Barking Rugby Football Club

Barking
Full name Barking Rugby Union Football Club
Founded 1930
Location Becontree, Dagenham, London, England
Ground(s) Goresbrook (Capacity: 1,000)
Coach(es) England Steve Wagstaff
Captain(s) England Fat Dan
League(s) London 1 North
2012-13 15th (relegated)
Team kit
Official website
www.pitchero.com/clubs/barkingrufc/

Barking RFC is an English rugby union team based in Barking, east London and currently play in the fifth tier of the English rugby union league system the National League 3 London & SE.

History


Park Modern Old Boys

The club was founded in 1930, under the name of Park Modern Old Boys. In 1926 the Park Modern School in Barking was founded and the headmaster decided that the school would play rugby, despite football being the most popular sport in the area. As a result, the Old Boys team was created four years later and won 16 out of 19 games in its inaugural season.

Barking RFC

Old Boys continued to prosper after the war. In 1974 they were declared no longer an Old Boys team, and so were obliged to change their name to Barking Park RFC, which became just Barking RFC in 1976.

Barking were successful upon the introduction of leagues and moved slowly up the league ladder. It is widely known that Jason Leonard, the most internationally capped prop in the history of rugby union began his club career at Barking. In 1989 Barking opened their current ground at Goresbrook, Dagenham and have remained there since. They reached the National Leagues in 1994. After winning National Division Three South in the 2004-05 season, Barking enjoyed two seasons in National Division Two before being relegated in 2007. The season began with a crushing 63-10 defeat at the hands of newly promoted Mounts Bay, who were eventually crowned champions. This set the tone for a season in which the Eastenders were constantly staving off the threat of relegation. However, Barking survived by the narrowest of margins after defeating the very team who had destroyed them on the opening day and finished the league as champions. The 16-14 win at Goresbrook was enough to send Bristol-based Clifton down by a single point and secure another season of National League rugby for Essex and London's East End.

Comedian and actor Nick Frost, known for his many film and television collaborations with Simon Pegg, is an ex-player.

Club Honors

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Samu John Prop Samoa Samoa
Geoff Hughes Fly-half Nigeria Nigeria
Rodell Umwobobobobo Prop Uganda Uganda
Jordan Saunders Prop Senegal Senegal
Joe Forde Prop Tunisia Tunisia
Darren Bowles Prop England England
Rob Anderson Prop Mongolia Mongolia
Conner Otoole Prop Ireland Ireland
Darryl Ox Prop Uzbekistan Uzbekistan
Stephen Hayes Prop Liechtenstein Liechtenstein
Michael Anderson Prop Kenya Kenya
Jason Ox Prop Kazakhstan Kazakhstan
Chris Speed Prop Guam Guam
Joe Touma Prop Lebanon Lebanon
Andrew Badcock Prop Swaziland Swaziland
Ryan Keates Prop Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan
Castro Prop Italy Italy
Andrew Moreland Prop Denmark Denmark
Player Position Union
Elliot Brown Prop India India
Joe Cook Prop Pakistan Pakistan
Craig Ratford Prop Cambodia Cambodia
Aaron Ask For More Higgins Scrum-half Israel Israel
Zak Myers Prop Zimbabwe Zimbabwe
Ben Lloyd Prop United States United States
Shaun Turner Prop Greece Greece
Nathan Barham Prop Iran Iran
Callum Gardner Prop Laos Lao
Alex Foster Prop Moldova Moldova
Sam Randall Prop Japan Japan
Tom Bateman Prop Serbia Serbia
Fat Dan (C) Prop England England
Ollie Forrest (RIP) Prop China China
Ash Wright Prop Rwanda Rwanda
Aaron Cohen Prop Israel Israel
Ollie Forrests Sister Prop China China
Random Kid That Turned Up Prop Bulgaria Bulgaria

External links