Royal Hospitals RFC
 |
|
| Full name | St Barts and The Royal London RFC |
|---|---|
| Union | Rugby Football Union |
| Nickname(s) | Royal Hospitals RFC |
| Founded | 1996 through merger of two older sides Constituent elements: 1865 – The Royal London Hospital FC 1866 – St. Bartholomew's Hospital FC |
| Location | Chislehurst, London (formerly in Kent), England |
| Ground(s) | Perry Street (Capacity: 500) |
| Chairman | Joshua Wortelhock |
| President | Prof. Sir Nicholas Wright |
| 1st (promoted) | |
| Official website | |
| www |
|
St Barts and The Royal London RFC ("Royal Hospitals") is the name given to the modern amalgam of two formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history, having both been founded in the 1860s. The side is notable for its history, its longeivity in the world of rugby, its once time dominance of the oldest competition in rugby, the United Hospitals Cup, as well as having produced a number of international players.
The history of Barts and the London Rugby Club or Royal Hospitals RFC is the combined history of two older sides, and their joint history from the point of merger:
The London Hospital Football Club formed in 1865. Using the Morpeth Lodge as their headquarters they played their first home matches on Victoria Park in East London. They adopted the first of their three strips, that of black jerseys with a cross on a red shield on the breast. This was quickly changed to blue and white hoops. Their first success in the United Hospitals Cup came at the expense of St Bartholomew's in 1884 when they won by two goals and two touchdowns to one goal and one touchdown. This occurred three years after the latter had utterly outplayed them in the same fixture. The London was a highly regarded team on the metropolitan club circuit, playing, outside of the other hospitals, such opposition as London Welsh, Old Leysians, Saracens F.C. and Wasps amongst others by 1894. Soon after this they changed their strip to the once famous blue and white chequered pattern for which they were known for close to a century. The London made the final of the Hospitals Cup fourteen times in sixteen years leading up to World War I and even more illustrious opposition was added to their fixture list including Rosslyn Park and the Royal Indian Engineering College. So good were the London during this period that from their ranks they could boast four internationals. Like many teams of the period, the London was deeply affected by losses sustained in the Great War but recovered reasonably quickly such that by the 1930s they were taking a number of notable scalps once again. The period after World War 2 saw the arrival of Mike Floyer whose incredible devotion to the club, for which he played for many years and also served as president. In his honour an annual fixture between current students of the medical school and old boys is played, known as the Mike Floyer Memorial Day match. When the league system was introduced in the 1987/88 season, London were placed in the Eastern Counties 5, despite a fixture list that included the likes of London Welsh, Rosslyn Park and Wasps.
...
Wikipedia