Aylestone Athletic RFC (nicknamed The Mighty Ath) is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 club that plays in the Midlands 5 East (South)

Midlands 5 East (South)

English Rugby Union Midland Division - Midlands 5 East is an English Rugby Union League.Midlands 5 East is made up of teams from around the East Midlands of England who play home and away matches throughout a winter season...

.

History

The club was founded in 1919. The founding members were mainly members of St.James' Church in Lansdowne Road, Leicester. The minister of the Church, B.E.Owen, was the first Club President. The new club's headquarters were established at the Aylestone Baths in Knighton Fields Road West, with the pitch on nearby Saffron Lane Recreation Ground, close to where the Aylestonians Club now play. The season of 1922-23 was a good one for the club with the winning of the Junior Cup and the Junior Combination Cup, during an unbeaten season of 26 wins and 2 draws. The seasons 1935-36 and 36-37 were particularly impressive with not one single defeat. In 1971 the headquarters were transferred to the rear of the Old Horse public house, London Road, with the pitch being on Victoria Park opposite the pub. After the pub was refurbished in the mid 1980s, the club lost the use of the changing and bar facilities at the rear of the pub, and subsequently used the changing facilities at the Park pavilion.

1st XV

The club fielded the first team play competitive league rugby to a high standard in the Midlands 4 East (South)

Midlands 4 East (South)

English Rugby Union Midland Division - Midlands 4 East is an English Rugby Union League.Midlands 4 East is made up of teams from around the East Midlands of England who play home and away matches throughout a winter season...

 division.

In 2007 the club gained promotion from Midlands 6 East (South).

In 2006 and 2008 the club made the local County Shield final, and had good runs in the EDF Junior Vase in 2007 and 2008, beating many local sides, and some from further afield.

2nd XV The Thunderbolts

Playing merit league rugby to a high standard. Promoted from league 4 at the end of 2007-8 season.

First Team Captains

• 2000 - 2002 = Pat Magriel
• 2002 - 2003 = Mark Flanaghan
• 2003 - 2006 = Neil Weston
• 2006 - 2007 = Mark Corley
• 2007 - 2008 = Darren Watson
• 2008 - 2009 = Mark Flanaghan
• 2009 - present = Ken Vernon

Current Players

Tours

• 2001 - Southport, England
• 2002 - Marmsbury, England
• 2003 - Southend, England
• 2004 - Swansea, Wales
• 2005 - Galway, Ireland
• 2006 - Zaragoza, Spain
• 2007 - Amsterdam, Holland
• 2008 - Brighton, England
• 2009 - Northern France

Club honours

• Junior Cup: 1922-23
• Junior Combination Cup: 1922-23

Boxing Day Challenge Cup 2001, Tied 2002 & 2003