Cleethorpes Rugby Union Football Club is an English rugby union team based in

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of 38,372 in 2020. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, then develo ...

North East Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire is a Unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was ...

. Established in 1979, the first XV currently plays in Midlands 4 East (North) following their promotion as champions of

Midlands 5 East (South) Midlands 5 East (South) was an level 10 English Rugby Union league and level 5 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the East Midlands region including clubs from Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire an ...

at the end of the 2017-18 season. The club runs two senior sides and seven junior sides. Cleethorpes play their home games at Taylor's Avenue, and their previous grounds include Lucarly's and Lindsey School Rugby Pitches. The club's home colours are navy, gold, and white. They get their nickname of 'The Meggies' from the nickname for the residents of the town.

History

The club was established in 1979 when a group of schoolteachers from Lindsey School, led by Ian Brown, Lee Stephens, and Ron Duffield, were annoyed by the fact that after their students left school, they gave up rugby. They invited players to a meeting at Cleethorpes Cricket Club and Cleethorpes Rugby Club was born. The club's first competitive game took place at RAF Waddington, against a team fielded by the air base. Cleethorpes lost this match, the final score being 29-10. During the 1990s, the club experienced a decline. During this period, it could only turn out one team. However, the club held many charity events during this period, such as publishing a Calendar Girls-style calendar. In recent years, the club have experienced better fortunes, now being able to turn out two senior sides, and several junior sides. The first XV were relegated in the 2015-16 season to the Midlands 5 East (North) after lingering around the bottom half of the Midlands 4 East (North) for a number of seasons.

Personnel

Club Officials

*President: John Grey *Chairman: Kev Davison *Secretary: Phillip Cass

Honours

* Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire 4 champions (2): 1988–89, 1994–95 * Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire 3 champions: 1997–98 * Midlands 5 East (North) champions (2): 2007–08, 2017–18

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cleethorpes Rugby union in Lincolnshire Rugby union teams in England