Highland Rugby Football Club is a
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 ...
amateur club from the city of
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
that compete in the . They have a number of teams taken from different age groups including micros and minis, S1 and S2, Under-15, Under-16, Under-18 and senior first and second teams. They play their rugby at Canal park in
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
.
History
The club celebrated when they announced the appointment of a jointly funded development officer enabling the club to more actively grow rugby across all ages. The Canal Park Club demonstrated their commitment to the game, and the revised development structure, when they teamed up with
Scottish Rugby
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...
and the
Highland Council
The Highland Council (' ), the political body covering the Highland local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, which creates a form of proportional represe ...
to fund the new post which brings thousands of pounds of investment into rugby in the area.
Development Officers (DOs) are dedicated to recruiting and retaining rugby players, coaches, referees and volunteers in and around their local communities working continuously to create links between schools and clubs to maximise the opportunities to play rugby in their area. Their efforts were rewarded in the 2010–11 season when they were given the SRU club of the month award for November.
In 2020 Highland RFC launched a club lottery in association with Our Club Lotto which continues to help fund rugby development in Inverness. Draws take place every Wednesday night with all profits reinvested into the club and prizes up to £20,000 available to be won.
Sides
1st XV
The 1st XV have had a recent resurgence during the second decade of the 21st century, led by Coach Dave Carson, most notably winning the
Scottish National League Division Three
The Scottish National League Division Three (known as Tennent's National League Division 3 for sponsorship reasons) is the fourth tier of the Scottish League Championship for amateur rugby union clubs in Scotland.
Geographical Location
The Scott ...
title in 2017–2018.
The 1st XV currently play in National Division Two.
2nd XV
Highlands 2nd XV also known as the Raptors currently play in Caledonia Division 2 Northwest after successfully winning Caledonia North 3 in 2015/16. This was the side's second promotion in two years, after winning Caledonia League Division 4 North the year before.
During the 2010–11 season the Highland raptors became champions in the Caledonia Division 2 Northwest league although they could not be considered for promotion due to them playing as a second XV side. Due to this,
Moray RFC
Moray Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club from the city of Elgin, Moray that compete in the . Moray also have a 2xv that competes in the BT Caledonia 3 North League. Moray has a number of youth teams taken from different age groups includi ...
progressed to the play-off stage for a chance at promotion to Caledonia Division 1 in which they triumphed over
Aberdeen Wanderers. The Raptors however still got the chance to become Division 2 champions by playing Aberdeen Wanderers, a game in which they also achieved success.
Sevens
The club run the Inverness City Sevens. The club's sevens tournament was renamed in 2022. Formerly it was known as the Highland Sevens.
Stadium
The rugby club's ground, Canal Park, has been their home since their founding in 1922. Following their surgance into higher levels of Rugby, their ground was upgraded in 2017 from grass to a 4G pitch, and the club house majorly improved upon. In 2020, local football club
Clachnacuddin F.C.
Clachnacuddin Football Club is a part-time, senior Scottish football club based in the city of Inverness, that currently plays in the Highland Football League.
Clachnacuddin have won the most Highland Football League championships in the c ...
, were put into a temporary groundshare agreement after a fire at their ground,
Grant Street Park
Clachnacuddin Football Club is a part-time, senior Scottish football club based in the city of Inverness, that currently plays in the Highland Football League.
Clachnacuddin have won the most Highland Football League championships in the compe ...
, on Christmas Eve 2019, in order to keep the
Highland League running smoothly. On Clachnacuddin's opening game at Canal Park against
Fort William F.C.
Fort William Football Club is a senior football team from Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. They play in the North Caledonian Football League having being relegated from the 2021–22 Highland Football League.
History
Origins and the ea ...
, they drew a crowd of approximately 700, which was a significant improvement on their usual attendance at Grant Street, however, Fort William won the game 1–0. It was used for a second time against
Forres Mechanics F.C.
Forres Mechanics Football Club are a senior Scottish association football club from the town of Forres, Moray, currently playing in the Highland Football League. They play at the town's Mosset Park. Forres Mechanics are the oldest association ...
, in which Clachnacuddin lost 3–2.
The ground is often used by the youth and reserve teams of
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
.
Notable players
*
Moray Low
Moray Low (born 28 November 1984 in Torphins, Aberdeenshire, Scotland) is a retired rugby union player.
Low's position of choice is as a Prop. He is capable of playing on both sides of the scrum.
He was called up to the Scotland squad for th ...
, currently playing for
Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...
in the
Aviva Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
and internationally for . Before Exeter he played for
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
(2006-2014)
*
John Barr - International
shinty
Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...
player
*
Jamie Dobie - Glasgow Warriors
*
Bruce Flockhart - Glasgow Warriors
*
Jamie Gillan
Jamie Gillan (born 4 July 1997), nicknamed the Scottish Hammer, is a Scottish professional American football punter for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arkansas–Pine Bluff.
Early year ...
- Punter for
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
in the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
*
Patrick Kelly Patrick or Paddy Kelly may refer to:
Politicians
* Patrick Kelly (Irish politician) (1875–1934), Irish soldier, farmer and politician, Teachta Dála (TD) for Clare 1927–1932
* Patrick Kelly (Canadian politician) (1846–1916), Prince Edward I ...
- Glasgow Warriors
*
George Mackie - Scotland
*
Ernie Michie
Ernest James Stewart Michie (7 November 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Scottish international rugby union player, who played for and the Lions.Godwin, p282 He played at LockMcLaren, p81 and his nickname was "Fourteen". He weighed 14 stone.
R ...
- Scotland, British Lions
*
Nairn McEwan
Nairn Alexander MacEwan (12 December 1941 – 31 May 2018) was a Scottish international rugby player and coach.Bath, p133 ,
Honours
* Highland / Inverness City Sevens
** Champions: 1932, 1953, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1991, 1994
*
Scottish National League Division Three
The Scottish National League Division Three (known as Tennent's National League Division 3 for sponsorship reasons) is the fourth tier of the Scottish League Championship for amateur rugby union clubs in Scotland.
Geographical Location
The Scott ...
** Champions (1): 2017-18
*
Caledonia League Division One
** Champions (1): 2015-16
** Runners-Up (1): 2014-15
* Scottish Rugby Shield
** Runners-Up (1): 2015-16
* Inverness Craig Dunain Sevens
** Champions: 1992
* Aberdeen Sevens
** Champions: 1934
* Stornoway Sevens
** Champions: 1977
* Lochaber Sevens
** Champions: 1991
* Orkney Sevens
** Champions: 1981
* Clarkston Sevens
** Champions: 1976, 1977
* Caithness Sevens
** Champions: 1969, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1980
* Ross Sutherland Sevens
** Champions: 1966, 1978, 1984, 1985, 1994, 2022
* Moray Sevens
** Champions: 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1989
* Kirkcaldy Sevens
** Champions: 1975, 1980, 1981
Other honours
2015/16: 1st Xv Caledonia Shield Champions
2nd Xv Caledonia Division 3 North Champions
Andrew Findlater - Caledonia Leagues Player of the Season
Stevie Rutledge - Scottish Rugby Try of the Season
London Irish mini festival shield winners
2014/15:
2nd XV Caledonia League Division 4 Winners
1st XV 2nd place in Caledonia League 1
2013/14:
1st XV Caledonia North Division 2 Winners - undefeated season
1st XV Caledonia Bowl Winners
1st XV National Bowl Winners
Rory Cross - National Bowl Final Man of the Match
See also
*
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...
References
;Sources
# Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )
Highland RFC WebsiteHighland RFC Facebook Page
{{Rugby union in Scotland
Scottish rugby union teams
Sport in Inverness
Rugby clubs established in 1922