Newport RUFC are 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

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 play at the Old Showground, just outside the town of Newport

Newport, Shropshire

Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...

, Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

. They currently play in the National League 3 Midlands

National League 3 Midlands

English Rugby Union Midland Division - National League 3 Midlands is an English Rugby Union League.Before September 2009 National League 3 - Midlands was known as Midlands 1. it is the highest regional club Rugby Union league in the English Midlands and, with promoted sides usually entering...

 league.

History

The earliest recorded rugby being played in Newport was in 1871 when Adams' Grammar School

Adams' Grammar School

Adams' Grammar School is a selective state grammar school in Newport, Shropshire, rated by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills as a Grade 1 outstanding school , the latest OFSTED report concludes "this is a truly impressive school"...

 (located in Newport) started playing the game, and this lead to a game being played between the school and a town team, on Chetwynd End.

In 1876 the town team played their first game representing the town against Stafford

Stafford

Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...

, which resulted in a loss. The team played various games over the next few years, in either Newport or Shifnal

Shifnal

Shifnal is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It forms part of The Wrekin constituency, and is about east of Telford. It has a railway station on the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Line and is near to the M54 motorway.-Early medieval time:...

, before breaking due to the World Wars.

After the wars an ex-Torquay

Torquay

Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...

player Roy “Squash” Lemon settled in Newport and set about reforming the team, which came about in 1947, with the start of the Newport (Salop) Rugby Union Football Club. ("Salop" being an alternative name for the county.)

Newport have gone on to become the most successful and highest ranking team in Shropshire.

Forwards

• Craig Ingram (Prop Forward)
• Morgan Sikanen (Prop Forward)
• Phil Rogers (Prop Forward)
• Cledwyn Hughes (Prop Forward)
• Vince Knight (Prop Forward)
• Phil Kaleta (Hooker)
• Chris Gibbons (Hooker)
• Simon Holland (Hooker)
• Alan Richardson (Hooker)
• Michael Woodhouse (Second Row)
• Steve Fowkes (Second Row)
• Jonny Stiles (Second Row / Back Row)
• Adam Owen (Second Row)
• Gurt Brakel (Second Row)
• George Armitage (Back Row)
• Vic Van Staten (Back Row)
• Richard Harris (Back Row)
• Ed Bradburn (Back Row)
• Liam Jennings (Back Row)
• Allister Heath (Back Row)
• Simon Bell (Back Row)
• Chris Taylor (Back Row)

Backs

• Ben Warrilow (Scrum Half)
• Jamie Simpson (Scrum Half)
• James Curgenven (Fly Half)
• Matt Curgenven (Fly Half / Centre)
• Neil Weston (Centre)
• Tomasi Tanumi (Centre)
• Sam Watson Jones (Utility Back)
• Pete Thomas (Centre)
• Toby Mann (Full Back)
• Andrew Weildon (Winger)
• Paul Buttery (Winger)
• Mark Millward (Wing)