Loughborough Rugby Football Club

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Loughborough Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club in Loughborough, United Kingdom that has been in existence since 1891, when it was known as the Loughborough Corinthians Football Club and later Loughborough Football Club. Their nickname remains 'The Corinthians' although this is rarely, if at all, heard today.

1 History
2 Women's and Youth teams
3 Website and Forum
4 External links

[edit] History

At the time of founding both codes of football (association and rugby) were played by the same clubs, this being the case with Loughborough. The club fell by the wayside after many men enlisted for the First World War and the membership was reduced.

In 1929 a handful of players, including some of the original membership from before the War, met and decided to refound the club. The club was refounded solely as a Rugby Union club, the game having grown to be very distinct from what we now know as association football (soccer).

Loughborough regularly fields four men's sides on a Saturday, as well as having one of the best attended Mini and Junior sections in the county. Loughborough RFC is affiliated to the Leicestershire Rugby Union, the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Football Union for Women. The club now plays it's matches on Derby Road Playing Fields and has its own purpose built clubhouse, six changing rooms and four pitches.

The 1st XV play league fixtures in Midlands Division 3 East (North) and this year (2006-07) finished fourth, an awful start to the League season meaning that they would again finish just short of the promotion places to Midland 2 East. Once again the club hopes to build on a strong finish to the season to build on this and gain promotion next year. The club this year won the Leicestershire County Bowl, beating Vipers 11-5 in the final played at Market Harborough. This win meant that they retained the trophy after winning it in its innaugral year, against Vipers oddly enough, last April.

[edit] Women's and Youth teams

More recently, the club responded to the popularity of women's rugby and the Women's XV is about to embark on its ninth season — this year they’ll be playing in Rugby Football Union for Women (RUFW) Division 1 (Midlands). From 2001-04 they won their League four consecutive times to get to where they are now. The Women's XV have also previously reached the final of the RFUW North Cup and the RFUW National Shield, and this year they have provided four members of the East Midlands Women's side.

Loughborough also has a hugely successful youth set-up, including Mini-Midi rugby for those children (boys and girls) aged 7 to 12. Junior rugby is for boys aged between 13 and 17. Colts rugby is for those aged 18 and 19. It is hoped that the women's section will be able to add a Junior Girls section in the near future (age groups under 14 and under 17). Junior Girls training started this season on Wednesday evenings, before the Senior Women's training.

Loughborough is always open to new members, both players and social members, and encourages boys, girls, men and women to join the club, either as players or Social Members.

[edit] Website and Forum

Loughborough has its own website, see link below, and a Forum for members to post notices, match reports, teamsheets etc. Lots of this content is humorous (at least to those who know what's goin on) and is very much 'tongue-in-cheek'. It is mostly people taking the mickey out of themselves and each other. As the saying goes, 'If you are easily offended, look away!"

Match reports (mostly by Large, Babbage, Evans & Joe McD) bear no real resemblance to the match on which they are supposed to be describing, and instead reply on a long-running series of gags surrounding club members. Look out for quotes by...