Douglas Rugby Club (also referred to as DRUFC) are a
rugby union club based in
Douglas on the
Isle of Man. The club has two senior sides and age-range teams encompassing both mini and junior rugby. The men's 1st XV currently play in
Regional Two North West, at the sixth tier of the
English rugby union system, following their promotion from
South Lancs/Cheshire 1
Lancs/Cheshire Division 1 (usually referred to as Lancs/Cheshire 1) was a regional English Rugby Union league for teams from Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester, ranked at tier 8 of the English league system. The top tw ...
via the playoffs at the end of the 2016–17 season.
History
Arthur William Moore, a Cambridge rugby blue in 1874, established Douglas Rugby Club in 1873. His friend Peter Drinkwater offered the use of land at Port-e-Chee, and Douglas have since been the leading club in the Isle of Man. A. P. Penketh and A. Paul were two Douglas players selected to tour Australia and New Zealand with the 1888 British Isles tour (Lions). Cheshire Cup quarter-finalists on three occasions, Douglas joined the RFU National league in 1986-87 and have since been promoted to Regional Two North West. The first Isle of Man club to build a clubhouse, subsequently extended with four changing rooms, showers, physio's room, gym, referees' facilities and kitchen, the 1st XV retained the Manx Cup for the fifth successive time in 2016-17 and were first to instigate Isle of Man mini rugby in 1994.
Douglas entered the history books in 2018-19 when their first team were no longer allowed to compete in the Manx Cup. Two Manx Cup record scores had been set in a 118-3 semi-final score, and 110-0 win in the final, and it was decided Douglas 1st XV would be replaced in the local Cup competition by the 2nd team known as Douglas Celts. Under coach Tom Waterworth, the Celts won the 2019 Manx Cup in a tense final versus Ramsey 15-12 at Ballafletcher in monsoon conditions, and in doing so became the first second-string team to win the competition. In 2021-22 Douglas retained their North One West status despite Covid and travel difficulties dictating an opening run of seven away fixtures before Christmas.Ex-London Scottish prop Phil Cringle is appointed coach as Douglas prepare to celebrate 150 years in 2023.
Club honours
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South Lancs/Cheshire 3 champions: 2007–08
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North Lancashire/Cumbria v South Lancs/Cheshire 1 promotion playoff winners: 2016–17
Club colours
The club play in maroon shorts and maroon with gold hooped socks. The shirt emblem is a Viking.
See also
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Rugby union in the Isle of Man
Rugby union in the Isle of Man is a popular sport. It has no national competitive side of its own, and is not affiliated to the IRB in its own right. For this reason, it has no IRB ranking.
Governing body
Rugby Union is played in the Isle of ...
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Sport in the Isle of Man
For a small country, sport in the Isle of Man plays an important part in making the island known to the wider world. The principal international sporting event held on the island is the annual Isle of Man TT motorcycling event. However, the Isle ...
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Castletown R.U.F.C.
Castletown R.U.F.C. is a Rugby union football club in Castletown, Isle of Man.
History
The club traces its roots back to the late 1960s, when a rugby club, Ronaldsway Rugby Club, was formed by employees of the Ronaldsway Aircraft Company.
...
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Ramsey R.U.F.C.
Ramsey Rugby Club is a rugby union team based in Ramsey, Isle of Man. Until the end of the 2019/20 season, the club's First XV played in the English Clubs Championship. The League Structure at levels 8 and 9 disintegrated in March 2020 leavin ...
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Southern Nomads R.U.F.C.
Southern Nomads R.U.F.C. is an amateur Rugby Football club in Port Erin, Isle of Man.
The Southern Nomads RUFC formed in 1982 who play on the Isle of Man and have played competitively in the Manx Shield and Manx Cup competitions every year since ...
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Vagabonds R.U.F.C.
Vagabonds RUFC also known as simply Vagabonds or by their nickname Vagas is a rugby union club located in Douglas, Isle of Man. They are affiliated with the English Rugby Football Union with their Men's Team currently playing in the South Lanc ...
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Western Vikings Rugby Club
References
External links
Douglas Rugby Club Website
{{Rugby union in the Isle of Man
Rugby union in the Isle of Man
Rugby union teams in the Isle of Man
Rugby clubs established in 1873
1873 establishments in the Isle of Man
Douglas, Isle of Man