Dings Crusaders RFC is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

team based in the

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

suburb of

Frenchay Frenchay is a village in the County of South Gloucestershire, England, and the Civil Parish of Winterbourne. It is on the outskirts to the north east of the city of Bristol. Frenchay was first recorded in 1257 as ''Fromscawe'' and later as '' ...

having previously been based in

Lockleaze Lockleaze is an area and council ward in the northern suburbs of the city of Bristol, England, north of the city centre, south of Filton, east of Horfield and west of Frenchay. Lockleaze is a residential area of social housing built on the ...

up until 2018. The club was relegated from National Division Two South, the fourth tier of the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

in 2015, to the South West Premier After two seasons, the team won promotion back to National League 2 South for the 2018–19 season and currently play in National League 2 West Dings is one of the oldest clubs in Bristol, with its roots in a slum area of Bristol stretching back over 110 years. The club is entirely amateur, as opposed to the semi-professional structure of other clubs. The mantra "we don't play for personal gain" is a poignant line in the club's anthem, being very much a part of the community of Lockleaze it is not uncommon to find that some players in the teams today are third generation Dings players.

Current standings

History

The Dings was a slum area of Bristol located between Barton Hill and

Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city ...

. The Shaftesbury Crusade, a Christian mission in the area, encouraged sporting activity in the Dings. In 1897, H W Rudge founded Dings Crusaders as part of the Dings Boys Club. Dings is one of only two remaining members of the original Bristol Combination set up in 1901, the other being Bristol Saracens. In 1948, Jack Steadman instigated a move to Dings current home in Lockleaze. Since league structure was introduced, Dings gained three promotions between 1996 and 2003 to enter the National League for the first time. The club finished in the relegation places at the end of the 2003–04 season, their first in National Division Three South, but were spared demotion by the demise of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

. Since then, the club has consolidated its position within the league. In 2014 it was announced that the club would be moving from the 1,500 capacity Lockleaze ground to Shaftesbury Park, which is based on Frenchay Park Road in

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming ...

. The new ground will be part of a £8 million pound sports facility with a main stand/club house, a gym and two court sports hall, eight changing rooms, two full size floodlight pitches including the main pitch which will have an 4G artificial surface, parking for up to 220 cars and multiple junior pitches. Capacity will include 250 seated and up to 2,000 standing, bring the total figure up to approximately 2,250. On 17 February 2018 after 10 years in the making, Dings finally played their first game at Shaftesbury Park in front of a crowd of around 1,000, defeating

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...

34–26 in a South West Premier league game.

Honours

* Bristol Combination Cup winners (7): 1973–74, 1985–86, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2010–11, 2014–15 * Gloucestershire 1 champions: 1989–90 * Gloucestershire/Somerset champions: 1993–94 * Western Counties champions: 1995–96 * South West Division 2 West champions: 2000–01 * South West Premier champions (2): 2002–03, 2017–18

Current squad

Club officials

President : Raymond Bowden Vice President : Phillip Knowles General Secretary : Ian Haddrell Treasurer : Jeff Kemp Chairman : Steve Lloyd Chairman of Selectors : Richard Grant Commercial Manager : Richard Milsom Membership Secretary : Richard Cecil Head Coach : Luke Arscott Director of Rugby : Stean Williams Club Captain : Steve Plummer

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control English rugby union teams Rugby clubs established in 1897 Rugby union in Bristol