Wimbledon RFC
Full nameWimbledon Rugby Football Club
UnionSurrey RFU
Nickname(s)Dons
Founded1865 (1865)
LocationRaynes Park, Merton, London, England
Ground(s)Beverley Meads
ChairmanStefano D'Anna
PresidentJim Green
Coach(es)Collin Osborne, Neil Hallett, Shawn Renwick, Marc Bertrand, James Ogilvie-Bull and William Brunt
Captain(s)Josh Bayford
League(s)Regional 1 South Central
2022–231st (promoted to National League 2 East)
Team kit
Official website
www.wimbledonrfc.co.uk

Wimbledon Rugby Football Club is a sports club based in Wimbledon, London. The club was a founding member of the Rugby Football Union and were at that time known as the Wimbledon Hornets. The first rugby union team currently play in National League 2 East following their promotion from Regional 1 South Central at the end of 2022–23 season.

Apart from rugby, the club has a netball section.

History

Wimbledon’s first recorded match was against Richmond F.C. in November 1865, making the club one of the oldest in the country, and one of just twelve surviving clubs that founded the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The club’s captain at this time was L J Maton who drafted the first laws of the game and went on to become the third president of the RFU in 1875. In the same year, two club members, J D and H J Graham, gained one and four caps respectively for England.

In 1874 the club changed its name to Wimbledon RFC. It has been suggested that the change in name was due to the club's L J Maton becoming president of the Rugby Football Union, and in order to reflect their new-found gravitas they dispensed with the Hornets for a less whimsical name.[1]

They played on Wimbledon Common until World War I, using the Rose & Crown in Wimbledon Village as changing rooms and clubhouse. The club then went into suspended animation when the First World War started, and was only re-formed in 1927.[1] It was at this time that the club changed colours from broad blue and white hooped jerseys, to maroon and Cambridge blue hooped jerseys.[2] The club's celebration of its centenary with a dinner held in February 1966, was demonstrative that it perceived itself a continuation of the original Wimbledon Hornets.[1] They moved to the current clubhouse on Barham Road, Wimbledon in the 1987–88 season, coinciding with the setting up of amateur league rugby in Britain.

Honours

1st team:

2nd team:

Club colours

Wimbledon 1st team play in maroon shirts with blue sleeves and a blue stripe on the side. They wear navy shorts and navy socks.

All other teams play in maroon and blue hooped shirts with navy shorts and navy socks.

Teams

Wimbledon has four men's teams, a ladies team and a thriving youth & mini section.

The men's teams Wimbledon currently has four men's teams.

The 1st team play in London & South East Premier (Nat3SE), as a result of result of relegation from National League 2S in the 2017–18 season. The 2nd team play in the Zoo Sports Shield Division 1 having won consecutive promotions from Division 3 and 2 in the 2015–16/2016-17 seasons. The 3rds or Mavericks as they are fondly known and the 4ths Strollers (the Vets team) compete in the Surrey Leagues.

The ladies team The ladies team was founded in the 1990–91 season by Tina and John Ambler, club stewards from 1989 to 1993. Their team mascot is Alderney, one of The Wombles.

The first ladies match was against a selection of players from the men's teams. Due to a lack of playing experience the men emerged the victors. Since then, the Ladies section has grown from strength to strength with several of the players reaching national and international level.

The team currently plays in the Championship South West 2 League and has a regular squad of over thirty ladies as well as strong mini and youth section offering rugby for all ability levels from 5 to 18.

Current standings

2023–24 National League 2 East Table
Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1Esher15130258335422912266
2Dorking15121259135523612163
3Bury St Edmunds1512125032972069059
4Barnes1511045223561669457
5Henley Hawks151014448378709152
6Tonbridge Juddians157174494074210444
7Canterbury15708469418519441
8Old Albanian14707419391288339
9Sevenoaks15618370429-595435
10Westcombe Park154110431475-4410634
11Guernsey Raiders14509315415-1007229
12Worthing Raiders153012398558-1608323
13Wimbledon143011343505-1628323
14North Walsham140014163666-503101
  • 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. Pink background are relegation places.
Updated: 13 January 2024
Source: National League 2 East RFU [3]

Notable former players

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dick Tyson, London's Oldest Rugby Clubs, p159 (JJG Publishing), 2008
  2. ↑ Dick Tyson, London's Oldest Rugby Clubs, p158 (JJG Publishing), 2008
  3. ↑ "National League 2 East". England Rugby.
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