{{Infobox rugby team , teamname = Bolton R.U.F.C , image = Bolton_RUFC.png , fullname = Bolton Rugby Union Football Club , founded = 1872 , union = Lancashire RFU , location =

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, countryflag = England , ground = Avenue Street , capacity = , chairman = Mark Brocklehurst , coach = David Crouch , captain = Les Towler , league =

North 2 West North 2 West is a regional English rugby union league at the seventh tier of club rugby union for teams from Cheshire, Cumbria, Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The division was introduced for the 2019-20 season to form a new lea ...

, season = 2019–20 , position = 12th , url = www.boltonrugby.co.uk , pattern_la1 = _whiteborder , pattern_b1 = _whitehoops , pattern_ra1 = _whiteborder , pattern_sh1 = , pattern_so1 = _whitetop , leftarm1 = FF0000 , body1 = FF0000 , rightarm1 = FF0000 , shorts1 = 000000 , socks1 = FF0000 , Bolton RUFC are an amateur

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 ...

team who play in the

league of the

English rugby union league system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

History

Bolton RUFC was first formed in 1872 and was first listed in the ''

Football Annual __NOTOC__ The ''Football Annual'' was a reference work published annually from 1868 to 1908. It reported on the various codes of football played in England, and also provided some coverage of the other home nations, supplemented on occasion by re ...

'' of 1874. It reads: "Bolton formed 1872, has 100 members, ground at Burnden which is 1 mile from Bolton station. The dressing rooms are on the ground and it plays Rugby Football. The Secretary or Manager is F H Kevan of 12 Acresfield, Bolton. The colours are Blue jerseys, socks and cap, white knickerbockers. Result of matches last season :- Won 3, Lost 3, Drew 1. Result of goals Won 5, Lost 7." Between 1919 and 1939,

had a club that boasted International players, and even the former Bolton MP Arthur Holt played for them, but

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

finally saw the demise of the game in Bolton. The start of the modern era was due to several former pupils of Hayward School, who formed a team to play on Saturdays calling themselves the 'Old Haywardians'. Hayward School colours were used as the basis of the maroon and white hooped shirts, and the start of a second team brought the need for the more normal club type structure, with fund raising, and social activities. A brief look at the Accounts of 1969 indicated that the club had £36 and 19 shillings in the Bank. In 1971 the club moved to a base at Bolton Wyresdale sports club, close to their council rented pitches at New House Farm. Here the club began to flourish, with up to 4 teams being put out, and good results, against a steadily improving fixture list. By the early 1980s, with the help of Bolton Council a new ground site at Avenue Street was coming into consideration. Slowly the various elements came together and building started on 5 May 1988. Saturday 3 September 1988 saw the first competitive game played at the new purpose-built facilities versus Greater Manchester Fire Service. The new club house was officially opened on Sunday 4 September 1988, with a second game versus a president's invitational XV. Today, Bolton RUFC operate 3 senior men's teams, a large junior/mini section and support a number of local initiatives.

Club Honours

* North-West East 2 champions: 1987–88 * North Lancashire 1 champions: 1999–00 * Cumbria v North Lancashire 1 promotion playoff winners: 2012–13 * North Lancashire/Cumbria v South Lancs/Cheshire 1 promotion playoff winners: 2013–14

Playing Leagues

First Team - RFU Lancs/Cheshire Division 1 Second Team - North West Leagues, Sale Sharks Division 1 Third Team - North West Leagues, Sale Sharks Division 4 North

2018–2019 Results

First XV * 4th place, finishing behind Glossop, Bowdon and Altrincham Kersal who finished in 3rd, 2nd and 1st place respectively Second XV * 2nd place (finishing behind Colne & Nelson) earning league promotion from Halbro Northwest County Courier Services Division 2 North to Sale Sharks Division 1 Third XV * 11th place

Previous Year Results

2013–2014 Results First XV: * 2nd place earning promotion defeating

Northwich RUFC {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

21–18 in a play off game * Lancashire Plate Cup Winners beating the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

25-20 Second XV: * 2nd place earning league promotion * Runners up in cup final losing 13–10 to

Stockport R.U.F.C Stockport Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. They play in Regional 1 North West, following their promotion from North 1 West in 2021–22. History Stockport RUFC was founded in 1923 as Dav ...

Third XV - 5th Place Fourth XV - 5th Place 2012–2013 Results First XV - 2nd place, earning promotion following a play-off game against Cumbrian side Silloth Tigers. Second XV - 3rd place Third XV - 7th place Fourth XV - 4th place and cup runners up

Playing Strip

According to local records, Bolton Rugby Club first played in 'blue jerseys, socks and cap, white knickerbockers'. From the 1960s, Bolton have played in red and white hooped shirts, black shorts and variants of red/black/white hooped or plain red socks. Bolton's away colours are black and white hoops.

Rugby League

In 2011 Bolton RUFC experimented by venturing into the world of summer Rugby League during the Rugby Union off season. Bolton entered a mixed senior squad in the

North West Merit League The North West Merit League is a rugby league competition for clubs in the North West of England. It is a feeder league for the Rugby League Conference. History The Midlands Merit League was founded in late 2005 to support the growth of rugby ...

operated by the North West Rugby Leagu
www.northwestrl.co.uk
Although not directly affiliated, for the last few years Bolton Mets RFLC have used Avenue Street as their base and continue to do so in 2019.

External links

Official site

RFU National Leagues

North West Intermediate Leagues
Rugby union teams in England Rugby clubs established in 1872 1872 establishments in England Sport in Bolton Rugby union in Greater Manchester