Imperial Medicals Rugby Club ("Imperial Medics") is the name given to the

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 of

Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union (ICSMSU) is the students' union of the Imperial College School of Medicine. It is charged with representing and advocating for the educational, pastoral, social and extracurricular needs of al ...

, a modern amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history, having all been founded in the nineteenth century. The teams from

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central Lond ...

and

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

were the first to merge in 1984 following the union of their respective Medical Departments. When

St Mary's Hospital, London St Mary's Hospital is an NHS hospital in Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it has been operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, wh ...

also merged in 1997 the team was strengthened by one of the two most successful hospital sides in London. Imperial Medics is notable for its recent dominance of the oldest competition in rugby, the

United Hospitals Cup The United Hospitals Challenge Cup is contested by the six medical schools in London and is most notable for being the oldest rugby cup competition in the world. History In 1874 the United Hospitals RFC instituted a cup competition, the United ...

, as well as its history and the joint history of its constituent elements which have produced a large number of international players.

History

The history of Imperial Medicals Rugby Club is the combined history of three older sides, and their joint history from the point of merger: * St Mary's Hospital Medical School - October 1865 * Charing Cross Hospital Medical School - 1875 *

Westminster Hospital Medical School The Westminster Hospital Medical School was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Westminster Hospital almost from the hospital's foundation in 1719 (the traditional name a ...

- 1897 * Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School - 1981 *

Imperial College School of Medicine Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) is the undergraduate medical school of Imperial College London in England, and one of the United Hospitals. It is part of the college's Faculty of Medicine and was formed by the merger of several hist ...

- 1997

Competitions

Since Inauguration in 1997 IMRFC have enjoyed the following successes: * United Hospitals Cup Winners - 98, 99, 00, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 14 * United Hospital Cup Sevens Winners - 00, 04, 05, 06, 08, 12, 13, 17 * JPR Williams Cup Winners (IMRFC v Imperial College) - 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 14 * Winners of Herts/Middlesex 1 Courage League and Promotion to London North West 3 - 1999 * Promotion to BUSA Premiership South in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2010 * 2nd XV United Hospitals Cup Winners - 01, 03, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 14 * 2nd XV Varsity Match Winners - 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 15 * 2nd XV Middlesex Merit League Division 3 Winners - 07 * 3rd XV United Hospitals Cup Winners - 01, 02, 03, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 * 3rd XV Varsity Match Winners - 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 14, 17

Notable former players

Internationals

St Mary's

Source: * - : D J Cussen ''(1921-27)'' * -

Tuppy Owen-Smith Harold Geoffrey Owen Owen-Smith (18 February 1909 – 28 February 1990), known as Tuppy Smith, was a South African cricketer who played Test cricket for South Africa and a rugby player who played for and captained the England rugby union team ...

''(1934-37)'' - captain, also 5 caps for the

South Africa cricket team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...

* - Tommy Kemp ''(1937-48)'' - captain * - Edward Scott ''(1947-48)'' - captain * - Nim Hall ''(1947-55)'' * - Norman "Billy" Bennett ''(1947-48)'' * - Lewis Cannell ''(1948-57)'' * - : James Murphy O'Connor ''(1954)'' - possibly the first player to use the round-the-corner style of goal-kicking at international level and the brother of Cardinal

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (24 August 1932 – 1 September 2017) was a British cardinal, the Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He was made cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. He sub ...

* - N M Campbell ''(1956)'' * - Trevor Wintle ''(1966-69)'' * -

JPR Williams John Peter Rhys Williams (born 2 March 1949) is a former Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales in international rugby during their Golden Era in the 1970s. He became known universally as J. P. R. Williams (or sometimes just as JPR) aft ...

''(1969-81)'' * - Kevin Simms ''(1985-88)'' * - Richard Wintle ''(1988)''

Westminster

Sidney Nelson Crowther Sidney Crowther (1875–1914) was an English rugby union international who represented Great Britain on the 1904 tour to Australia and New Zealand. Early life Sidney Crowther was born in the early part of 1875 in Keston, Kent and grew up at H ...

''(1903)''Crowther was part of the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

team that toured Australia and New Zealand in 1904 although he never represented his country.

Imperial Medicals

* - Nnamdi Obi - England Sevens, England Students * - James Logan - England Students * - Dimitri Amiras - Greece * - Tom Rees * - Vaki Antoniou

Notable non-internationals

David Rocyn-Jones The Reverend Sir David Thomas Rocyn-Jones, CBE, K St J, DL, JP (16 November 1862 – 30 April 1953) was a Welsh medical officer of health and servant of multiple professional bodies within Wales. Professional career Rocyn-Jones was born in Rh ...

, a former president of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

References

External links

*
Imperial Medicals on Twitter
{{United Hospitals Clubs and societies of Imperial College London Rugby clubs established in 1997 University and college rugby union clubs in England Rugby union clubs in London United Hospitals sports clubs 1997 establishments in England

Rugby Club Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...