The Gosforth Rugby Football Club is a 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...

 team, currently playing in the Durham & Northumberland Division 1. The club was established in 1877 and they play at Druid Park

Druid Park

Druid Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Woolsington, north of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Gosforth RFC.- The ground :...

 stadium in Woolsington

Woolsington

Woolsington is a village and civil parish in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne within Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-west of the city centre, and covers a large geographical area; and is one of the city's 26 electoral wards. The parish also includes Newbiggin Hall, Woolsington village and...

, Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

. During the 1990s the club split in two, with one half becoming the Newcastle Falcons

Newcastle Falcons

The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in...

, who have been the most successful club in Northern England

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...

 with 1 Premiership and 4 domestic cups to their name.

Their local rivals are Northern Football Club

Northern Football Club

Northern Football Club are a rugby union club that was founded in 1875, and are based in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. Their strip is coloured navy Blue, Red and White...

.

History

The original Gosforth Football Club was founded in 1877 by a group of Old Boys of Durham School, in whose colours of green and white hoops the club played until the mid-1990s. In 1955, the club moved to a new ground at North Road which was to be its home until 1990. During that time and particularly in the late 1970s Gosforth enjoyed tremendous success both on and off the field winning the John Player Cup in seasons 1975/76 and 76/77.

In 1990 the club name was changed to Newcastle Gosforth and they moved to Kingston Park. Gosforth Rugby Club continued as an amateur side working in partnership with Northumbria University

Northumbria University

Northumbria University is an academic institution located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. It is a member of the University Alliance.- History :...

.

They used to play at Bullocksteads Sports Ground

Bullocksteads Sports Ground

Bullocksteads Sports Ground is a rugby and football facility in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is situated next to the Kingston Park stadium....

, but now play at Druid Park

Druid Park

Druid Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Woolsington, north of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Gosforth RFC.- The ground :...

.

Notable players

Gosforth supplied innumerable players to all counties over the years, to the North of England sides and to the full international and British Lions teams.

• Arthur Smith, 33 caps for and never dropped.
• David Bourne, holds the club record for most yellow cards in one season and also represented North East England football. 2nd top try scorer.
• Jonathan Coffey, Gosforth Centurion and honorary lifetime member of the Beano
  Beano
  Beano can refer to:* The Beano, a British children's comic* Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, a 1966 John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers album nicknamed The Beano Album as the cover shows Clapton reading a Beano comic...
  
   Fan Club. defector.
• Ray McLoughlin
  Ray McLoughlin
  Raymond John "Ray" McLoughlin is a former Ireland international rugby union prop. McLoughlin had a long and successful career playing for several clubs at club level, and played for Connacht at province level...
  
  
• Malcolm Young
  Malcolm Young
  Malcolm Young is a Scottish-born Australian guitarist, best known as a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, along with the other members of AC/DC...
  
  
• Roger Uttley
  Roger Uttley
  Roger Miles Uttley OBE MA is a former English rugby union player.- Career :He played 23 games for England both in the second row and the back row, 5 times as captain, 4 tests in the Lions back row on the undefeated 1974 tour to South Africa.Roger was born in Blackpool, and played first for...
  
  
• Peter Dixon
  Peter Dixon
  Peter John Dixon is a former England international rugby union player. He toured New Zealand in 1971 with the British and Irish Lions and at the time played club rugby for Harlequins. He played for Oxford University RFC in four consecutive Varsity Matches from 1967 to 1970...
  
  
• Duncan Madsen
• Dave Robinson
  Dave Robinson
  Richard David Robinson is a former professional American football player in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins.-Early life:...
  
  
• Richard Breakey
• Jim Pollock
  Jim Pollock
  Jim Pollock is a retired politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1981 to 1990.-Background:...
  
  
• Colin White
  Colin White
  Colin White may refer to:*Colin White , ice hockey player*Colin White , British naval historian, particularly of Horatio Nelson...
  
  
• Joe Woodhams current top try scorer.Gosforth Centurion.
• Stuart Campbell
• Samuel Stirling
• Graham Hall
• Simon Ford
• Eddie Bartos
• Steve & Neil