Oxford Rugby League was a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

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 ...

club based in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. The club was formed in 2012 and joined League 1 in 2013, playing for five seasons before agreeing to merge with

Gloucestershire All Golds Gloucestershire All Golds is a rugby league team based at the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. University of Gloucestershire All Golds consists of six different teams, with the first team entering Kingstone Press ...

following the 2017 season, resulting in both clubs exiting the league in order to form a new club, Bristol Rugby League, which intended to enter League 1 from the 2019 season. However, when this didn't happen, All Golds continued on its own in the southern league, leaving Oxford to simply fold.

History

1976–1993: Early clubs

Oxford University has had a

side since 1976 and has been competing in the annual

Rugby League Varsity Match The Rugby League Varsity Match is an annual rugby league match between Cambridge University and Oxford University. The first Varsity match took place on Sunday 26 April 1981 at Craven Cottage. Past winners See also * Student Rugby Leag ...

against Cambridge since 1981. Grassroots rugby league began with the Oxford Sharks, formed in association with the Oxford University team. The Sharks dissolved in 1993, but the amateur

Oxford Cavaliers Oxford Cavaliers Rugby League Football Club is the first amateur rugby league club formed in Oxford in the summer era. Over 16 years the Cavaliers have coached and developed several players who have gone on to play the game both professionally a ...

were formed three years later.

2012–2017: League 1

Oxford Rugby League was founded in 2012 and was admitted to the semi-professional League 1 in March 2013 along with

Hemel Stags Hemel Stags are an amateur rugby league club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. They were semi-professional and played in Betfred League 1 from 2013 until 2018. They withdrew from the professional system when their licence was purchased ...

and

as part of the league's expansion, finishing their first season in 6th position and thus qualifying for the play-offs however they were eliminated in their first match against

. Following a relatively successful first season, the club struggled to make progress on and off the field. In 2016 the club relocated from their initial base at

Iffley Road Iffley Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England. It leads from the Plain, near Magdalen Bridge, southeast towards the village of Iffley. While it becomes Henley Avenue at Iffley Turn, and then Rose Hill, the whole stretch from the ri ...

Tilsley Park Tilsley Park is an athletics stadium in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, which is home to Oxford Saints American Football Club. It is managed by Abingdon School on behalf of Vale of White Horse District Council Vale of White Horse District Cou ...

in Abingdon. Following the culmination of the 2017 season, it was announced that Oxford would merge with Gloucestershire All Golds, with both clubs exiting the league in order to pool their resources and create a new club based in Bristol.Rugby Football League accepts proposal to form Bristol-based team
/ref> This ultimately didn't happen, and Oxford RL folded.

Seasons summary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford Rugby League Organisations based in Oxford 2011 establishments in England Rugby clubs established in 2012 Rugby league clubs disestablished in 2017 Defunct rugby league teams in England English rugby league teams