Shipston-on-Stour Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire. They currently play in

Regional 2 South Central Regional 2 South Central is a level six league in the English rugby union system, one of twelve leagues, at this level. The twelve teams are based in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Hampshir ...

- a tier 6 league in the English rugby union system - following the club's promotion from Southern Counties North - due to the restructure of the English leagues at the end of the 2021–22 season.

History

Formed in 1963 by a group of teachers and old pupils from

Shipston High School Shipston High School is a coeducational secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' s ...

, the first squad came from wide across the region. During their first season, the 'Rams' were forced to be a nomadic club with no pitch of their own to use. Instead they relied on the facilities at the school and using some local pubs for post-match refreshments. In 1964 they were able to regularly put out two teams and with the help of a local farmer, had a pitch of their own to use. Located in the nearby village of Darlingscote the pitch soon became known as 'The Bowl'. By 1968 they were renting an old barn at the rear of The Bell Inn on Sheep Street and with the assistance of Whitbread Flowers they were able to use this structure as a club house. The club moved again in 1973 but with the help of the town's local inhabitants, the local council, the County Council, the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the 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 (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

, Middlesex RFU and the players themselves a new plan for a Clubhouse and ground at

Mayo Road Maryland Route 253 (MD 253) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Mayo Road, the route runs from MD 214 north to MD 2 within Edgewater. MD 253 was constructed in Edgewater in the early 1910s and early 1920s. The highway w ...

was created. The club moved yet again in 2000 although this time they stayed based at Mayo Road and moved next door to a purpose-built club house that had been funded with finance from a

Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded par ...

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

grant. The club now runs four senior teams, a Veterans team, Colts team as well as Mini and Junior Rugby at eight different age groups. The 2002 season saw the first team run out at Twickenham for the Powergen Junior Vase Final.

Club Honours

* Staffordshire/Warwickshire 3 champions: 1993–94 *

Midlands 4 West (South) Midlands 4 West (South) is a level 9 English Rugby Union league and level 4 of the English Rugby Union Midland Division, Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region including club ...

champions: 2002–03 *

Promotion 2011-12 *

Promotion 2018-19 * Southern Counties North Promotion 2021-22

References

{{coord, 52.07, N, 1.6242, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SP201548), display=title Rugby union teams in England Rugby clubs established in 1963 Shipston-on-Stour