Kettering Rugby Football Club (KRFC) is a

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 ...

club located in Waverley Road on the south side of

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

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 b ...

. The 1st XV currently compete in

Midlands Premier 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 ...

- a level 5 league in 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 ...

- following their promotion as champions of

Midlands 1 East Regional 2 East Midlands is an English level 6 rugby union regional league for rugby clubs in the eastern region of the Midlands, including sides from Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and occasion ...

at the end of the 2018-19 season.

History

The earliest available records indicate that the playing of rugby football in Kettering was initiated by the Rector of

Barton Seagrave Barton Seagrave is a large village and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-east of Kettering, town centre. The older part of the village is known for its Norman Church and attractive buildings. The v ...

village in 1871. After a period of playing under Uppingham Public School Rules the club formally adopted

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

rules in 1875, quickly becoming a significant participant in both local community and the fast developing rugby scene in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

. In the early days games were played on a number of sites including farmers' fields and council owned grounds. It was during this period, prior to adopting a home of its own, that the club developed its high profile in the town. Social occasions and players' "meetings" were held traditionally at the Royal Hotel, later moving to the George, with more formal occasions such as the Annual Ball becoming the highlight of the local function calendar. The club moved to its current Waverley Road home in 1963 where it boasts three pitches, additional training areas and a fully licensed club house.

KRFC today

Kettering currently play in the Midlands 1 East division of the league pyramid which is level 6. The club regularly fields four senior sides plus Colts and Veterans on a Saturday and has a thriving mini and junior section with teams at every age group from under 6 to under 16. The mini and junior section has produced three current Premiership players in James Cannon (Wasps)(Connacht)(Ealing Trailfinders), Brett Sturgess (Exeter Chiefs) and

Will Chudley William John Chudley (born 17 March 1988) is a rugby union player who plays at Scrum half for Coventry in the RFU Championship. He made his debut for Exeter against Sale Sharks on 1 September 2012. Will joined Exeter from rivals Newcastle Fa ...

(Exeter Chiefs) (Bath Rugby)as well as a number of players playing professional and semi professional rugby at Championship and National 1 levels

Club Honours

* Midlands East 2 champions: 1992–93 * Midlands East 1 champions: 1995–96 *

champions (3): 2002–03, 2007–08, 2018–19 *East Midlands Cup Winners 2014-15

Recent League results

2016/17 Midlands 1 East 2nd
2015/16 Midlands 1 East 4th
2014/15 Midlands 1 East 4th
2013/14 Midlands 1 East 6th
2012/13 Midlands 1 East 9th
2011/12 Midlands 1 East 4th
2010/11 Midlands 1 East 8th
2009/10 National League 3 Midlands 13th (relegated)
2008/09 Midlands 1 8th
2007/08 Midlands 2 East 1st (champions, promoted)

Current 1st XV squad

Featured during 2018-19 season Forwards:
D Martin, S Ling, S Fraher, J Aldwinckle, M Watson, L Santos, M Cheatham, A Jones, J Cox; C Horgan, A Toseland, D Bannister, G Newman, A Bayley, A Collett, T Spencer, G Wilson, D Ireland, D Noble, T Bayes, C Chapman, J Watts, K Smith, B Sturgess, D Fay, A Kelman, G Newman Backs:
T Bridgeman, B Keir, J Butlin, J Taylor, J Luthayi, A Linnell J Daniel, R Conyard, D Conyard, L Conyard, A Byrne, J Plowright, G Rees, O Furniss, E Drake-Lee, H Styles, J Newman

Notable former players

Notes

References

External links

Rugby Football Union

Kettering Rugby Football Club homepage
{{Rugby union in England English rugby union teams Rugby union in Northamptonshire Rugby clubs established in 1875 1875 establishments in England