Manchester Rugby Club
Encyclopedia
Manchester Rugby Club, formerly known as Manchester Football Club, are one of the oldest rugby union
clubs in existence, having been founded in 1860, 11 years before the RFU
.
They play their home matches at Cheadle Hulme
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
. The club is divided into different sections - 1st XV, 2nd XV, Wanderers, Ladies, and Mini, Juniors, Colts. Their home colours are red shirts with navy blue and white piping, navy shorts and navy socks. Their away colours are navy blue shirts with red & white piping, navy shorts and navy socks.
and Liverpool
came together to play a friendly game. Richard Sykes
, the captain of football at Rugby School
set up the Manchester team and provided the ball, and so the game became dubbed 'Rugby versus the World!' Liverpool St. Helens F.C
. and Manchester F.C. came into being not long afterwards.
Manchester had very strong links with the early RFU, supplying two presidents (James MacLaren and Roger Walker
) and a number of international players, including Albert Neilson Hornby
, the first ever player to captain England at both rugby and cricket
. The earliest international jersey is still on display in the clubhouse.
Manchester FC were also the first recognised soccer side in Manchester, and they competed in the FA Cup before any of the region's other sides. In 1894 Newton Heath (present day Manchester United) were banned from changing their name to Manchester FC by the FA and RFU because of the existence of the rugby side. The full story of Manchester FC's association football history is detailed in Manchester A Football History where it is revealed they hold many Mancunian firsts. They were also the first English club side to play competitively in Scotland
when they faced Queen's Park F.C.
in the FA Cup in 1883-4
There are plans to set up a Rugby League
Conference team in 2012.
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...
clubs in existence, having been founded in 1860, 11 years before the RFU
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
.
They play their home matches at Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Stockport and southeast of the city of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley on the Cheshire Plain, and the drift consists mostly of boulder clay, sands and gravels...
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
. The club is divided into different sections - 1st XV, 2nd XV, Wanderers, Ladies, and Mini, Juniors, Colts. Their home colours are red shirts with navy blue and white piping, navy shorts and navy socks. Their away colours are navy blue shirts with red & white piping, navy shorts and navy socks.
History
Although founded in 1860, the club had played its first game in 1857, when the gentlemen of ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
came together to play a friendly game. Richard Sykes
Richard Sykes (Rugby player)
Richard Sykes was a pioneering rugby player who helped found two major clubs and became a landowner in North Dakota, founding five towns there....
, the captain of football at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
set up the Manchester team and provided the ball, and so the game became dubbed 'Rugby versus the World!' Liverpool St. Helens F.C
Liverpool St Helens F.C.
Liverpool St Helens Football Club are a rugby union team formed from the merger of Liverpool Football Club and St. Helens RUFC. The club currently plays in North 1 West....
. and Manchester F.C. came into being not long afterwards.
Manchester had very strong links with the early RFU, supplying two presidents (James MacLaren and Roger Walker
Roger Walker (rugby)
Roger Walker was a rugby union forward who played club rugby for Manchester Rugby Club and international rugby for England...
) and a number of international players, including Albert Neilson Hornby
A. N. Hornby
Albert Neilson Hornby, commonly designated A. N. Hornby, nicknamed Monkey Hornby was one of the best known sportsmen in England during the nineteenth century excelling in both rugby and cricket...
, the first ever player to captain England at both rugby and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. The earliest international jersey is still on display in the clubhouse.
Manchester FC were also the first recognised soccer side in Manchester, and they competed in the FA Cup before any of the region's other sides. In 1894 Newton Heath (present day Manchester United) were banned from changing their name to Manchester FC by the FA and RFU because of the existence of the rugby side. The full story of Manchester FC's association football history is detailed in Manchester A Football History where it is revealed they hold many Mancunian firsts. They were also the first English club side to play competitively in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
when they faced Queen's Park F.C.
Queen's Park F.C.
Queen's Park Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club are currently the only amateur club in the Scottish League; their amateur status is reflected by their motto, Ludere Causa Ludendi – to play for the sake of playing.Queen's Park are the oldest...
in the FA Cup in 1883-4
There are plans to set up a Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
Conference team in 2012.
Notable players
- Albert Neilson HornbyA. N. HornbyAlbert Neilson Hornby, commonly designated A. N. Hornby, nicknamed Monkey Hornby was one of the best known sportsmen in England during the nineteenth century excelling in both rugby and cricket...
, the first ever player to captain England at both rugby and cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the... - Richard Osborne, played for England in first international in 1871
- William MacLarenWilliam MacLarenWilliam MacLaren was a rugby union international who represented England in the first rugby international in 1871. -Rugby union career:MacLaren made his international debut on March 27th, 1871 at Edinburgh in the first international and was contested by Scotland and England. He was one of four...
, played for England in first international in 1871 - Arthur Sumner GibsonArthur Sumner GibsonArthur Gibson was a rugby union international who represented England in 1871 in the first international match.-Early life:Arthur Sumner Gibson was born at Fawley, near Southampton on 14 July 1844 and baptised there on 11 August 1844. He was the son of Rev William Gibson and his second wife...
, played for England in first international in 1871 - H.J.C. TurnerH.J.C. TurnerH.J.C. Turner was a rugby union international who represented England in 1871 in the first international match.-Early life:...
, played for England in first international in 1871 - Andrew BulteelAndrew BulteelAndrew Bulteel was a rugby union international who represented England in 1875.-Early life and family background:Andrew Marcus Bulteel was born in September 1850 in Liverpool, the second son of Andrew Hume Bulteel and his wife Catherine Chartres. The Bulteel family was of Huguenot descent and had...
, played for England in the last 20 a-side match against Ireland in 1875 - Ernest MarriottErnest MarriottErnest Marriott was a rugby union international who represented England in 1875.-Early life:Ernest Marriott was born on 15 January 1857 in Salford, the son of Henry Marriott, Esq. Rowan Lodge, Whalley Range, Manchester...
, played for England in the last 20 a-side match against Ireland in 1875 - Hugh RowleyHugh RowleyHugh Campbell Rowley was a rugby union international who represented England from 1879 to 1882.-Rugby union career:Rowley was originally a member of the Bowdon and Lymm Club, and was selected form this club to represent the county of Cheshire in the first match between Cheshire and Lancashire on...
, played nine times for England (from 1879 to 1882) - Roger WalkerRoger Walker (rugby)Roger Walker was a rugby union forward who played club rugby for Manchester Rugby Club and international rugby for England...
, England international and President of the Rugby Football UnionRugby Football UnionThe Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886... - Daniel Collins - Scored 45 tries in just under 100 appearances for Manchester