Middlesex Rugby is the governing body for

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 ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

England 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 b ...

; Middlesex is a historic county of England that covers areas in the ceremonial counties of

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. The historic county is still in use when referring to sport, businesses and postal addresses in the area. Middlesex RFU was originally created as the Middlesex County Rugby Club but within six years was being referred to as the Middlesex County Rugby Football Union and is now known simply as Middlesex Rugby.

History

FR Adams Esq of

Richmond F.C. Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs (of any code). It fields teams in both men's and women's rugby; the men's first ...

called a meeting at the Bedford Hotel at which a resolution was passed bringing the club into being. He served as the Club and Union's first president until 1883 being succeeded by E. Temple Gurdon (also of

Middlesex Sevens

The world-famous

Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 Th ...

were organised by Dr. Russell-Cargill and the Middlesex Hon. Secretary CS Bongard, the first tournament taking place according to one source in 1925 and others in 1926. This was the first seven-a-side rugby festival in England. The first tournament took place at Twickenham in aid of Middlesex hospital was won by Harlequins.

Union officials

Past Presidents

''Asterisk denotes President of the R.F.U.''
''Two asterisks denotes member of the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

Honorary Secretaries

Honorary Treasurers

Members who were Presidents of the RFU

County side

Middlesex County Rugby Union was originally created as a rugby club and as such fulfilled fixtures for six years before becoming the Union for clubs within the county. After becoming a union the club continued to operate selecting players from its constituent clubs to play representative matches for the county and to go on tours. Very early in its history, Middlesex played

under floodlights at the

Old Deer Park Old Deer Park is an area of open space within Richmond, London, Richmond, owned by the Crown Estate, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It covers of which are leased as sports grounds for sports, particularly rugby and ...

. This is possibly the first rugby match played under floodlights as electric light had only just been invented. A floodlit game was the ideal opportunity to try out the new technology although the game was not a great success by all accounts. On 24 October 1905, Middlesex played the touring South African side at Richmond for their ninth match. The Springboks won 9 – 0, their narrowest score so far in the tour; a penalty by Douglas Morkel and try by Brink made the half time score 6 – 0 whilst in the second half the only points came from a try by Loubser. Middlesex fielded a cosmopolitan team including Jim Louwrens the South African College scrum half of 1901, three Welshmen who were also later to play for Wales (Harding, Jenkins & Williams) and the Scottish international Geddes. The match referee was Cartwright. On 2 September 1964 Staines RFC played a Middlesex XV on the occasion of the opening of their new ground, "The Reeves".

English County championship

1968 tour of East Africa

Middlesex were the English county champions for the sixth time in 1968, having defeated Warwickshire in the final (tries by Brian Stoneman and

Sandy Hinshelwood Alexander James Watt Hinshelwood (born ) is a former international rugby union player. He was capped twenty-one times for Scotland as a wing between 1966 and 1970.Griffiths, page 2:38-2:40 He scored five tries for Scotland. Hinshelwood was sel ...

helped them to their 9–6 win at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

). At least ten of the players that had participated in the final went on the tour in July of that year. Middlesex played a total of seven matches on a tour that lasted a little over two weeks, two games being played in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and five in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The tourists won all seven matches comfortably and reported that the standard of rugby in the region had dropped noticeably since some members of the touring party had last played there. It was generally felt that the East African sides lacked stamina and tactical nous; the latter is understandable as the opportunities for playing high level rugby in the region were limited, though the former is surprising as much of the region is at altitude and it would be expected that the visitors would suffer more than the hosts. The Middlesex tour party consisted of 70 members though the minority of these were players, the majority were officials and non-playing members who were travelling as supporters. Amongst the players, at least three had previously toured East Africa; Patrick Orr (twice, with Anti-Assassins in 1965 and Richmond F. C. in 1963),

Chris Ralston Christopher Wayne Ralston (born ) is a former England international rugby union player. He represented the British and Irish Lions on their 1974 tour to South Africa and at the time played club rugby for Richmond F.C. Richmond Football Cl ...

(with Richmond F. C. in 1963) and Brian Stoneman (twice, with Richmond F. C. and Combined (

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

) Universities, both in 1963). Middlesex scored 262 points in seven matches, an average of more than 37 per game. In total they conceded only 14 points. They scored 61 tries, 32 conversions, three penalty-goals and two dropped-goals. Top scorer was Gordon MacDonald (45 points, all from goal-kicking), Ricky Parsons was second highest scorer (33 points, from 5 tries, the rest from goal-kicking), Mike Alder was third (31 points from 6 tries, the rest from goal-kicking). Top try scorers were Tim Rutter and Robin Jolliffe (7 each), Mike Alder and Roger Weaver (6 each). Francis Mann was the outstanding player of the tour. The tour had been organised by the Middlesex Hon. Secretary Barry Boyden, his assistant Cyril Brandon and the RFUEA's appointed Tour Chairman Bernard Nicholls. As with all rugby tours to East Africa in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, it would not have been possible without the hosting arrangements offered by the rugby fraternity in Kenya and Uganda; in order to cut down on costs, members of the tour party were welcomed into the homes of the hosts and provided for in a manner that was acclaimed by those that were lucky enough to have toured the region. Hence the frequency with which first time tourists rapidly made certain they returned a second or third time.

Notable players

John Dawes Sydney John Dawes (29 June 194016 April 2021) was a Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach. He captained London Welsh, Wales, the 1971 British Lions and the Barbarians. He is credited with being a major influence in th ...

(

London Welsh RFC London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

, ,

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

and

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 ...

) *

( London Scottish, and

) * Ian Conin Jones (

and ) * George James ''Hamish'' Keith (

Wasps FC {{Infobox rugby team , teamname = Wasps Football Club , nickname = , image = WaspsFC1867.png , colours = Black and yellow , fullname = , founded = 1867 , ground = Twyford Avenue Sports Ground , capacity = , location = ...

and ) *

Andy Ripley Andrew George Ripley OBE (1 December 1947 – 17 June 2010) was an English rugby union international, who represented England from 1972 to 1976, and the Lions on their unbeaten 1974 tour of South Africa. Early life Ripley was born in Liverp ...

(

Rosslyn Park F.C. Rosslyn Park Football Club is a rugby union club based in south west London. History Founded in 1879 by cricketing friends in north London, at the end of their first season, Charles Hoyer Millar proposed forming a football club to keep the p ...

, ,

and

) *

(

, and

) * Arthur Gould (

and ) * Peter Kininmonth () * CEL "Curly" Hammond (for four successive years was captain of

Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London. Foun ...

and Middlesex and later captained ) * Patrick C.R. Orr (

and

) * Brian Stoneman (

and

) * Charles Webster Thorburn ( Guy's Hospital RFC and

)

Affiliated clubs

There are currently 88 clubs affiliated with the Middlesex RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. All these clubs are based in

– in what used to be the historic county of

, although a large number of clubs are also members of the Surrey RFU. * Askeans *

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

* Barnet Elizabethans * Battersea Ironsides * Bec Old Boys * Bedfont Sports *

Belsize Park Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England. The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ar ...

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

CS Rugby 1863 Civil Service Rugby, mostly known as CS Rugby 1863, currently CS STAGS 1863, an English rugby union team based in Chiswick, Greater London. The club runs three senior sides and the first XV currently plays in London & South East Premier follo ...

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premi ...

* Effingham & Leatherhead * Enfield Ignatians * Epping Upper Clapton *

Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party MPs ...

* Feltham Phoenix *

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

* Footscray *

Grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshop ...

* Hackney *

Hammersmith & Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borou ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...

Haringey Rhinos Haringey Rhinos Rugby Football Club is a rugby club based in the London Borough of Haringey, North London, England. The Rhinos are one of only two rugby union clubs in Haringey and have approximately 380 members including players, former player ...

* Harlequin Amateurs * Harlequin Ladies * Harlequins * Harrow * Hayes *

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

* Hillingdon Abbots * Kilburn Cosmos * London Cornish * London Exiles *

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

* London Irish Wild Geese * London New Zealand * London Nigerian * London Scottish Lions RFC * London Scottish * London Welsh Amateur * Merton *

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

* Millfield Old Boys *Millwall *

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ha ...

Northolt Northolt is a town in West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing. It had a population of 30,304 at ...

* Old Actonians * Old Alleynians * Old Cliftonians *

Old Colfeians Old Colfeians Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Lee in south London, open to anyone interested in the game! The club runs three senior teams and a veterans side and a full range of junior and girls teams, each of which ...

* Old Dunstonians * Old Emanuel * Old Grammarians * Old Haberdashers * Old Haileyburians * Old Hamptonians * Old Isleworthians * Old Millhillians * Old Pauline * Old Priorians *Old Streetonians * Old Tiffinians * Old Tottonians * Old Whitgiftian * Old Wimbledonians * Phantoms *Pinner & Grammarians *

Quintin Quintin (; br, Kintin) is a commune in the Cotes-d'Armor department (Brittany region) in the northwest of France from Saint-Brieuc, the department capital. History The area around Quintin has been occupied since the Neolithic. Early Quintin ...

* Rosslyn Park *

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, and in the historic county of Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

* Saracens Amateur *

Southgate Southgate or South Gate may refer to: Places Australia *Southgate, Sylvania *Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, an area within Southbank, Victoria Canada *Southgate, Ontario, a township in Grey County * Southgate, Middlesex County, Ontario Ed ...

* Southwark Lancers * Staines * Streatham-Croydon *

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

* Thamesians *

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

Warlingham Warlingham is a village in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, south of the centre of London and east of the county town, Guildford. Warlingham is the centre of a civil parish that includes Hamsey Green, a contiguous, smaller settle ...

* Wasps Amateurs *

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

* Whitton Lions *

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

County club competitions

The Middlesex RFU currently helps run the following competitions for clubs based in the historic county of

(now part of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Leagues

Herts/Middlesex 1 Herts/Middlesex 1 is a tier 9 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the top tier competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally ...

– (alongside Hertfordshire RFU) league at tier 9 of the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

Herts/Middlesex 2 Herts/Middlesex 2 is a tier 10 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the second division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that tradit ...

– league at tier 10

Cups

Middlesex Senior Cup The Middlesex Senior Cup is the most prestigious football cup competition in the historic county of Middlesex, England. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although league clubs have been known to enter the compe ...

– founded in 1971, currently open to clubs at tiers 6–7 of the

* Middlesex Bowl – founded in 2003, clubs at tiers 6–9 * Middlesex Vase – founded in 2002, clubs at tiers 9–10 * North West Floodlight Cup

Discontinued competitions

Herts/Middlesex 3 Herts/Middlesex 3 was a tier 11 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the third division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that belo ...

– tier 11 league, discontinued in 2014 *

Herts/Middlesex 4 Herts/Middlesex 4 was a tier 12 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the fourth division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that trad ...

– tier 12 league, discontinued in 2010 * Herts/Middlesex 5 – tier 13 league, discontinued in 1997 *

Middlesex 1 Middlesex 1 was an English level 10 Rugby Union league with teams from north-west London taking part. Promoted teams used to move up to Herts/Middlesex 1 and relegation was to Middlesex 2. The division was cancelled in at the end of the 1995� ...

– tier 8–10 league, discontinued in 1996 *

Middlesex 2 Middlesex 2 was an English level 11 Rugby Union league with teams from north-west London taking part. Promoted teams moved up to Middlesex 1 and relegation was to Middlesex 3. The division was cancelled in at the end of the 1995–96 campaign a ...

– tier 9–11 league, discontinued in 1996 *

Middlesex 3 Middlesex 3 was an English level 12 Rugby Union league with teams from north-west London taking part. Promoted teams moved up to Middlesex 2 and relegation was to Middlesex 4. The division was cancelled at the end of the 1995–96 campaign ...

– tier 10–12 league, discontinued in 1996 * Middlesex 4 – tier 11–13 league, discontinued in 1996 * Middlesex 5 – tier 12 league, discontinued in 1992

Notes

References

External links

www.middlesexrugby.com

Middlesex Sevens

Middlesex Sevens Profile on UR7s.com

The First Middlesex Sevens From The Rugby History Society {{County rugby union in England Rugby union governing bodies in England Sports organizations established in 1879 1879 establishments in England