The Roses Rugby Football Club, (Roses RFC), 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

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

. The club competes in, and is governed by, 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 Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union, and

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 ...

. Even though the Roses RFC plays in the city of Lancaster, the team formally extends its player membership and marketing to the nearby city of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. The team plays most of its home matches at Centerville Middle School in Lancaster, and at the

York College of Pennsylvania York College of Pennsylvania is a private college in Spring Garden Township, Pennsylvania. It offers more than 70 baccalaureate majors in professional programs, the sciences, and humanities to 3,500 full-time undergraduate students. It also off ...

History

*In 2004, the Roses fell to Norfolk Blues in the MARFU Division II Finals match earning their first trip to the USA Rugby Sweet Sixteen. *In 2005, the Roses won their first

MARFU The Capital Geographic Union is the Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams playing in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. It is an association of youth, high school, collegiate, and adult men's and women's rugby teams in the Mid-Atlanti ...

Division II championship. The Roses then defeated the Oxy Tigers from Los Angeles, CA and Charleston, SC respectively in the USA sweet 16 tourney held in Providence, RI. In San Diego, CA for the National Final Four the Roses fell on the first day to Atlanta Old White and on the second day to the Boca Raton, FL giving them a #4 rank in the USA. *In 2006, the Roses fell to Raleigh, NC in the MARFU Division II Finals Match. *In 2009, the Roses Won Marfu again, defeating defending champs Brandywine RFC. The Roses then defeated Providence, RI and Milwaukee West Side Harlequins, respectively in the USA sweet 16 tourney held in

Columbia, SC Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

to earn themselves a #2 ranking in the USA Final Fours held in

Glendale, CO 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 is ...

. In Colorado, the roses fell on the first day to the Albuquerque Aardvarks and in sudden death triple over time on the second day to the

Indianapolis Impalas The Indianapolis Impalas (Indianapolis Rugby Football Club) are an American rugby union club founded in 1980. The Impalas are members of USA Rugby, and currently compete in Division 2 of the Midwest Rugby Football Union. The Impalas advanced to ...

giving them a #4 rank in the USA.

Recruiting

Roses RFC has established relationships with high school and collegiate teams in the

South Central Pennsylvania South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of west ...

region, which have become feeder teams for the Roses. This allows the Roses to maintain a large player pool of young athletes. The team operates the Warwick Swarm, the York Roses, and the Hempfield Knightmares in the youth leagues and the York & Lancaster Thorns for women. The Roses RFC also has a relationship with the Athletic Department of the

Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the fourteen schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher ...

and

Shippensburg University Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Ship or SU) is a public university in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers college in Pennsylvania ...

. The Swarm Rugby Team consists of schools near Warwick High School, Manheim Central, Manheim township, and Penn Manor High School. The Hempfield Knightmares only consists of their school district. Both teams are in the same division and play for the Rugger Cup. Both Teams play against school districts such as Unionville High School, West Chester, Dolphin county, Allentown, and other schools nearby. The Swarm Rugby team plays games on Lincoln Avenue while the Knightmares play at Hemphfield High School. Players from the youth clubs often join the Roses club after high school or exceed the age limit for the players, 18-19 year old. The webpage for the Swarm Rugby Page:http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=warwickswarm&sid=555451153

References

{{Reflist

External links

Roses Rugby Football Club

Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union

Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union

USA Rugby

International Rugby Board (IRB) Site
Culture of Lancaster, Pennsylvania Sports in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Rugby union teams in Pennsylvania 1974 establishments in Pennsylvania Rugby clubs established in 1974