Barking RFC is an English

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

team based in

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking, 1965–1980 ** Municipal Borough of Barking, 1931–1965 ** Barking (UK Parliament constituency) ** Barking (electoral division), Greater ...

, east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and currently play in the ninth tier of the English rugby union league system, Essex 1.

History

Park Modern Old Boys

The club was founded in 1930, under the name of Park Modern Old Boys. In 1926 the Park Modern School in

was founded and the headmaster decided that the school would play rugby, despite

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

being the most popular sport in the area. As a result, the Old Boys team was created four years later and won 16 out of 19 games in its inaugural season.

Barking RFC

Old Boys continued to prosper after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1974 they were declared no longer an Old Boys team, and so were obliged to change their name to Barking Park RFC, which became Barking RFC in 1976. Barking were successful upon the introduction of leagues and moved slowly up the league ladder. Jason Leonard, whose total of 119

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

was the world record from 2004 to 2006, began his club career at Barking. In 1989 Barking opened their current ground at Goresbrook,

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

and have remained there since. They reached the National Leagues in 1994. After winning National Division Three South in the 2004–05 season, Barking enjoyed two seasons in National Division Two before being relegated in 2007. The season began with a crushing 63–10 defeat at the hands of newly promoted

Mounts Bay Mount's Bay is a bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. Mount's Bay or Mounts Bay may also refer to: *Mounts Bay RFC, a defunct rugby club formerly based in Penzance *Mounts Bay Road Mounts Bay Road is a major road in P ...

, who were eventually crowned champions. This set the tone for a season in which the Eastenders were constantly staving off the threat of relegation. However, Barking survived by the narrowest of margins after defeating the very team who had destroyed them on the opening day and finished the league as champions. The 16–14 win at Goresbrook was enough to send Bristol-based Clifton down by a single point and secure another season of National League rugby for Essex and London's East End. Comedian and actor

Nick Frost Nicholas John Frost (born 28 March 1972) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He has appeared in the '' Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), and '' The World's ...

, known for his many film and television collaborations with

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...

, is an ex-player.

Honours

London 3 North East London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nor ...

champions: 1987–88 * London 1 champions: 1993–94 *

National League 2 South National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) was a level four league in the English rugby union system until the end of season 2021–22. It was one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, N ...

(formerly known as National League 3 South) champions: 2004–05, 2009–10

Current squad

External links