the club at a token rent of £15 per annum rent. This ground wasn’t usable to begin with so the club played rugby on a local farmer's field for the interim.
The Ram Gorse Club House was opened by Sir Richard Costain in 1959. Over the years, membership grew as Harlow attracted members from all over the UK, and especially from Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Harlow fielded more and more teams on match days. During the 1980/81 season Harlow were able to field seven different teams on a Saturday. During these years one of Harlow’s cornerstone teams was the Saints. The Saints have had two unbeaten seasons during their time, 1975/76 (a season in which Mike Ryland played every game) and 1982/83.
The strength in depth at Harlow continued over several decades due tp some great coaching teams but also from a constant tide of juniors coming into the game. Gwynne Harris, the PE Advisor for West Essex Education Authority for a number of years, was responsible for bringing many high quality sports teachers from the Welsh colleges to the town during its boom years. The sports teachers encouraged their pupils to join the club and the club built what would be one of the highest quality junior rugby set-ups in the UK.
When leagues were formed in 1987/88, Harlow were placed in Eastern Counties Division One. They
gained promotion every two years until finally reaching London Division One in 1993. Harlow have never won the Essex Cup, however, Harlow has won the Eastern Counties Cup twice; firstly in 1995 and secondly in 1997, and in 1999 a Harlow Sevens
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
squad reached the Middlesex 7s
Middlesex 7s
The Middlesex Sevens is a rugby union sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London based Scot...
finals and played on the hallowed turf at Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
beating Richmond
Richmond F.C.
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...
in their last tournament as a professional club.
Colts rugby
Winning 100 matches in a row from 1979 to 1981 was a magnificent achievement for Harlow Colts – and having a reputation like this meant getting bigger fixtures. WaspsLondon Wasps
London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...
, Saracens
Saracens F.C.
Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England...
, Leicester, and Bristol
Bristol Rugby
Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...
were just a few of the first-class teams Harlow Colts played and expected to beat. During this period, a number of Harlow players - Dave Hurley, Jonathon Locke and Wayne Kearns, were selected to play first-class rugby for leading clubs. Jonathon Locke and Wayne Kearns both achieved junior international honours for England and Ireland respectively. More recently, Harlow junior, Steven Pope, has represented London Wasps
London Wasps
London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...
, Blackheath R.C.
Blackheath R.C.
Blackheath Football Club is a rugby football club based in Blackheath in south-east London, now playing at the Rectory Field . It was founded in 1858 and is the oldest open rugby club in the world...
, London Welsh and Swansea RFC
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
rugby clubs and he has also represented England Divisions against South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
There are currently over 150 juniors and minis registered with the club.