Richmond F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richmond Football Club is a rugby union team from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union.
Formed in 1861, it is one of the oldest football clubs in the world. It holds a significant place in the history of Association football, playing in the first ever match on December 19, 1863, against the Barnes Club, even though it was not a member of the Football Association.
In 1996, it was the first club in England to turn professional but when the main financial backer withdrew in 1999, administration followed. Merger with London Irish followed and in 2000, it rejoined the leagues as an amateur club at the bottom of the pyramid. The club has since progressed back up through the divisions to London Division 1 and shares the Athletic Ground with London Scottish F.C.
After the professional era, hooker Andy Cuthbert remained at the club and captained the side for several years. Despite its lowly league position, Richmond has still managed to attract some top class players - former South Africa captain Bobby Skinstad joined for the 2005-6 season, Chilean fly-half Sebastian Berti joined in 2006 and England Students' wing Joe Ajuwa is a regular starter in the 1st XV.
Richmond's youth section is also highly successful - London Irish fullback Delon Armitage was a member of the mini section, and Dominic Waldouck made his debut for Wasps at outside centre against London Irish in 2006 having progressed through the agegroups at Richmond. On 5th January, 2007, London Wasps No.8 Hugo Ellis, another product of Richmond's youth section, captained England U19s in their 18-11 victory over Italy, scoring 2 tries, and again in their 29-5 victory over France, this time scoring a hat-trick. In the same match, another product of the Richmond youth system, now also playing at Wasps, Joe Simpson, started at scrum half and scored a try.
