Huntly RFC 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 ...

club based in

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The Men's team currently plays in .

History

Huntly RFC was founded in 1967; and began their fixtures for the 1967–68 season. The ''Aberdeen Press and Journal'' of 25 August 1967 reporting:

The birth of Huntly, a new North-east club. Is sufficient to add a dash of novelty to the start of the 1967-68 rugby season a week tomorrow. At Huntly, they recognise that it will take them time and considerable amount of effort and devotion make an impression. But the right ingredients are there. In officials lan Archibald (ex-Musselburgh), Dan Thomson (Daniel Stewart's) and Dr. McBoyle (Aberdeen University) the urge is strong to put Huntly on the rugby map as soon as possible. Captain John Boyd, a prop forward, and vice-captain Bill Murray, a stand off, both formerly of the Moray club, have the experience and enthusiasm necessary to guide the club along the right lines. With a membership of around 30 to 40 Huntly will field two teams. From the moment the idea was born Huntly received every encouragement from the town council. Market Muir, with its pavilion is at their disposal, and it is there that the area will get its first taste of district rugby. The match? Highland Select versus Aberdeen Select. The date? September 28 at 4.30pm.

In 2019, Huntly RFC received a £34,000 grant from the

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 ...

in 2019. The fixture secretary at Huntly, Helen Cameron, stated:

"The sustainability award will make such a difference to us. We do not have a permanent pitch of our own at the moment which does create quite a few issues, especially during the winter months when daylight is limited. The pitch we are using has minimal lighting which means that only a small portion of it can be used during the winter. The new lights we are planning will enable us to use the pitch to its potential and protect the grass as we will not be constantly training on the same section. It will also allow for more varied training with a larger area being accessible to the club."

The club was also eligible for a hardship fund from the SRU due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The club made BBC headlines when a video surfaced of Huntly Ladies and Peterhead Ladies pushing an ambulance from the mud, to get an injured Peterhead player to the hospital in November 2019. The Scottish Ambulance Service later tweeted its thanks: "Thanks to the team for the assistance on the way out, it was greatly appreciated."

Sides

Huntly runs youth sides, a Men's side and a Ladies' side.

Sevens

The club runs the Huntly Sevens tournament.

Honours

* North District League ** Champions (1): 2002 * Aberdeen District League ** Champions (1): 1996 * Aberdeen District Cup ** Champions (1): 1996 * Strathbogie Trophy ** Champions (1): 1996

References

{{SRU Caledonia Leagues Rugby union in Aberdeenshire Rugby union teams in Scotland