University of Galway RFC is the rugby team of the

University of Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. Their colours are maroon and white.

History

The rugby club was founded in 1874 at the time the university was named

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

, which makes it the oldest club in Connacht. They played in the Bateman Cup competition many times and won their first Connacht Senior Cup in 1897. They have held this trophy aloft 34 times in all, more than any other club in the Connacht, and they have won the senior league 16 times. They won the Dudley Cup for the first time in 1905. They have had many successes down through the years, but a real highlight was the 1962/63 season when they swept the boards — they won the Connacht Minor League and Minor Cup, the Connacht Junior League and Junior Cup, the Connacht Senior League and Senior Cup, the OLBC Sevens and the Blake Sevens. Many of their players have played for Irish universities international teams, and 10 have been capped for Ireland, several while playing for UCG. One of those,

Ciaran Fitzgerald Ciaran Fitzgerald (born 4 June 1952) is an Irish former rugby union player. He captained Ireland to the Triple Crown in 1982 and 1985, and the Five Nations Championship in 1983. Fitzgerald also captained the Lions on their 1983 tour. After t ...

, Captained Ireland to a Triple Crown in 1982, and subsequently the 1983 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.

Current Status

Currently UG do not compete in the All-Ireland League, but they participate in

Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Connachta) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Con ...

competitions, and field two teams at Junior League level (J1B & J2). Their Under-20 team plays in the Irish Universities Conroy Cup competing against UCC, UCD, QUB, TCD, DU, UL & Maynooth. In League competition along with two other Connacht Clubs (Galwegians & Galway Corinthians) they compete in the

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

JP Fanagan Under-20 League - in division Premier 3. They have also set up a Rugby Youth Academy in an attempt to help strengthen the club.

Women's Rugby

The women's team was set up in the 2002–2003 season. Their first official game was in 2004 versus Sligo I.T. In the 2008/2009 season UG women won the Connacht League. In the 2012/2013 season UG contested the Colleges & Universities Sports Association of Ireland Div 1 College League Final against UL. In 2013/2014 and again in 2014/2015 UG won the

Irish Universities Rugby Union The Irish Universities Rugby Union (IURU) is the representative body for University Rugby Union in Ireland. The Union was established in 1904 and currently consists of the following members; University College Dublin RFC, Dublin University FC, ...

Kay Bowen Intervarsity Cup.

Notable players

Steve Cunningham Steven Ormain Cunningham (born July 15, 1976) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF cruiserweight title twice between 2007 and 2011. His nickname, "USS", is a reference to his US Navy service on the aircraft carriers and between ...

* Seamus Dennison — played for

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

in their historic 1978 defeat 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 ...

Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and has Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park fr ...

, executing a much heralded tackle against his opponents *

— captained the

British and Irish Lion The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

s and

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

and won a

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

while captaining

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Neville Furlong Neville Furlong (10 July 1968 – 26 September 2017) was an Irish rugby union international player who played as a winger. Furlong initially played Gaelic football, and was selected at both minor and under- 90 levels. He attended University Co ...

— scored the last try worth four points by an Irish player before a change in the game's rules *

Eamonn McGuire Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: *Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name *Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *" Éamo ...

— played for

Mick Molloy Michael Molloy (born 11 July 1966) is an Australian comedian, writer, producer, actor and television and radio presenter who has been active in radio, television, stand-up and film. He currently hosts ''The Front Bar'' on the Seven Network. L ...

— earned 27 caps for Ireland between 1966 and 1973 *

Dickie Roche Dicky, Dickey, Dickie, or plurals thereof may refer to: Clothing: * Dickey (garment), a type of false shirt-front * Dickies, a brand of clothing People: * Dicky (name), a list of persons with the given name or nickname * Dickey (name), a list of ...

— played for

, including when at university

References

Irish rugby union teams Rugby union clubs in County Galway Sport at the University of Galway Gal {{ireland-sport-stub