Villager Football Club was established on 2 June 1876 and so claims to be the second oldest rugby club in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
Newlands Stadium
The Newlands Stadium, referred to as DHL Newlands for sponsorship reasons,
is located in Cape Town, South Africa. The stadium has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all-seater venue.
Various sports teams use the stadium as their hom ...
after it opened on 31 May 1890. Many notable South African rugby players began their careers at the club, including
Paddy Carolin
Harold "Paddy" Carolin (1881-1967) was a rugby union player who represented South Africa and is credited with conceiving both the 3-4-1 scrum formation and helping choose the name 'Springboks' for the South African national side. Carolin was th ...
, vice-captain on the 1906 Springbok tour to Europe, and former 800m track world record holder Marcello Fiasconaro.
Name
The club's name derives from the number of villages that spread west from Cape Town towards Simonstown during the colonial period, which later became suburbs of the city. Rugby's rules of football were only adopted by Villagers in 1879, who played according to Winchester's rules until then.
Notable members
Villagers have produced the second most Springboks (58) of all South African rugby clubs, second only to Stellenbosch (Maties). The first Villager to represent was H.H Castens. Other prominent Villager Springboks include HO de Villiers (14 tests),
Morné du Plessis
Morné du Plessis OIS (; born 21 October 1949) is a former South African rugby union player often described as one of the Springboks' most successful captains. During the five years from 1975 to 1980 that he served as captain, the Springboks wo ...
(22), and Joel Stransky (22). Villager Nick Mallet not only played in 2 tests but also coached the national sides of South Africa and . In addition Villager FC produced 175 Western Province players.
Other prominent players include:
*
Fairy Heatlie
Barry "Fairy" Heatlie (25 April 1872 – 19 August 1951) Scrum.com was a
William Henry Milton
Sir William Henry Milton (3 December 1854 – 6 March 1930) was the third Administrator of Mashonaland, played rugby for England and was South Africa's second Test cricket captain.
Born in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and educated at Marlbo ...
- represented (1874–75); South African cricketer (1988–92); Administrator of
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...
(1901–14)
*
Frank Mellish
Frank Whitmore Mellish, MC (26 April 1897 – 21 August 1965) was a rugby union footballer who played internationally for England and South Africa. After his rugby career, he served as a selector for the South African team and as the manager of ...
- represented (1920–21; Springbok (1921–24); manager (1951 tour to Britain & France)
*
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
- Springbok (1951–55) & captain (1955)
* Paul Johnstone - Springbok (1951–56); captain, Oxford RFC (1954)
* Christian Stewart - represented (1991–95) & South Africa (1998)
*
Percy Montgomery
Percival Colin Montgomery OIS (born 15 March 1974) is a South African former professional rugby union player. When he ended his international career in August 2008, he held the all-time records for both caps and points for South Africa's nati ...
- Springbok (1997-2008); 3rd most caps as Springbok (102)
*
Nick Easter
Nicholas James Easter (born 15 August 1978) is an English rugby union coach and former player. He played as a Number 8 for Orrell, Harlequins and the England national team.
He began his career in 2001, playing for Orrell, before moving t ...
- represented England (2007–15); 54 caps including 3 World Cups
Club honours
Since 1925 Villager FC have won either the Grand Challenge Cup or Western Province Super League A title 13 times.
The following refers to competitions that the club won between 1925 and 2001:
In 2017 the club was promoted to the Super League A. Struggling in the A league the club got demoted in 2015 and after a rebuilding process has been promoted once again to Super League A in 2017.