Barnes Rugby Football Club

Barnes
Full name Barnes Rugby Football Club
Union Middlesex RFU, Surrey RFU
Founded November 1862 (1862-11)[1]
Location Barnes, Richmond upon Thames, London, England
Ground(s) Barn Elms (Capacity: 500)
Chairman Michael Whitfield
League(s) London & South East Premier
2016-17 Relegated from National League 2 South (16th)
Team kit
Official website
www.barnesrfc.org

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. It is claimed that Barnes RFC was founded in as early as 1839 but there is no actual evidence, so the club itself states to have clear documents about its activities from the 1920s.[1] If the claim is true, then Barnes is the world's oldest football club in all codes. The club, from Barnes, 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. The club currently play in the fifth tier of the English league system, London & South East Premier.

History

Accounts of the date that the club was formed are contradictory: club records give 1839,[2] while other accounts[3] give credit to eminent club member Ebenezer Cobb Morley, in 1858 or 1862. Its earliest recorded result was in November 1862 versus Richmond, played at Barn Elms. The club won that match and the replay that followed later in the year.

The Barnes Club was a founder member of the Football Association and Morley is often said to be the "father of The Football Association".[4] On December 19, 1863, Barnes participated in the first ever match under FA rules, again against Richmond.[5] It also competed in the first ever FA Cup and continued to do so through to the 1885–86 competition.[6] The first three secretaries of the FA were members of Barnes.

Barnes forward Charles Morice represented England in the first ever international football match between Scotland and England played at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow in 1872.[7]

"Of the 'only and original' clubs forming the Football Association the Barnes Club alone has throughout the ages been an active and faithful member of The Football Association. This is a matter of historical fact."
— Geoffrey Green, The History of The Football Association, The Naldrett Press, London, (1953); p.428

For many years the club played at the Harrodian Club before moving to its Barn Elms location in 1987 when the grounds were sold to form a school.

Barnes RFC first XV has been promoted eight times since being positioned in Surrey Division Three in 1987.

Honours

Current standings

2016–17 National League 2 South Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1 Bishop's Stortford (C) 30 25 0 5 1053 549 504 25 4 129
2 Old Elthamians (P) 30 25 0 5 1071 533 538 19 3 122
3 Chinnor 30 24 2 4 1111 546 565 21 1 122
4 Taunton Titans 30 19 3 8 901 735 166 19 4 105
5 Redruth 30 19 1 10 824 609 215 18 5 101
6 Redingensians Rams 30 16 1 13 756 618 138 12 9 87
7 Cinderford 30 16 2 12 746 725 21 16 5 84[b 1]
8 Canterbury 30 15 0 15 720 732 −12 11 7 78
9 Henley Hawks 30 13 1 16 775 840 −65 14 7 75
10 Clifton 30 14 0 16 683 843 −160 11 4 71
11 Bury St Edmunds 30 11 1 18 675 818 −143 11 7 64
12 Worthing Raiders 30 9 0 21 657 938 −281 9 8 53
13 London Irish Wild Geese 30 8 0 22 664 960 −296 14 6 52
14 Barnstaple 30 9 1 20 532 886 −354 6 7 51
15 Barnes (R) 30 6 3 21 599 817 −218 12 9 51
16 Exmouth (R) 30 3 1 26 554 1172 −618 9 6 29
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Blue background is the play-off place. Pink background are relegation places.
Updated: 29 April 2017
Source: "National League 2 South". NCA Rugby. 
Notes
  1. ↑
    • Cinderford were deducted 5 points for fielding unregistered players against Canterbury on 3 September 2016.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 History of the club at Barnes RFC website
  2. ↑ Inverdale, John: Telegraph article November 2, 2005
  3. ↑ Butler, Bryon: The Official History of the Football Association, page X. ISBN 0-356-19145-1
  4. ↑ "Miscellaneous Football". Sheffield & Rotherham Independent. XLIV (2826). British Newspaper Archive. 30 October 1863. p. 4. Retrieved 29 June 2014. (Subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ "The History of The FA". The Football Association. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Barnes at the Football Club History Database
  7. ↑ 1872 Scotland vs England football match
  8. ↑ "Club Discipline Season 2016-2017". NCA. Retrieved 24 September 2016.

Coordinates: 51°28′30.28″N 0°14′13.03″W / 51.4750778°N 0.2369528°W / 51.4750778; -0.2369528

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