Chairman David Windsor Whitchurch Rugby Club is an amateur

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 it ...

club in

Whitchurch, Shropshire Whitchurch is a market town in the north of Shropshire, England. It lies east of the Welsh border, 2 miles south of the Cheshire border, north of the county town of Shrewsbury, south of Chester, and east of Wrexham. At the 2011 Census, the ...

. The club was formed in 1936 and currently competes in the

Midlands 1 West Midlands 1 West is an English level 6 rugby union regional league for rugby clubs in the western region of the Midlands, including sides from Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Birmingham and the West Midlands, Worceste ...

league since their promotion into the division as champions of

Midlands 2 West (North) Midlands 2 West (North) is a level 7 English Rugby Union league and level 2 of the Midlands League, made up of clubs from the northern part of the West Midlands region including Shropshire, Staffordshire, parts of Birmingham and the West Midl ...

at the end of the 2017–18 season. Until the early 1970s, the club relied mainly on the facilities of the local Grammar School until the move to Edgeley Park where they now reside.

Club history

In 1959 a pre-fabricated club house was opened in the town and then in 1970 a pitch was acquired on Edgeley Park followed in 1974 by a new clubhouse and changing rooms on the same site. Mini, junior, colts ladies and more senior teams followed. A major fire in 1986 did not prevent the club celebrating its golden jubilee that year and its diamond ten years later By the 1980s Whitchurch established themselves as the leading

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

rugby union club; winning 9 from 11 county cups, becoming the first Shropshire club to secure the

North Midlands Cup The North Midlands Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out cup club competition organised by the North Midlands Rugby Football Union and was first contested during the 1971-72 season with the inaugural cup being won by the now defunct Birmingham P ...

in 1997, again in 1999, and finalists in May 2005. The Senior team was placed in the North Midlands 1 division of the Courage League in 1987 and they progressed to Midlands 1 status in 1994. After the team won all 16 of their games in the 1997/98 season, Whitchurch were promoted to

National Division Three North National League 2 North is one of three, level four leagues in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in the northern half of England, the North. The remainder of England is covered by the two counte ...

in 1998/99, which was maintained until 2002/3 when they dropped to Midlands 1 and in 2005/06 North 1. The club currently competes in the

league. Investment in clubhouse facilities in 1975 and again in 2004, with the opening of a new stand, ensured that the club maintained their position as one of the leading sporting clubs in the area. Every week four full size pitches accommodate four senior men's sides, 1 ladies XV, under 19's, under 17's plus the mini and junior teams. Whitchurch RUFC has a dedicated youth structure and has produced some top rugby players over the years. Current

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

number eight,

Mark Hopley Mark Hopley (born in Crewe, England) was a rugby union player for Northampton Saints in the Guinness Premiership. He played as a flanker and started his playing career at Whitchurch Rugby Club in Shropshire. Like his fellow Northampton team ...

began his playing career in the mini and junior teams at Whitchurch.

Club honours

North Midlands 1 North Midlands (South) 1 (formerly North Midlands 1) was a tier 9 English Rugby Union league with teams from Birmingham, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire taking part. Promoted teams moved up to Midlands 4 West (South) and relegated te ...

champions: 1990–91 * Midlands 2 champions: 1993–94 *

winners (2): 1996–97, 1998–99 *

Midlands 1 Regional 1 Midlands (until 2022–23 known as Midlands Premier and up until 2016–17 known as National League 3 Midlands) is a level five semi-professional league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When ...

champions: 1997–98 *

Plate winners: 2015–16 *

champions: 2017–18

References

*{{cite web , url=http://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/4986_4994.php?player=9727&includeref=dynamic , title=Mark Hopley , publisher=Northampton Saints , access-date=2009-02-03

External links

Whitchurch Rugby Club
English rugby union teams Rugby clubs established in 1936 Rugby union in Shropshire Sport in Whitchurch, Shropshire Whitchurch, Shropshire