Rugby union in London
Encyclopedia
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 in the Aviva Premiership have London origins.
In more recent years, a modern tradition has seen all four leading London clubs play out of Twickenham during the first round of the Premiership, in a double-header
.
and Edinburgh Academical Football Club. The Blackheath club also helped organise the world's first rugby international (between England and Scotland in Edinburgh on 27 March 1871) and hosted the first international between England and Wales ten years later – the players meeting and getting changed at the Princess of Wales public house. Blackheath, along with Civil Service FC, is one of the two clubs that can claim to be a founder member of both the Football Association and the Rugby Football Union
.
London has several teams playing rugby at the National League level, in levels 1-5:
play their home matches at Twickenham stadium
during the Six Nations Championship
, as well as the November inbound touring nations. The ground also hosted the 1991 Rugby World Cup
final, where Australia
defeated England. Twickenham hosts the final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup, and will host the Heineken Cup
final for the fourth time in 2012
. The stadium is also host to The Varsity Match
between Oxford
and Cambridge
as well as the English school's Daily Mail Cup
final. London was also home to the massive celebrations for the English rugby team when they returned home from Australia after winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup
, where Jonny Wilkinson
kicked a drop-goal in extra time. An estimated 750,000 gathered in Trafalgar Square
to celebrate their arrival.
is an annual rugby sevens
tournament held at Twickenham each year. It is part of the IRB Sevens World Series
.
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...
is one of the most popular sports, in terms of both participants and spectators in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. 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 in the Aviva Premiership have London origins.
In more recent years, a modern tradition has seen all four leading London clubs play out of Twickenham during the first round of the Premiership, in a double-header
London Double Header
The London Double Header began in 2004 and opens what was the Zurich Premiership and is now the Aviva Premiership, the top rugby union league in England....
.
History
Barnes Rugby Football Club, formerly known simply as the Barnes Club, is a rugby union club which is claimed by some sources to be the world's first and oldest club in any code of football. The club, from Barnes in London, also played a major role in the early years of association football, and was one of the teams in the first ever game of football. Blackheath F.C. is the oldest open rugby club in the world. "Open" in this context means that membership was open to anyone, not merely those attending, or old boys from, a particular institution (eg a school, university or hospital). It is also the third-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after Dublin University Football ClubDublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
and Edinburgh Academical Football Club. The Blackheath club also helped organise the world's first rugby international (between England and Scotland in Edinburgh on 27 March 1871) and hosted the first international between England and Wales ten years later – the players meeting and getting changed at the Princess of Wales public house. Blackheath, along with Civil Service FC, is one of the two clubs that can claim to be a founder member of both the Football Association and the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
.
Clubs
- Barking Rugby Football Club
- Barnes Rugby Football Club
- Blackheath F.C.
- Civil Service Rugby ClubCivil Service Rugby ClubCivil Service Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in London, England.The club plays in National League 3 London & SE.Originally a part of Civil Service F.C., a combined association football and rugby union club, the rugby club is now a distinct entity and appears to have been so since the late...
- Esher RFCEsher RFCEsher Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Surrey, England. Esher RFC are currently playing in the second division of the English league system, The Championship. The club was formed in 1923 when four rugby enthusiasts agreed to start a club....
- Harlequin F.C.Harlequin F.C.The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
- London IrishLondon IrishLondon Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top...
- London Scottish F.C.London Scottish F.C.London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. It is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union.-History:...
- London WaspsLondon WaspsLondon 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...
- London Welsh RFC
- Richmond F.C.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...
- Rosslyn Park F.C.Rosslyn Park F.C.Rosslyn Park Football Club is a rugby union team. Founded in 1879, the club became the first club based in England to play rugby internationally when it faced Stade Francais in Paris on 18 April 1892. In 1912, the club played in Prague, Budapest and Vienna in the first rugby matches ever played in...
- Saracens F.C.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...
- Westcombe Park Rugby Football Club
International rugby
The England national rugby union teamEngland national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
play their home matches 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...
during the Six Nations Championship
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
, as well as the November inbound touring nations. The ground also hosted the 1991 Rugby World Cup
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
final, where Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
defeated England. Twickenham hosts the final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup, and will host the Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
final for the fourth time in 2012
2011–12 Heineken Cup
The 2011–12 Heineken Cup is the 17th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby...
. The stadium is also host to The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
between Oxford
Oxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...
and Cambridge
Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, or CURUFC, is the rugby union club of Cambridge University, and plays Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham stadium every December. CURUFC players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest...
as well as the English school's Daily Mail Cup
Daily Mail Cup
The Daily Mail RBS Cup is the annual English schools' rugby union cup competition. The semi-finals are now held at Broadstreet Rugby Club. The final is held at Twickenham Stadium. Competitions are held at the U18 and U15 age group levels...
final. London was also home to the massive celebrations for the English rugby team when they returned home from Australia after winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
, where Jonny Wilkinson
Jonny Wilkinson
Jonathan Peter "Jonny" Wilkinson OBE is an English rugby union player and member of the England national team. Wilkinson rose to acclaim from 2001 to 2003, before and during the 2003 Rugby World Cup and was acknowledged as one of the world’s best rugby players...
kicked a drop-goal in extra time. An estimated 750,000 gathered in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
to celebrate their arrival.
Sevens
The London SevensLondon Sevens
The London Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held at Twickenham in London each year. It is part of the IRB Sevens World Series. The current titleholders are Australia, who beat South Africa in the final at Twickenham on 23 May 2010.- External links :...
is an annual rugby 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...
tournament held at Twickenham each year. It is part of the IRB Sevens World Series
IRB Sevens World Series
The IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...
.