Darlington RFC
Encyclopedia
Darlington RFC are a rugby union
team that are situated in the North East town of Darlington
, County Durham
. They play at Blackwell Meadows on the south side of the town running parallel to the town's A66 by-pass. The club moved to their £1.7 million development in 1994 after selling their previous location of McMullen Road in the town for retail development.
The club is currently at the bottom of North 1
. The club's history is long, being founded in 1863 by Darlington Cricket Club as an activity for their players outside the cricket season. Two of the club's most famous past players include Rob Wainwright
(ex Scotland and British Lions
) and England centre Mathew Tait who spent a brief time in the club's youth teams.
The club also runs a highly successful youth and mini rugby tournament every year Darlington Festival, traditionally on May Bank Holiday Weekend DRFC Festival. This is attended by teams from across the north of England and Scotland of late.
The proposal was agreed unanimously, and Darlington Rugby Club was born - although for some years it was to be known as Darlington Football and Athletic Club. The word 'Rugby' was not incorporated into its title until the 1880s, when Association Football started to become popular.
The North East's original Rugby Club - for such it was - was first captained by Tom Watson, a great sportsman whose family owned a saddlery business in town. By 1865 it had 80 members, who organised matches amongst themselves, but by the late 1860s, mainly on Tom Watson's initiative, regular fixtures were arranged against Durham School, Leeds and Rochdale, among others. In 1872 Darlington played a Northumberland side on the cricket ground at Newcastle, and when the first inter-county match was organised in the following year, between Durham and Yorkshire, the whole of the Durham side was made up of Darlington men.
Following a period of doldrums in the early 20th century, caused not least by the First World War, Darlington RFC gained new strength in the 1920s and 1930s, when it produced several first rate County players. One of them was the late G. Tarn Bainbridge, who became President of the RFU in 1975.
Between the wars, Darlington RFC' ground was at Hunden's Lane (next door to the infectious diseases hospital!) It moved to a new site at Lingfield Lane in 1952, and from there to its present magnificent premises at Blackwell Meadows in 1994.
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...
team that are situated in the North East town of Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
. They play at Blackwell Meadows on the south side of the town running parallel to the town's A66 by-pass. The club moved to their £1.7 million development in 1994 after selling their previous location of McMullen Road in the town for retail development.
The club is currently at the bottom of North 1
North 1
National 3 North is one of the level 5 leagues of English rugby. Before 2009 the league was known as North 1....
. The club's history is long, being founded in 1863 by Darlington Cricket Club as an activity for their players outside the cricket season. Two of the club's most famous past players include Rob Wainwright
Rob Wainwright
Robert Iain Wainwright is a former rugby union footballer who was capped 37 times for Scotland and once for the British Lions. He played flanker. He was educated at Glenalmond College and Magdalene College, Cambridge where he represented Cambridge University R.U.F.C..He received his first cap in...
(ex Scotland and British Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
) and England centre Mathew Tait who spent a brief time in the club's youth teams.
The club also runs a highly successful youth and mini rugby tournament every year Darlington Festival, traditionally on May Bank Holiday Weekend DRFC Festival. This is attended by teams from across the north of England and Scotland of late.
History of the club
On 18 October, 1863, the committee of Darlington Cricket Club held a special meeting to discuss the problem of members who drifted away during the winter months. It was the club's president, Mr Speciall, who suggested a possible solution. He proposed that 'A Club be formed to play Football according to the Rugby Code, to supersede cricket during the winter.'The proposal was agreed unanimously, and Darlington Rugby Club was born - although for some years it was to be known as Darlington Football and Athletic Club. The word 'Rugby' was not incorporated into its title until the 1880s, when Association Football started to become popular.
The North East's original Rugby Club - for such it was - was first captained by Tom Watson, a great sportsman whose family owned a saddlery business in town. By 1865 it had 80 members, who organised matches amongst themselves, but by the late 1860s, mainly on Tom Watson's initiative, regular fixtures were arranged against Durham School, Leeds and Rochdale, among others. In 1872 Darlington played a Northumberland side on the cricket ground at Newcastle, and when the first inter-county match was organised in the following year, between Durham and Yorkshire, the whole of the Durham side was made up of Darlington men.
Following a period of doldrums in the early 20th century, caused not least by the First World War, Darlington RFC gained new strength in the 1920s and 1930s, when it produced several first rate County players. One of them was the late G. Tarn Bainbridge, who became President of the RFU in 1975.
Between the wars, Darlington RFC' ground was at Hunden's Lane (next door to the infectious diseases hospital!) It moved to a new site at Lingfield Lane in 1952, and from there to its present magnificent premises at Blackwell Meadows in 1994.