Bicester Rugby Union Football Club is an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club situated in

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...

, 10 miles North of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. The club provides rugby for children from the age of 4 (Under 5s, or School Reception Year) up to the Under 18 (Colts), two girls teams, and a senior section which includes the Women's team (Vixens), Bicester Men's 2nd XV, and 1st XV. Bicester 1st XV participates in

Southern Counties North Counties 1 Southern North (formerly known as Southern Counties North) is a division at level 7 of the English rugby union system. When league rugby first began in 1987 it was a single league known as Southern Counties but since 1996 the divisio ...

following their relegation from

South West 1 East South West 1 East is an English, level six, rugby union league in south and south-west England; mainly Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Gloucester, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. Originally a single ...

at the end of the 2017–18 season. Bicester's U13s+ youth age grades and Seniors currently play at Whitelands Farm Sports Ground, whilst the Minis (up to U12s) are located at the Bicester Sports Association (BSA) Ground on Akeman Street, Chesterton.. In February 2020, the club was named national KidsFirst Champions by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

in recognition of its focus on providing a positive development environment for mini youth rugby. Bicester RUFC had played at the Oxford Road sports ground from the club's inception in 1948, until 2020. The ground, which was owned by the BSA, was sold to

Bicester Village Bicester Village is a designer outlet shopping centre on the outskirts of Bicester, a town in Oxfordshire, England. It is owned by Value Retail plc. The centre opened in 1995. The centre is the second most visited location in the United Kingdom ...

. Plans to expand the BSA site at Chesterton were refused by

Cherwell District Council Cherwell may refer to: Geography * Cherwell, Queensland, a locality in the Fraser Coast Region, Australia *Cherwell District, an administrative district in Oxfordshire, England *River Cherwell The River Cherwell ( or ) is a tributary of the ...

after concerns raised by

Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England. It is an elected body responsible for some local government services in the county, includ ...

Highways Department on transport and accessibility of the site.

Club Honours

1st Team: * Bucks & Oxon 2 champions: 1990–91 *

Berks/Bucks & Oxon 1 Berks, Bucks and Oxon Division 1 is an English rugby union league featuring teams from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. As with all of the divisions in this area at this level, the entire league is made up of second and third teams of c ...

champions (2): 1991–92, 2001–02 *

Oxfordshire RFU County Cup The Oxfordshire RFU County Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organised by the Oxfordshire Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 1970–71 season, with the inaugural winners being Oxford. It is the most ...

winners (2): 1996, 1997 * Southern Counties (north v south) promotion playoff winners: 2016-17 2nd Team: * Berks/Bucks & Oxon 2 North champions: 2007-08 * Berks/Bucks & Oxon 1 North champions: 2008-09 *

Berks/Bucks & Oxon 3 Berks, Bucks and Oxon Division 3 is an English rugby union league featuring teams from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. As with all of the divisions in this area at this level, the entire league is made up of second, third and fourth t ...

champions (2): 2011–12, 2016–17

Notable players

Andy Gomarsall Andrew Charles Thomas Gomarsall MBE (born 24 July 1974, in Durham) is a former rugby union player who played at scrum-half for Leeds Carnegie and England. He previously played for Gloucester Rugby, Bedford and Wasps. Until May 2006 he was cont ...

– England International * James Forrester – England International *

Haydn Morgan Haydn Morgan (30 July 1936 – 20 July 2018) was a Welsh international flanker who played club rugby for Abertillery and Bicester Rugby Union Football Club. He was awarded twenty-seven caps for Wales and toured with Ronnie Dawson's 1959 ...

– Wales International, British & Irish Lions * Jon Goodridge

Notes

References

External links

Official Club Website
Rugby union teams in England Bicester Rugby union in Oxfordshire Rugby clubs established in 1948 1948 establishments in England {{England-rugbyunion-team-stub