Old Patesians Rugby Football Club 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

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. The club currently play in Counties 3 Gloucestershire North following their voluntary relegation from

Regional 2 Severn Regional 2 Severn is a level six league in the English rugby union system, one of twelve leagues, at this level. The twelve teams are based in counties near the River Severn, i.e. Gloucestershire and Somerset, with two from Wiltshire. The clu ...

. As well as the first XV, the club operate two other male teams, a junior programme, with teams starting from under-9, through to under-19 (Colts) level. The club runs a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

side under the name, Cheltenham Old Patesians, which play in the

West of England Rugby League The South West Rugby League (SWRL) also known as the ''South West Men's League'', is a rugby league competition for teams in the South West of England. It was formerly part of the Rugby League Conference. The SWRL is a semi-autonomous league w ...

History

The club was founded in 1913 by former pupils of

Pate's Grammar School en, That which is hidden shall be revealed , established = , closed = , type = Grammar school;Academy , religion = , president = , head_label = , head = Russel Ellicott , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , chair = , founder ...

, where the game of rugby union had been played since 1906, hence the name "Old Patesians". The Old Patesians Association was formed in 1947. The club's motto is taken from Richard Pate's tomb, which is located in nearby

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...

. It reads, ''Patebit tum quod latuit'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) meaning, "What is hidden will be revealed." In January 2006 a Ladies side was created and they are now playing regularly in the Spirit of Game development league. The club obtained its present home ground at Everest Road, Cheltenham in 1975; putting an end to the club's wanderings. With the introduction of league rugby in 1987, the Old Pats were placed in Gloucestershire One. They were winners of Gloucestershire One in 1991–92 and then the Gloucestershire/Somerset League in 1992–93, they were then winners of the Western Counties League in 1993–94. The success continued in 1997–98 when the club were South West Two (West) League winners. The Old Pats, under a new coaching team, won South West One League in 2000–01 on the final Saturday of the season on points difference as well winning the Intermediate Cup 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 ...

by one point to

Blaydon Blaydon is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, and historically in County Durham. Blaydon, and neighbouring Winlaton, which Blaydon is now contiguous with, form the postal town of Blaydon-on-Tyne. The Blay ...

, and lost to Cinderford RFC by a narrow margin in the Gloucestershire Cup final. The juniors won the under-17 County Cup final. In their first season in the National leagues in 2001–02, after taking a couple of games to find their feet, the Pats finished 5th. The club narrowly avoid relegation in 2005–06 but did win the Cheltenham Combination Cup for the fifth year in a row. The club established a competitive women's side and affiliated to the RFUW in 2006–07. The club were relegated from the National leagues and lost the Cheltenham Combination Cup to Cheltenham. In 2013, the club ran a

side under the name, Cheltenham Old Patesians, which took part in the

. The club were promoted to

South West Premier Regional 1 South West (formerly South West Premier and National League 3 South West) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When this division began in 1987 it was known as South West D ...

in 2018-19 but were relegated the same season.

Honours

Gloucester 1 Gloucester 1 is an English rugby union league which sits at the ninth level of league rugby union in England for teams based primarily in the county of Gloucestershire but also on occasion teams from Bristol. Promoted clubs move into Gloucester ...

champions: 1991–92 * Gloucestershire/Somerset champions: 1992–93 * Western Counties champions: 1993–94 * South West 2 champions: 1997–98 *

South West 1 Regional 1 South West (formerly South West Premier and National League 3 South West) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When this division began in 1987 it was known as South West D ...

champions: 2001–02 *

RFU Intermediate Cup The RFU Intermediate Cup is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by teams at level 7 of the English rugby union system. While the competition is a national one, it is howeve ...

winners: 2001–02 * West of England Rugby League winners: 2013 *

South West 1 East South West 1 East is an English, level six, rugby union league in south and south-west England; mainly Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Gloucester, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. Originally a single ...

champions: 2017–18

References

External links

Official website

Old Patesians RFC
– on the RFU official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Patesians, Old 1913 establishments in England Rugby league teams in England Rugby union teams in England Leckhampton * Rugby clubs established in 1913 Rugby League Conference teams Rugby league teams in Gloucestershire Rugby union in Gloucestershire Sport in Cheltenham