Kings Norton RFC is an English

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 ...

team. Established in 1923 in

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 miles south-southwes ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, the club soon moved its base into the

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in the ...

Urban District Council's area of

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, when it used a ground initially in Masshouse Lane, and later in Bells Lane on

Bournville Bournville () is a model village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory, and designed to be a "garden" (or "model") village where the sale of alcohol was forbidd ...

Village Trust land, where it had two pitches laid out. The team won the inaugural North Midlands RFU Seven-a-Side Tournament in 1930, and a unique double was achieved when its Colts side won a similar inaugural competition at The Reddings in its 1963/4 season. The club has hosted numerous county matches, and its players have appeared in representative sides over the years.

Nigel Horton Nigel Edgar Horton (born 13 April 1948) is a former England national rugby union team, England international rugby union player. He toured New Zealand in 1977 with the British and Irish Lions and at the time played club rugby for Moseley Rugby F ...

began his career at Kings Norton and went on to represent England. Nick Baxter has represented The Barbarians,

England Students England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by t ...

, England Sevens, Worcester Warriors, Pertemps Bees, and Stourbridge. County boundary changes and housing development forced the club to move away from Bells Lane in 1973, and members worked hard to raise sufficient funds to purchase 12½ acres of agricultural land. A two-storey clubhouse and three rugby pitches were laid out. Having weathered the initial difficulties, the new 2001/2 committee put together a three-year action plan designed to ensure survival and put the foundations for progress in place. Many of the goals it set for itself were achieved well ahead of schedule, and a revised plan had to be swiftly prepared. A ground-leveling scheme involving landfill was completed in 2003; this will eventually provide an extra small pitch ideal for youth rugby. Kings Norton RFC play an active and important part in the local community, running 3 Senior Men's teams including a Veterans, they also have a thriving junior section which offers rugby for as young as Under-6 through to Under-16's. There is also a growing Girls rugby division within the club. They also have strong links to local schools and colleges, providing sponsorship and coaching to teams from as many as 9 schools, whilst holding annual and monthly tag-tournaments for all ages. Players of all ages and abilities are welcome to KNRFC. Senior training is Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30pm start. Juniors of all ages is Sunday, 10:15am

Club honors

*North Midlands Vase winners (2): 2005–06, 2006-07

Club honors

References

See also