Preston Grasshoppers RFC

Preston Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team from Preston, Lancashire. The men's senior team play in the RFU National League 2 North, a level 4 league in the RFU league pyramid.

History

The club was founded on 28 September 1869 at a meeting held at the Bull Hotel, Preston, making it one of the oldest 'northern' rugby union teams.

The club were based at Farringdon Park (the location today is Farringdon Crescent), New Hall Lane from 1924 until 1932, an old Amusement Park and Cycling Track. In 1929 the club agreed a six-year sub-tenancy with Preston (speedway) and a dirt track was constructed around the perimeter of the rugby pitch. The speedway syndicate folded in 1932 but a greyhound syndicate paid the Grasshoppers £2,000 (a huge sum at the time) to vacate the ground the same year.

Grasshoppers' players who have progressed to bigger stages include A.N. Hornby, the first man to captain both the English national rugby and cricket sides, Dick Greenwood and his son Will Greenwood, later to play outside centre for Leicester Tigers, Harlequins and England, second row star Steve Borthwick, captaining Bath and playing a key role in the England international side, Wade Dooley, who won 55 caps in the second row for England and represented the British and Irish Lions on tours to Australia (1989) and South Africa (1993), and Paul Grayson, who went on to play a number of games at fly half for England. Other past players gaining England caps include Don Rutherford and Iain Balshaw.

Wigan Athletic F.C. striker James Vaughan also played rugby union for the side, before switching to football.

When the national league structure was introduced in the mid nineties, Hoppers remained in National League 3 (North) until their promotion in 1998–99 season. This was achieved with the help of Australian Michael Lough and winger Ian Bruce who, between them, scored over 50 tries.

In 2013 Preston Grasshoppers 2nd team won the Preston Sports Awards Team Performance of the Year.
At the end of the 2015–16 Season Preston Grasshoppers accepted an offer from the RFU to replace the grass surface at Lightfoot Green Lane with an artificial 3G pitch. The terms of the agreement mean that the RFU have exclusive use of the pitch for the next thirty years.

In 2017–18 the club made an immediate return to National 2 North by winning the Northern Premier League at the first attempt. Under head coach Paul Arnold, the side were the stand out side in the division with number 8 Matthew Lamprey scoring 32 league tries during the campaign to set a new club record for tries in a league season, beating the previous best of 27 set by Michael Lough in the 1998–99 National 2 North championship winning season.

After a mid-table finish in National Two in the 2018–19 season, the club suffered an injury decimated season that resulted in relegation in a shortened season due to the Covid Pandemic. No play was available at all in the 2020–21 season due to the pandemic but the team rebounded to National Two by finishing runners-up in the Northern Premier Division in the 2021–22 season. They also won the Lancashire Cup to crown a superb season.

At the end of the season, head coach Paul Arnold announced he was to step down from the role. His successor is Joel Unsworth with Dan Orwin as his assistant coach. The team are competing in the restructured National League Two North in the 2022–23 season.

Honours

* Jewson National League 2 North champions: 1998–99
* Lancashire Cup winners (3): 2003, 2006, 2012, 2022
* North Premier champions (2): 2004–05, 2017–18,
* North Premier runner-up: 2021–22 (promoted)

Notable former players

Lions Tourists

The following Preston Grasshoppers player has been selected for Lions tours while at the club:

Wade Dooley (1989 & 1993)

Rugby World Cup

The following Preston Grasshoppers player has represented his country at the Rugby World Cup while at the club:

Current standings

References

External links

Official website

{{City of Preston culture

English rugby union teams
1869 establishments in England
Rugby clubs established in 1869
Sport in Preston
Rugby union in Lancashire