Newbury R.F.C.
 | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Newbury Rugby Football Club |
| Website | newburyrfc.co.uk |
| Colours | Light Blue and Dark Blue |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
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| Competition | South West 1 East |
Newbury Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club representing Newbury. For season 2013–14 they will be playing in the sixth tier of the English league system, South West 1 East. Newbury RFC is a community rugby club using players drawn from the local community and those coached through its own youth rugby program.
History
The club was founded in 1928 due to the efforts of Len Whittaker who left St. Bartholomews Grammar School in 1924. The first game played by the newly formed club took place on 15 September 1928 against Midlands team, Stoke RFC. This was the first of 23 games that season during which the club won 13 matches and lost 10. Even throughout the early years of the club, the standard of play encouraged such major sides as Northampton, Gloucester, Harlequins and Wasps to come and play against Newbury.
In 1932 the club found a permanent home where they stayed until 1952 at which time the club moved to Pinchington Lane to the south of the town. It was not until 1958 that a clubhouse could be built on the site which was less than a mile from the present headquarters at Monks Lane where they have five pitches, of which three are fully floodlit. The 1938–39 season saw Newbury unofficially crowned by the local press as "Champions of Berkshire". The first game to be played after the War was on 13 April 1946 and despite the inauspicious date, the Club won 37 – 0 against Windsor.
Since that time, the Club has gone from strength to strength winning honours both regionally and at county level. A continuing policy of youth development has meant that many of our players have progressed from junior to senior level with the club. More recently, other Newbury players have gone on to greater heights with clubs such as Gloucester and Bedford Blues. Today, Newbury Rugby Club, which is sponsored by locally based Jokers' Masquerade,[2] fields 18 teams from First XV to Under 7s, including the recently formed Women's team.
Club Honours
1st Team:
- Courage League Division 4 South champions: 1996-97
2nd Team (Newbury Stags):
- Berks/Bucks & Oxon 1 South champions: 2004-05
- Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier champions (2 times): 2005-06, 2008-09
3rd Team:
- Berks/Bucks & Oxon 4 champions: 2011-12
- Berks/Bucks & Oxon 3 South champions: 2012-13
Youth Teams
Newbury RFC has a reputation for having one of the best youth sections in the country, sponsored by local solicitors Thomas Eggar, the youth section has several hundred members and several high calibre coaches. A close link between the youth and senior sections of the club is a proud tradition at Monks Lane and the youth section at Newbury RFC is no exception to this, the first team squad often help out with training as do the senior coaches at Monks Lane. Newbury teams have often won at a high level and no section displays this more clearly than the youth section, whose teams often win at county level and have represented Newbury at Twickenham stadium.