Nottingham R.F.C.
Full nameNottingham Rugby Club
UnionNotts, Lincs & Derbyshire RFU
Founded1877 (1877)
Ground(s)Lady Bay (Capacity: 3,500)
ChairmanAlistair Bow
PresidentNigel Bettinson-Eatch
Director of RugbyCraig Hammond
League(s)RFU Championship
2022–239th
Home kit
Official website
www.nottinghamrugby.co.uk

Nottingham Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently plays in the RFU Championship, the second tier of English Rugby.

The first XV are nicknamed The Archers, in reference to the famous Robin Hood. Now situated in the Lady Bay area of Nottingham, the club was formerly based at Meadow Lane, the home ground of Notts County F.C. They previously played at Ireland Avenue in Beeston until the end of the 2005–06 season.

History

The club was established circa 1877 by Alexander Birkin after returning from Rugby School, where he was introduced to the sport. The Birkin family later purchased the land at Ireland Avenue that would be the home of the club until 2006.

The club's heyday was in the late 1980s with a number of top international players representing the first XV. These included Simon Hodgkinson, Rob Andrew, Gary Rees, Dusty Hare and Brian Moore (also a Lion) representing England and Chris Gray representing Scotland.

The advent of professionalism saw the Green & Whites fall on hard times and the first XV narrowly avoided relegation to the regional divisions in 2002–03. The club has bounced back since then and was promoted into National League One in 2003–04. The club finished a creditable 7th in 2005–06 before leaving Ireland Avenue after 102 years. Alistair Bow was appointed chairman in 2010 after having been a director since 2008.

Martin Haag appointed Dan Montagu captain on 21 July 2015. He replaced Brent Wilson who retired at the end of 2014–15 season. Since then Ian Costello has been appointed as Head Coach, with Neil Fowkes and Alex O'Dowd rounding out the coaching team.

The club play at Lady Bay, previously at Meadow Lane. On 30 July 2010 the club signed an agreement to become part of Notts County PLC.[1] In early July 2012 it was announced that Martin Haag had become the new director of rugby at the club.

A change in funding by the RFU ahead of the 2020–21 season forced the club into become only a part-time professional club.[2]

Honours

  • Midland Counties Senior Cup winners: 1905–06
  • Midland Counties Junior Cup winners: 1907–08
  • Noel Syson Cup (Notts, Lincs & Derby Sevens) winners: 1935, 1936, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1959, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983
  • Middlesex Sevens winners: 1944–45
  • Midland Merit Table champions: 1984–85
  • Selkirk Sevens winners: 1990–91

Current standings

2023–24 RFU Championship Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1Ealing Trailfinders76012811421396131
2Coventry8503266183837027
3Cornish Pirates7502216145714125
4Doncaster Knights8503229210194125
5Bedford Blues7502252170824024
6Nottingham8404229252-236022
7Ampthill8404225228-35122
8Hartpury8305205237-323217
9Caldy7304165251-864016
10Cambridge9108187373-1864311
11London Scottish7106129193-64239
  • 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 Champions (qualify for Promotion play-off if eligible).
Red background will be relegated (there is no relegation this season).
Updated: 13 January 2024
Source: "The Championship". England Rugby.

Current squad

The Nottingham squad for the 2022–23 season is:[3]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Harry Clayton Hooker England England
Jack Dickinson Hooker England England
Archie Vanes Hooker England England
Ben Betts Prop Ireland Ireland
Tim Hoyt Prop England England
Aniseko Sio Prop Samoa Samoa
Xavier Valentine Prop England England
Toby Williams Prop England England
Callum Allen Lock England England
Ross Bundy Lock Scotland Scotland
Iosefa Maloney-Fiola Lock New Zealand New Zealand
Tom Manz Lock England England
Jack Shine Lock England England
James Cherry Back row England England
George Cox Back row England England
Jay Ecclesfield Back row England England
Scott Hall Back row England England
Carl Kirwan Back row England England
Josh Poullet Back row England England
Nathan Tweedy Back row New Zealand New Zealand
Jacob Wright Back row England England
Player Position Union
Sam Edwards Scrum-half England England
Josh Goodwin Scrum-half England England
Liam Slatem Scrum-half Hong Kong Hong Kong
Michael Stronge Scrum-half England England
Morgan Bunting Fly-half England England
Sam Hollingsworth Fly-half England England
Lewis Barrett Centre England England
Joe Browning Centre England England
Jacob Cusick Centre England England
Michael Green Centre Hong Kong Hong Kong
Javiah Pohe Centre New Zealand New Zealand
Charlie Thacker Centre England England
Harry Graham Wing England England
Henry Joules Wing England England
James Peachey Wing England England
Jack Stapley Wing England England
David Williams Wing England England
Ryan Olowofela Wing England England
Jack Neville Fullback Hong Kong Hong Kong
Jordan Olowofela Fullback England England

    Notable former players

    British & Irish Lions

    The following Nottingham players have been selected for the Lions tours while at the club:

    Rugby World Cup

    The following are players which have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup while playing for Nottingham:

    Tournament Players selected England players Other national team players
    1987 2 Brian Moore, Gary Rees
    1991 3 Gary Rees, Simon Hodgkinson Chris Gray Scotland
    2011 4 James Arlidge Japan, Sione Kalamafoni Tonga, Tim Usasz United States, Filipo Levi Samoa
    2019 1 Shane O'Leary Canada

    Other notable former players

    The following players have played for Nottingham and have been capped by their national side.

    References

    1. "Ray Trew takes over Nottingham Rugby Club". BBC News. 30 July 2010.
    2. "PLANNING FOR NEXT SEASON". Nottingham Rugby. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
    3. "Senior Squad – Nottingham Rugby". Nottingham Rugby. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
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