Built in 1886, and located in

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the Lo ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the Athletic Ground is a rugby ground, managed by Richmond Athletic Association, home to Green King IPA Championship sides

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

and London Scottish. The first team pitch has a stand capable of seating around 1,000 people, though in the past temporary stands have been erected in the considerable space around the pitch to boost the seated capacity. Lower league side, Old Tonbridgians RFC, also play home games at the Athletic Ground. As well as rugby, a small football team by the name of Mortlake FC play at this ground. The original facilities include six other pitches and two bars which are available for hire, a canteen, changing rooms, a physio room, a shop and offices. Part of Old Deer Park, a huge continuous leisure area, the Athletic Ground was bordered by the Pools on the Park leisure centre,

Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club The Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club is a private golf club and golf course comprising two 18-hole courses located in Old Deer Park in Richmond, south west London. Location The course lies in an arc of Crown Estate land on the east bank of the River ...

, and health centre, and also a driving range. Three pitches have been marked out on the driving range which closed down in the 1990s as did Richmond Bowls Club which is now used as a play area for neighbouring Falcons School. The Athletic Ground is also host to the National Surveyor 7s, Lloyds Insurance 7s, Neptune City 7s, Law Society 7s, Middlesex Club 7s, NABs Media 7s and Rugby Rocks. The complex has considerable parking facilities for its size, and is often used as a stop-off for fans on their way to

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...

. Rugby Union club London Scottish announced they would leave the Athletic Ground after 127 years following the 2020–21 season. However as Scottish 1st XV would not participate in the Championship season and there would be no community leagues in 2020–21 they would not play at the Athletic Ground in 2020–21. It was later confirmed they would remain at the Athletic Ground. In February 2021 it was confirmed that

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

side

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

would move their academy to the Athletic Ground for three seasons from 2021.

International rugby union

England played ten Test matches at the Athletic Ground between 1891 and 1909. In five of those matches against Scotland (listed below), England failed to win:

Football

In the

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

code

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

enjoyed more success against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, playing one match here in 1893 as part of the

1893 British Home Championship Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – ...

and winning 5-2. The

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...

final was also played here in 1894, with

Old Carthusians F.C. Old Carthusians Football Club is an association football club whose players are former pupils of Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1876 and won the FA Cup in 1881, as well as the FA Amateur Cup in 1 ...

beating Casuals F.C. 2–1.

References

External links

Richmond Athletic Association
{{LB Richmond Sports venues in London London Scottish F.C. Richmond, London