Plymouth Titans
Encyclopedia
Plymouth Rugby League Football Club is a rugby league
club based in Plymouth
.
The club is a member of the South West Division
of the Rugby League Conference
, playing home matches at Horsham Fields, Plymouth.
beat Oldham
31-26 in an exhibition game at South Devon Place (the home of Plymouth RFC) before 8000 spectators and as a result a meeting was held and the Plymouth Northern Union Club formed. In July, the Northern Union club took over South Devon Place and as a result the ailing Plymouth RFC disbanded, later to re-emerge as part of a merger with Devonport Albion to become Plymouth Albion
.
At Christmas, Coventry Northern Union beat Plymouth twice before a number of games were played against local opposition in the new year including Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, Torquay and Paignton (plus a 27-17 defeat at the hands of St. Helens at their home ground South Devon Place (now Astor Field) on Embankment Road. An international was staged at South Devon Place with a crowd of 7000 witnessing England's
victory over Wales
40-16 on February 15th 1913 (a Wales and West side had beaten England 27-25 at Home Park
on September 10th 1910 following the return of the Northern Union tourists from Australasia) and Devon clubs hosted a touring Northern Union Combination which Plymouth thrashed 33-3 but the club along with the league folded during the summer of 1913 due to Plymouth losing the lease at South Devon Place (which was bought by the Astor family and given to the people of Plymouth as Astor Field) and Torquay were refused permission to share the Recreation Ground with Torquay Athletic RFC.
The majority of players returned to union though some moved north to continue their 13-a-side careers with Willie Davies and Dave Holland representing the Northern Union (now Great Britain) on the 1914 tour of Australia and New Zealand. Another well known figure from that era was James Peters who was the first black player to represent England at rugby union before playing league for Plymouth and then moving on to play for Barrow. Peters was recently the subject of an exhibition at Twickenham
.
No rugby league was played in the area for another forty-four years until Leigh
and Barrow
toured Devon in 1947 and later Hull and Hull Kingston Rovers
played three games in Cornwall during the summer of 1962.
In 1985, following the formation of the Cheltenham club the previous year, another club was formed in Plymouth following an inquiry by Lionel Hurst, the instigator of what as to become the Midlands and South West Amateur Rugby League Association (MASWARLA). The first game was played at Pittville Park, Cheltenham on Sunday May 12th 1985. Plymouth trailed 22-2 at half time but rallied to win 30-26 and enough interest was shown to enter the MASWARLA League for the 1985/6 season. The club remained in the league until 1992 as first Plymouth-Tamarside and latterly Plymouth City. Problems with teams travelling down for games and the final disbanding of the MASWARLA League left the club out on a limb and the club disbanded due to lack of fixtures.
The following year, plans were made for a local competition and in December 1993 a four team league began with West Park Warriors, Stonehouse Saints, Devonport Pirates and the St.Budeaux Bulldogs competing for the Plymouth and District League, eventually won by Stonehouse and the League played hosts to Wigan St. Judes and Wigan Tech at the end of the season. However, the momentum was lost the following season and the league collapsed.
. The Plymouth Rock RLFC never really caught on and after failing to attract sponsorship and players the club failed.
However a number of the group along with Ray Pickavance from St Helens revived the idea in 2003. After a flurry of emails and telephone conversations the club had its first meeting at the Fortescue pub on Mutley Plain. Numbers grew and the club - now based at the new Stonehouse Creek Leisure and Social Club on Stonehouse Creek - played its first games at the Bristol and West 9s on May 16th 2004. Despite losing three of their games and drawing the other the club had given a taste of the game to a number of new players and the first full 13-a-side game was played away to Blandford Bulldogs in Dorset on July 3rd 2004 with a return game on the Creek on August 15th. Despite losing both games interest was maintained and the club successfully applied for membership of the Rugby League Conference
in January 2005.
Despite early setbacks and a number of changes in personnel, the club completed a relatively successful year with a nailbiting defeat to St Ives Roosters
in the semi-final of the RLC Shield 34-32 at Hemel Hempstead after finishing fourth of five in the South West Division.
2006 saw Plymouth finish third in the South West and West Midlands division before losing narrowly to Burntwood Barbarians
in the play-offs.
of the Rugby League Conference was created with new clubs in East Devon Eagles
(Exmouth), Devon Sharks
(Newton Abbot) and Exeter Centurions
joining Plymouth (who added the suffix "Titans") and Somerset Vikings
"A".
The season started with the South West Nines at Taunton which the Titans won - beating the East Devon Eagles 8-6 in the final. The club was forced to leave their home ground of Stonehouse Creek after playing their opening two games due to proposed re-surfacing of the pitches and transferred to King George V Playing Fields at Elburton for the remainder of the season.
2007 was Plymouth's most successful yet with nine wins out of ten in the league, a 96-0 win in the South West Grand Final against Devon Sharks and only narrowly losing to Bedford Tigers
in the RLC semi-final at Bristol. The Titans suffered just three defeats, the semi-final reverse to Bedford and two defeats at the hands of the East Devon Eagles who won a Friday night thriller at the KGV 37-36 and 40-34 in the Devon Cup Final at Exmouth. In addition, a second team - the Stonehouse Stallions - was formed and played in the Devon Cup, losing all four games.
In 2008, the Titans gained revenge for their previous final loss beating Eagles 31-20 in the Devon Cup Final. In 2008, Plymouth Titans beat Devon Sharks 42-22 at Plymouth Albion’s Brickfields
home. Plymouth Titans failed to complete the 2009 season in the South West division.
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...
club based in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
.
The club is a member of the South West Division
Rugby League Conference South West Division
The Rugby League Conference South West Division is a division in the Rugby League Conference, an amateur rugby league competition with sides from across Britain...
of the Rugby League Conference
Rugby League Conference
The Rugby League Conference , was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales.The RLC was founded as the 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the...
, playing home matches at Horsham Fields, Plymouth.
History of rugby league in the South West
The first attempt at forming a club was in the Northern Union days of 1912 when in a dispute over inducements to players, attempts were made to form a Western League of clubs in Devon and Cornwall. HuddersfieldHuddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire who play in the European Super League competition. They play their home games at the Galpharm Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C....
beat Oldham
Oldham Roughyeds
Oldham Roughyeds is an English professional rugby league club based in Oldham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Championship One. Oldham is one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895....
31-26 in an exhibition game at South Devon Place (the home of Plymouth RFC) before 8000 spectators and as a result a meeting was held and the Plymouth Northern Union Club formed. In July, the Northern Union club took over South Devon Place and as a result the ailing Plymouth RFC disbanded, later to re-emerge as part of a merger with Devonport Albion to become Plymouth Albion
Plymouth Albion R.F.C.
Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The club was founded around 1915 from a merger between Plymouth RFC and Devonport Albion RFC...
.
At Christmas, Coventry Northern Union beat Plymouth twice before a number of games were played against local opposition in the new year including Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, Torquay and Paignton (plus a 27-17 defeat at the hands of St. Helens at their home ground South Devon Place (now Astor Field) on Embankment Road. An international was staged at South Devon Place with a crowd of 7000 witnessing England's
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
victory over Wales
Wales national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...
40-16 on February 15th 1913 (a Wales and West side had beaten England 27-25 at Home Park
Home Park
Home Park is an all-seater football stadium in the Central Park area of Plymouth, England, and is the home of Football League Two club Plymouth Argyle. The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Greens by the club's supporters, has been Argyle's permanent residence since 1901...
on September 10th 1910 following the return of the Northern Union tourists from Australasia) and Devon clubs hosted a touring Northern Union Combination which Plymouth thrashed 33-3 but the club along with the league folded during the summer of 1913 due to Plymouth losing the lease at South Devon Place (which was bought by the Astor family and given to the people of Plymouth as Astor Field) and Torquay were refused permission to share the Recreation Ground with Torquay Athletic RFC.
The majority of players returned to union though some moved north to continue their 13-a-side careers with Willie Davies and Dave Holland representing the Northern Union (now Great Britain) on the 1914 tour of Australia and New Zealand. Another well known figure from that era was James Peters who was the first black player to represent England at rugby union before playing league for Plymouth and then moving on to play for Barrow. Peters was recently the subject of an exhibition at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
.
No rugby league was played in the area for another forty-four years until Leigh
Leigh Centurions
Leigh Centurions is an English professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester who play in the Co-operative Championship.The club was founded in 1878 as Leigh Rugby Football Club and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in...
and Barrow
Barrow Raiders
Barrow Raiders are an English professional rugby league team from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, who are coached by Dave Clark. Formed in 1875 as Barrow Football Club, the club is the oldest of the current professional sports teams in Cumbria....
toured Devon in 1947 and later Hull and Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers or Hull KR is an English professional rugby league football club based in Hull, England. The club formed in 1882 and currently competes in Super League, having won promotion from National League One in 2006...
played three games in Cornwall during the summer of 1962.
In 1985, following the formation of the Cheltenham club the previous year, another club was formed in Plymouth following an inquiry by Lionel Hurst, the instigator of what as to become the Midlands and South West Amateur Rugby League Association (MASWARLA). The first game was played at Pittville Park, Cheltenham on Sunday May 12th 1985. Plymouth trailed 22-2 at half time but rallied to win 30-26 and enough interest was shown to enter the MASWARLA League for the 1985/6 season. The club remained in the league until 1992 as first Plymouth-Tamarside and latterly Plymouth City. Problems with teams travelling down for games and the final disbanding of the MASWARLA League left the club out on a limb and the club disbanded due to lack of fixtures.
The following year, plans were made for a local competition and in December 1993 a four team league began with West Park Warriors, Stonehouse Saints, Devonport Pirates and the St.Budeaux Bulldogs competing for the Plymouth and District League, eventually won by Stonehouse and the League played hosts to Wigan St. Judes and Wigan Tech at the end of the season. However, the momentum was lost the following season and the league collapsed.
Plymouth RLFC
Apart from a couple of visits by Wigan St. Judes playing against scratch sides at the end of the rugby union season there was little activity in the area until a group of friends advertised on the RLFans.com website in 2001 aiming to form a club to join the Rugby League ConferenceRugby League Conference
The Rugby League Conference , was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales.The RLC was founded as the 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the...
. The Plymouth Rock RLFC never really caught on and after failing to attract sponsorship and players the club failed.
However a number of the group along with Ray Pickavance from St Helens revived the idea in 2003. After a flurry of emails and telephone conversations the club had its first meeting at the Fortescue pub on Mutley Plain. Numbers grew and the club - now based at the new Stonehouse Creek Leisure and Social Club on Stonehouse Creek - played its first games at the Bristol and West 9s on May 16th 2004. Despite losing three of their games and drawing the other the club had given a taste of the game to a number of new players and the first full 13-a-side game was played away to Blandford Bulldogs in Dorset on July 3rd 2004 with a return game on the Creek on August 15th. Despite losing both games interest was maintained and the club successfully applied for membership of the Rugby League Conference
Rugby League Conference
The Rugby League Conference , was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales.The RLC was founded as the 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the...
in January 2005.
Despite early setbacks and a number of changes in personnel, the club completed a relatively successful year with a nailbiting defeat to St Ives Roosters
St Ives Roosters
St Ives Roosters are a rugby league club from St Ives in Cambridgeshire. They were founded in 1991 as one of the first rugby league clubs in East Anglia. Currently they play in the Rugby League Conference East Division.-History:...
in the semi-final of the RLC Shield 34-32 at Hemel Hempstead after finishing fourth of five in the South West Division.
2006 saw Plymouth finish third in the South West and West Midlands division before losing narrowly to Burntwood Barbarians
Burntwood Barbarians
Burntwood Barbarians are a rugby league club founded in 2006, as part of the Burntwood Rugby Club Sports Association. Having played in the Rugby League Conference, West Midlands division for two seasons, the club currently play in the Midlands Rugby League....
in the play-offs.
Plymouth Titans
For 2007, a new South West DivisionRugby League Conference South West Division
The Rugby League Conference South West Division is a division in the Rugby League Conference, an amateur rugby league competition with sides from across Britain...
of the Rugby League Conference was created with new clubs in East Devon Eagles
East Devon Eagles
East Devon Eagles are a rugby league team based in Exmouth, Devon. They play in the South West Division of the Rugby League Conference.-History:...
(Exmouth), Devon Sharks
Devon Sharks
Devon Sharks are a rugby league team based in Torquay, Devon. They play in the South West Division of the Rugby League Conference.-History:Devon Sharks were formed in 2006 out of Newton Abbot RFC as part of an initiative from the Rugby Football League to form new clubs for the Rugby League...
(Newton Abbot) and Exeter Centurions
Exeter Centurions
Exeter Centurions are a rugby league team based in Exeter, Devon. They play in the South West Division of the Rugby League Conference.-History:Exeter Centurions were formed by Basingstoke Beasts founder Joe Catcheside....
joining Plymouth (who added the suffix "Titans") and Somerset Vikings
Somerset Vikings
Somerset Vikings RLFC are a rugby league team from the county of Somerset in England. They play in the South West Division of the Rugby League Conference.The team play at North Petherton rugby club...
"A".
The season started with the South West Nines at Taunton which the Titans won - beating the East Devon Eagles 8-6 in the final. The club was forced to leave their home ground of Stonehouse Creek after playing their opening two games due to proposed re-surfacing of the pitches and transferred to King George V Playing Fields at Elburton for the remainder of the season.
2007 was Plymouth's most successful yet with nine wins out of ten in the league, a 96-0 win in the South West Grand Final against Devon Sharks and only narrowly losing to Bedford Tigers
Bedford Tigers
Bedford Tigers RLFC is a rugby league club based in Bedford, England. The first team plays in the Rugby League Conference, with a second team in the London League.- History :...
in the RLC semi-final at Bristol. The Titans suffered just three defeats, the semi-final reverse to Bedford and two defeats at the hands of the East Devon Eagles who won a Friday night thriller at the KGV 37-36 and 40-34 in the Devon Cup Final at Exmouth. In addition, a second team - the Stonehouse Stallions - was formed and played in the Devon Cup, losing all four games.
In 2008, the Titans gained revenge for their previous final loss beating Eagles 31-20 in the Devon Cup Final. In 2008, Plymouth Titans beat Devon Sharks 42-22 at Plymouth Albion’s Brickfields
The Brickfields
The Brickfields is a sports stadium in Devonport, England. It is used as the home ground of Rugby Union team Plymouth Albion of the RFU Championship, who moved there in 2003. The highest crowd was 6871, for a match against rivals Exeter Chiefs in October 2008....
home. Plymouth Titans failed to complete the 2009 season in the South West division.