Belsize Park Rugby Club is a

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 ...

club based in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. BPRC have five senior men's, two senior women's and one veteran men's teams. Home matches are played in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

.Belsize Park Rugby Club Official Website
/ref> The men's 1st XV previously played in

London 1 North London 1 North was an English level 6, rugby union league for clubs in London and the south-east of England including sides from Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, north Greater London, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk. When ...

– a league at tier 6 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 consi ...

– but following recent England Rugby adult male 'Future Competition Structure' changes, from the 2022–23 season the men's 1st team play in

Regional 2 Thames Regional 2 Thames is an English level 6 rugby union regional league for rugby clubs in London and the south-east of England including sides from Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Surrey. It ...

History

The original Belsize Park FC was founded in 1870 and was one of the twenty-one founding members of the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, 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 ...

. The club had folded by 1880.

Current

Belsize Park Rugby Club have five regular men's, two women's and one men's vets sides. The men's 1st XV play in the newly launched RFU level 6 Regional 2 Thames division, while the men's 2nd, 3rd, 4th and Bulls (5th) XVs compete in the Middlesex merit leagues with the 2nd XV winning the Premier league most seasons.Belsize Park RC
BPRC also field monthly Veterans and occasional 6th XV teams for pure social rugby. After launching with development fixtures in 2019–20, Belsize Park women's team debuted in the ‘Women's NC 3 South East (Central)’ league in the 2021–22 season, which they won as Champions. After promotion the women now play in Women's NC Division 2 in 2022–23, with a new 2nd XV adding to the growth of women's rugby at the club. The club trains at Coram's Fields and prides itself on being

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 ...

's most central rugby club. BPRC usually tours twice a year, one within mainland Britain and the other overseas. The club embarked on an unbroken series of international tours from 1989 to 2019, when COVID-19 halted the 2020 tour to Italy and the 2021 tour to Vietnam. Touring resumed in November 2021 and May 2022 with matches in

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

, and

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, Ireland. Destinations in the past have included mainland China, the Caribbean, North and South America, multiple Southern African countries and, more regularly, to European countries.

Clubhouse

Based in central London the club does not have its own clubhouse, they use the facilities of local drinking establishments and treat this as their home 'club pub'. Local pubs traditionally bid to host the club on weekends providing discounts on food and drink for players and supporters. * 2022 – current
The Lock Tavern
- Chalk Farm Road NW1 * 2021 – 2022
Sports Bar & Grill Marylebone
- Melcombe Place NW1 * 2015 – 2021: The White Moustache - Stanhope Street NW1 (permanently closed) * 2010 – 2015
Sheephaven Bay
- Mornington Street NW1 * 2009 – 2010: The Masons Arms - Devonshire Street W1 (permanently closed) * early –-2009: Chester Arms - Albany Street NW1 (permanently closed)

Junior rugby

Belsize Park RC has an affiliate Junior rugby section also in

, called th
Regent Park Royals
coaching ages 6–12.

1st XV honours

* Herts/Middlesex 3 South champions: 2003–04 *

London 2 North West Counties 1 Herts/Middlesex (formerly London 2 North West) is a tier 7 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the top-tier competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts ...

champions: 2018–19

References

External links

* {{Official Website
Belsize Park Rugby Football Club on FacebookBelsize Park Rugby Football Club on Twitter
Rugby union teams in England Rugby clubs established in 1971 Rugby union clubs in London Belsize Park 1971 establishments in England