Guy's, Kings and St. Thomas' Rugby Football Club

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The Guy's Hospital Football Club, founded in 1843 at Guy's Hospital, in Southwark, London, claims to be the world's first football club, although this is contested. The Guy's club played an early form of Rugby football. A claim by the present day Guy's, Kings and St. Thomas' Rugby Football Club, which plays Rugby union, to be the "oldest rugby club" cannot be verified, as there is no proven link between it and the one founded in 1843. Even the club's official history, on its website, admits that the only evidence that the club has existed continuously since 1843 is "circumstantial", consisting of submissions by officials in 1863 and 1864, and a fixture card from the 1883/84 season which refers to the Guy's club's "40th season" [1] Other sources suggest that the club may have been in recess for a short period.

Barnes R.F.C. (originally known simply as the Barnes Club), which is also from London, claims to have been founded in 1839,[2] and Dublin University Football Club, which also plays rugby, is the club with longest documented history, as it was formed at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, in 1854.

The present day club's first XV plays in the London League 4 South East, and its home ground is the Guy's Hospital Athletic Ground at Honor Oak Park, Honor Oak. The club's first home ground was Blackheath Common, and from 1862 it and Blackheath Rugby Club — the rugby club with the longest documented existence in England — both used the nearby Princess of Wales Hotel as changing rooms. They also play in the annual Macadam Cup game against King's College Rugby Club.

The Guys club was a founder member of the Rugby Football Union in 1871, and it has fostered 34 international players.