Kilmarnock RFC
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Kilmarnock Rugby Football Club is a Scottish
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 which was founded in 1868, and is based in
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
,
Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...
in west central Scotland. They play in . Often simply referred to as "Killie", their ground is at Bellsland in Kilmarnock, and they were formerly based at
Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for con ...
(hence its name). One of the oldest rugby clubs in Scotland,
Kilmarnock Football Club Kilmarnock Football Club, commonly known as Killie, is a Scottish professional football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire. The team is currently managed by Derek McInnes, who was appointed in January 2022. The club has achie ...
owes its existence to KRFC as an internal dispute about which football rules to adopt resulted in a breakaway in early 1869 by those who preferred to play
Association Football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
.


History

When the Scottish National Leagues were introduced in 1973, Killie were placed in the 3rd Division by 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 ...
. The club won that season without loss. The following season saw Killie being runners up in Division 2, gaining promotion to the top league. They remained there until 1981 after which a period of promotion and relegation between the 1st and 2nd Divisions was the norm. In 1978, Killie achieved their highest league position by finishing 3rd in Division 1. In 1986, Killie were the only team to beat
Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one of ...
as they swept all aside to win the Championship. Since the change in league structure to embrace professionalism, Killie have struggled to hold on to their better players and now languish in Division 1 of the West Regional League. It is also likely that Killie took part in the first floodlit rugby match at
Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for con ...
, now the home of Kilmarnock FC. There is also a school of thought that South African team
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
, now the
Golden Lions The Golden Lions (currently known as the Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
team, adopted the famous Kilmarnock strip of white top with red hoop as a Kilmarnock member,
Alex Frew Alex Frew (24 October 1877 – 29 April 1947) was an international rugby union forward who played for both Scotland and South Africa. Amateur career He played for Kilmarnock RFC before moving to Edinburgh University. He was capped by Scotland ...
, captained them when they beat The British Isles touring team in 1903. Frew was also a Scottish Internationalist while attending the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
. Kilmarnock had a reputation in the 1960s and 1970s of producing top class seven-a-side teams who won many tournaments in west central Scotland. This form was sadly never taken into the Border's Sevens Circuit in the 1970s and 1980s when Killie were a regular feature in all the most prestigious events. More recent Kilmarnock 1st XV won promotion to RBS NATIONAL 1 for the first time in 20 years after a tough season in 2010–11. Kilmarnock 2nd XV also known as "the Penguins" have not lost a home game at Bellsland in five seasons. They won the league title 2011–12 having only lost one game away from home. This promotes them into National 2, the second highest level available for 2nd XV teams in Scotland. Kilmarnock 3rd XV more commonly known as the Killie Polar Bears have won three consecutive league titles 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11 while being managed by John Cairns and Ivor Frater. They have been promoted to the RBS RESERVE LEAGUE WEST POD B making them the only 3rd XV in the division.


Kilmarnock Sevens

The club run the Kilmarnock Sevens competition. The tournament began in 1933.


Notable players

Kilmarnock players to have been capped for whilst at the club include hooker Andrew Ross and Bill Cuthbertson. Andrew toured with the British Lions in 1924 to South Africa while Bill was part of the 1984 Grand Slam winning team. Bill also played for
Barbarian F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...
while at Killie. Other players of note to have played for Killie include; * John (Can) Cairns *
Alex Frew Alex Frew (24 October 1877 – 29 April 1947) was an international rugby union forward who played for both Scotland and South Africa. Amateur career He played for Kilmarnock RFC before moving to Edinburgh University. He was capped by Scotland ...
* Niven Rose * Hugh McHardy * Ian Blake * Derek Stark *
John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians * J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...
*
Derek Martin Derek Martin (born Derek William Rapp; 11 April 1933) is an English former actor. Beginning his career as a stuntman, he moved into acting and played many roles on UK television. One of his most widely known roles is Charlie Slater on the BBC ...
* Brian Gilbert * Gavin Angus * Hugh Hamilton * Stewart Porter *
Scott Grant Lieutenant General Sir Scott Carnegie Grant, (born 28 September 1944) is a former British Army officer who served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1998 to 2000. Military career Educated at The King's School, Pontefract, the Royal Mil ...
* Hugh Parker * Dougie Smith * David Gray * Iain Coull * Bill Cuthbertson David Gibson, John Stewart and his brother Andrew Stewart all played for Scottish Colleges and Universities. Andrew Stewart was also captain of the Scottish under 18 Team; Andrew, who is now resident in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, and a professor of Sports Science, has also been involved with the fitness regime of the
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
.


Honours

*Kilmarnock Sevens ** Champions: 1938, 1946, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1996 *Ardrossan Sevens ** Champions: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1971, 1972, 1995, 1997 *Irvine Sevens ** Champions: 1984, 1985 *Arran Sevens ** Champions: 1984, 2022 * Hillhead HSFP Sevens ** Champions: 1974, 1975, 1983 * Glasgow University Sevens ** Champions: 1945, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1990, 1991 * Clarkston Sevens ** Champions: 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1980 * Cumnock Sevens ** Champions: 1972, 1974, 1975 * Hillhead Jordanhill Sevens ** Champions: 1990 * Wigtownshire Sevens ** Champions: 1958, 1965, 1985 * Glasgow Academicals Sevens ** Champions: 1972, 1977 * Allan Glen's Sevens ** Champions: 1980, 1981, 1983 * Ayr Sevens ** Champions: 1939, 1957, 1960, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1989 * Stirling Sevens ** Champions: 1960, 1975 * Greenock Sevens ** Champions: 1958, 1971, 1974, 1975, * Dumfries Sevens ** Champions (1): 2006 * Paisley Sevens ** Champions (1): 2012


Bibliography

* Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )


References

{{SRU West Leagues Scottish rugby union teams Sport in Kilmarnock Rugby union in East Ayrshire