Olney Rugby Football Club is an amateur club playing

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

. The club was formed in

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sio ...

in the market town of Olney, near

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

, Buckinghamshire. It is a community rugby club. The club currently fields teams in seniors, ladies, girls and mini & junior categories as well as running Touch Rugby sessions. The club also organises and runs the annual Olney 7s Tournament - one of the premier Sevens tournaments in the area, which is part of the England Rugby 7s series In 2019 the club was awarded The

Queens Award for Voluntary Service The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, also known as The Queen's Golden Jubilee Award for Voluntary Service by Groups in the Community and The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award is an annual award given to groups in the voluntary sector ...

Leagues and competitions - 2021-22 season

Senior Rugby

* Men's 1st XV currently play in

Midlands 2 East (South) Midlands 2 East (South) is a level 7 English Rugby Union league and level 2 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the East Midlands region including sides from Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and occ ...

, level 7 in the 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 ...

league. * Men's 2nd XV currently play in

East Midlands 1 East Midlands 1 was a tier 9 English Rugby Union league with teams from Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and parts of Cambridgeshire taking part. Promoted teams moved up to Midlands 3 East (North), Midlands 4 East (North) (formerly Midlands East 2 ...

, level 9 in the English

league. * Men's 3rd XV currently play in East Midlands 3 (South)

Colts

* currently playing in the East Midlands U18 League 1

Ladies

* currently playing in the Women's NC 2 Midlands (Central) league

History and past players

Olney Rugby Club has over 140 years of history. The first recorded game in Olney, in 1877, was played on Cherry Orchard, a meadow on the banks of the Ouse which is now the Cemetery, and there, where they first took to the field to play, many of the old players lay for their last long "no side" During First World War sixteen playing members lost their lives.

Edgar Mobbs Edgar Roberts Mobbs (1882–1917) was an English rugby union footballer who played for and captained Northampton R.F.C. and England. He played as a three quarter. Mobbs is commemorated in the Ella-Mobbs Trophy, first competed for by the Austr ...

was an Olney boy, born in Dartmouth House in the High Street. He played rugby, cricket and hockey for Olney. In an interview published in the 'Boys Own' magazine in 1913 it confirms that he played rugby for Olney for one or two seasons around 1903. He later played for Northampton, England and the Barbarians.

Blair Swannell Blair Inskip Swannell (20 August 1875 – 25 April 1915) was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Northampton, and internationally for the British Isles and later Australia. He was invited to tour with t ...

had the unique distinction of being capped for England and Australia. He was a member of the British Touring team to Australia in 1899, which won eighteen of twenty-one games, and the tour of New Zealand in 1904 where all fourteen games were won. He decided to remain in Australia and played for New South Wales in 1905/6 being capped for Australia in that year. Alexander Bell (A P Bell), who went on to captain the

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

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 from 1943 to 1946, and also played first class county

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, played as a centre at Olney for several years. He scored a prolific 30 tries in the 1934-35 season and later came back to captain the club in its 75th season. Olney’s junior section was established in 1973 they won the National Rugby Award for Youth and Mini section of the year in 2016. Many of the young members have transitioned to the senior club or continue to play rugby elsewhere. In 1995 a Ladies section was established which, at its height, won the National Cup and competed at one league below Premiership level. More recent alumni include

Will Greenwood William John Heaton Greenwood, MBE (born 20 October 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played for Leicester Tigers and Harlequins and was a member of England's 2003 World Cup-winning team and the 1997 British & Irish Lions. H ...

(Olney Vets & England), Duncan Taylor (Olney M&J and Colts, Saracens and Scotland),

Tom Hardwick Thomas Vivien Colin Hardwick (born 24 March 1999) is an English professional rugby union player, currently unattached the last club he played for was SC Albi, who play in France's third national division of rugby union. He previously played 32 ...

(Olney M&J, Leicester Tigers, Albi and England), Lucy Attwood (Olney Girls, Bristol Bears Women and England), Lizzie Adams (Olney Girls, Loughborough Lighting and Englands 7s) Georgia Brock (Olney Girls and Gloucester-Hartbury)

Club honours

Senior Rugby

* Bucks/Oxon 1 champions: 1990–91 *

Southern Counties North Counties 1 Southern North (formerly known as Southern Counties North) is a division at level 7 of the English rugby union system. When league rugby first began in 1987 it was a single league known as Southern Counties but since 1996 the divisio ...

champions (2): 1998–99, 2007–08 *

champions: 2018–19 *Northampton & District Rugby Alliance Lewis Shield winners: 2013-14, 2006–07, 1995,-96, 1988–89, 1976–77 *Northampton & District Rugby Alliance Paget Cup winners: 2018-19, 1998–99 *Northampton & District Rugby Alliance Oceanic Cup winners: 1909-1910

Ladies

* Women's NC 2 Midlands (Central) league champions: 2022-21

References

English rugby union teams Rugby union in Buckinghamshire Sport in Milton Keynes Olney, Buckinghamshire {{England-rugbyunion-team-stub