Imperial Medicals Rugby Club
Encyclopedia
Imperial Medicals Rugby Club ("Imperial Medics") is the name given to the rugby union
team of Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union
, a modern amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history, having all been founded in the nineteenth century. The teams from Charing Cross Hospital
and Westminster Hospital were the first to merge in 1984 following the union of their respective Medical Departments. When St Mary's Hospital, London also merged in 1997 the team was strengthened by one of the two most successful hospital sides in London. Imperial Medics is notable for its recent dominance of the oldest competition in rugby, the United Hospitals Cup
, as well as its history and the joint history of its constituent elements which have produced a large number of international players.
- : D J Cussen (1921-27) - Tuppy Owen-Smith
(1934-37) - captain, also 5 England cricket caps - Tommy Kemp (1937-48) - captain - Edward Scott
(1947-48) - captain - Nim Hall (1947-55) - Norman "Billy" Bennett
(1947-48) - Lewis Cannell (1948-57) - : James Murphy O'Connor (1954) - possibly the first player to use the round-the-corner style of goal-kicking at international level and the brother of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor - N M Campbell (1956) - Trevor Wintle (1966-69) - JPR Williams (1969-81) - Kevin Simms (1985-88) - Richard Wintle (1988)
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 of Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union
Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union
Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union is the students' union of Imperial College School of Medicine. It is charged with caring for the educational, pastoral, social and extracurricular needs of the students of the Faculty of Medicine of Imperial College London, and is a faculty union...
, a modern amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history, having all been founded in the nineteenth century. The teams from Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital is a general, acute hospital located in London, United Kingdom and established in 1818. It is located several miles to the west of the city centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham....
and Westminster Hospital were the first to merge in 1984 following the union of their respective Medical Departments. When St Mary's Hospital, London also merged in 1997 the team was strengthened by one of the two most successful hospital sides in London. Imperial Medics is notable for its recent dominance of the oldest competition in rugby, the United Hospitals Cup
United Hospitals Cup
The United Hospitals Challenge Cup is contested by the six medical schools in London and is most notable for being the oldest rugby cup competition in the world.-History:...
, as well as its history and the joint history of its constituent elements which have produced a large number of international players.
History
The history of Imperial Medicals Rugby Club is the combined history of three older sides, and their joint history from the point of merger:- St Mary's Hospital Medical SchoolSt Mary's Hospital Medical SchoolSt Mary's is the youngest of the constituent schools of Imperial College, London, founded in 1854 as part of the new hospital in Paddington. During its existence in the 1980s and 90s, it was the most popular medical school in the country, with an application to place ratio of 27:1 in 1996.St Mary's...
- October 1865 - Charing Cross Hospital Medical SchoolCharing Cross Hospital Medical SchoolCharing Cross Hospital Medical School is the oldest of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine.-History:...
- 1875 - Westminster Hospital Medical SchoolWestminster Hospital Medical SchoolThe Westminster Hospital Medical School was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon - although students had been taken on at Westminster Hospital almost from the hospital's foundation in 1719 .The hospital and medical school moved to larger buildings several times in the...
- 1897 - Charing Cross and Westminster Medical SchoolCharing Cross and Westminster Medical SchoolCharing Cross and Westminster Medical School existed as a legal entity for 13 years, as the midpoint of a series of mergers which strategically consolidated the many small medical schools in west London into one large institution under the aegis of Imperial College LondonIn 1984, Charing Cross...
- 1981 - Imperial College School of MedicineImperial College School of MedicineThe Imperial College School of Medicine is the medical school of Imperial College London in England, and one of the United Hospitals....
- 1997
Competitions
Since Inauguration in 1997 IMRFC have enjoyed the following successes:- United Hospitals Cup Winners - 98, 99, 00, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 10
- United Hospital Cup Sevens Winners - 00, 04, 05, 06, 08
- JPR Williams Cup Winners (IMRFC v Imperial College) - 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10
- Winners of Herts, Middlesex 1 Courage League and Promotion to London North West 3 - 1999
- Promotion to BUSA Premiership South in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2010
- 2nd XV United Hospitals Cup Winners - 01, 03, 06, 07, 08, 10
- 2nd XV Varsity Match Winners - 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10
- 2nd XV Middlesex Merit League Division 3 Winners - 07
- 3rd XV United Hospitals Cup Winners - 01, 02, 03, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10
- 3rd XV Varsity Match Winners - 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10
United Hospital Challenge Cup wins Hospital Team First Competed Last Competed Current Status Wins Total Wins including constituent elements Imperial Medics 1998 present Active 12 50 St Mary’s 1874 1997 Part of Imperial Medics 32 32 Charing X/ Westminster 1983 1997 Part of Imperial Medics 3 6 Westminster 1897 1982 Part of Imperial Medics 3 3 Charing Cross 1875 1982 Part of Imperial Medics 0 0
St Mary's
Source:- : D J Cussen (1921-27) - Tuppy Owen-Smith
Tuppy Owen-Smith
Harold Geoffrey Owen Owen-Smith was a South African cricketer and English rugby player. He played cricket in 5 Tests in 1929 and was capped 10 times by England from 1934 to 1937. He was captain throughout the 1937 Home Nations championship, thus he captained England three times...
(1934-37) - captain, also 5 England cricket caps - Tommy Kemp (1937-48) - captain - Edward Scott
Edward Scott (sportsman)
Edward Keith Scott was an English sportsman who played first-class cricket and represented the England national rugby union team.-Early life:...
(1947-48) - captain - Nim Hall (1947-55) - Norman "Billy" Bennett
Norman Bennett
Norman Osborn Bennett , sometimes known as Nobby, was an English sportsman. He played rugby union for England,...
(1947-48) - Lewis Cannell (1948-57) - : James Murphy O'Connor (1954) - possibly the first player to use the round-the-corner style of goal-kicking at international level and the brother of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor - N M Campbell (1956) - Trevor Wintle (1966-69) - JPR Williams (1969-81) - Kevin Simms (1985-88) - Richard Wintle (1988)
Notable non-internationals
- David Rocyn-JonesDavid Rocyn-JonesSir David Thomas Rocyn-Jones CBE, K St J, DL, JP was a Welsh medical officer of health and servant of multiple professional bodies within Wales.-Professional career:...
, a former president of the Welsh Rugby UnionWelsh Rugby UnionThe Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...