Philadelphia - Whitemarsh 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 ...

team based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, US. They are currently members of the

Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union The Eastern Pennsylvania Geographic Union (EPGU) is the Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams in Eastern and Central Pennsylvania, as well as Delaware and parts of New Jersey. EPGU is part of USA Rugby. History The EPRU was the first Loca ...

, the organizational body for the sport in eastern Pennsylvania, and currently play in

USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...

Men's Club Division II.

History

Philadelphia - Whitemarsh RFC formed in 1985 as the result of a merger between the former Philadelphia (Founded 1961) and Whitemarsh clubs (Founded 1967). Prior to the merger, both clubs were facing a decline in membership. The Philadelphia club had a secure home ground in Fairmount Park and the Whitemarsh club had a good clubhouse, so the clubs merged with the hopes of becoming a more successful club. The club colors became red with blue stripes, and the new logo was a combination of Philadelphia's

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

logo and Whitemarsh's

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. Also included are the founding dates: 1961, 1967, 1985. Philadelphia Whitemarsh played in the Rugby Super League, the country's highest level of rugby union, from 1998 to 2008, when they withdrew. The club, looking to rebuild its foundation, moved to Division 3 in

beginning in the fall of 2009. In 2014 the club moved to Division 2 in th
Mid-Atlantic Conference

Current club

Philadelphia Whitemarsh struggled to rebuild in its first two years in Division 3, sometimes not having enough players to field a side. In the fall of 2009 the club finished 2–5–1 with 11 league points for a 10th-place finish in the twelve-team league. The next year, they finished 1–7–0 with 8 league points for an 11th-place finish. Things turned around for PWRFC, however, in the spring of 2011. The young players in the club brought in college and high school teammates. Conway Maraki came in as a player–coach and the club began to reform. That spring, the new PWRFC went 3–2 in exhibition matches, both losses coming by a combined 4 points. In the Fall of 2011, PWRFC ran the table in EPRU Division 3, going a perfect 8–0 and won the EPRU D3 crown. PWRFC continued their winning ways that spring running the table to win the MARFU championship, defeating Virginia RFC in the final 37–32. They advanced to the Final Four in

Glendale, Colorado The City of Glendale is a home rule municipality located in an exclave of Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 4,613 at the 2020 United States Census. Glendale is an enclave of the City and County of Denver and i ...

after defeating Gainesville and Syracuse in the USA Rugby Round of 16 and 8, respectively. After defeating the South Bay Rhinos (CA) in the National Semifinal 50–26, they fell to New Orleans RFC in the National Championship Game 36–20, finishing the season with a 14–1 record.

Sponsorship

Philly-Whitemarsh RFC has individual sponsorships. Notable primary sponsors include Royall Lyme. The club also has several secondary sponsorships from local and regional businesses.Royall Lyme, Official Philadelphia Whitemarsh Sponsor
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External links

Official sitePhiladelphia-Whitemarsh RFC HistoryUSA Rugby

References

{{Pennsylvania Sports Sports in Philadelphia Rugby clubs established in 1985 Rugby union teams in Pennsylvania 1985 establishments in Pennsylvania