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The Midlands Hurricanes are a semi-professional
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
club based in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, West Midlands,
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 ...
. They were founded in 2021 and took over the professional franchise owned by Coventry Bears previously entering the third tier of the
British rugby league system The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League. Professional clubs The following is a list of professional and semi-professional clubs in the British rugby league system: *''*capaci ...
, currently known as League 1 in 2015.


History


1998–2014: Coventry Bears Formation and Amateur years

Coventry Bears was formed in 1998 by a group of university students led by Alan Robinson. They made an approach to Keith Fairbrother, the Coventry rugby union club's Chairman and one time rugby league player at Leigh, with a plan to form a team to play from
Coundon Road Stadium Coundon Road Stadium in Coventry was the home ground for Coventry R.F.C. from 1921 to 2004. The stadium has now been demolished. The first game at the ground was against United Services, Portsmouth, with Coventry R.F.C. losing 13–3. The big ...
. The club played a season of friendly games in 1999 and were then admitted into the
Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference, also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Sco ...
for the 2000 season and were unbeaten by any club within their division. They then won their quarter-final against Manchester Knights before being narrowly defeated by only one point by Rotherham Giants in the semi-finals at Super League club Warrington Wolves’
Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year l ...
. Further success followed in 2001 with the Bears reaching the
Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...
at Webb Ellis Road,
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 ...
, only to lose out by 2pts 10–12 in a match against
Teesside Steelers Teesside () is an urban area around the River Tees in North East England. Straddling the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, it spans the boroughs of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Redcar and Cleveland. In 2011, it was the ...
. The following season Coventry won the Rugby League Conference Grand Final in September 2002 when they beat
Hemel Stags The 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 purch ...
at
Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
21–14. Following on from this success the club applied for, and won, elevation to the newly formed National League Three. The Bears reached the National League Three Grand Final in 2004, winning comfortably versus Warrington Woolston Rovers 48–24. This score being the highest margin in a final in this Competition. The following season Coventry Bears RLFC experienced difficulties and chose to resign from the National League to take time to rebuild and regroup and set up a community junior section. 2006 saw the return of the Bears as a Rugby League Conference Midlands Premier side, and the club finished the season in second place. They went on to beat
Leicester Phoenix Leicester Storm was an amateur community rugby league football club based in Leicester, England. They competed in the Conference League South and their Academy Team competed in the Midlands Rugby League. The club's home was Phoenix Park which ...
in the qualifying semi-final to set up a Midlands Grand Final with Nottingham Outlaws, which ended in defeat Coventry defeated Nottingham Outlaws in 2007 to win the Midlands Premier and also won the
Kilkenny 9s Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
, The Bears went on to finish as runners-up to
St Albans Centurions The St Albans Centurions are a rugby league club based in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The club plays their home games at Toulmin Drive, St Albans and their clubhouse is in High Oaks, St Albans. Founded in 1996, they first played in various loca ...
losing 28–20 in the final of the
Harry Jepson Trophy The Harry Jepson Trophy is a rugby league competition contested by teams from successor leagues to the Rugby League Conference. It is named after Harry Jepson. History The Harry Jepson trophy was first contested in 1997 by members of the then S ...
. In 2008, the Bears finished as runners up in the Midlands Premier to Nottingham. In 2010, Coventry linked up with Super League side
Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...
.


2015–2021: League 1

The Bears were accepted into the semi-professional ranks of League 1 for the 2015 season, and entered their newly formed reserve side into the
Conference League South The Southern Conference League is the fourth tier of the British rugby league system. It is the highest level of amateur rugby league outside of the heartlands in Northern England, operating in The Midlands, Southern England, and Wales. It was ...
in the same season. They finished their first semi-professional season in 12th place. Coventry finished their final season as the Bears in the 2021 League 1 season in 8th place.


2022: Midlands Hurricanes

On 3 November 2021 the club announced a major rebranding in an effort to attract a wider support base from the English midlands region. The club was to be known as the Midlands Hurricanes for the 2022 RFL League 1 season. As part of the re-branding the club relocated from Butts Park Arena to the Portway Stadium – home of rugby union team Birmingham & Solihull Bees for the 2022 season. Alan Robinson who founded the new Hurricanes club and business resigned from the Midlands Hurricanes during the 2022 season selling his stake in the professional franchise competing in League One and new business that was created and is no longer part of the new Midlands Hurricanes club in any capacity. Coventry Bears and Bears in the Community CIC Rugby League Foundation moved back to the City of Coventry and still continue to develop the club's history and legacy there. The new Midlands Hurricanes club has since moved to the
Alexander Stadium Alexander Stadium is an athletics stadium in Perry Barr, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is the largest athletics stadium in the United Kingdom. The stadium has four stands with a total seated capacity of 18,000. The stadium site has four build ...
in
Perry Barr Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is also the name of a Government of Birmingham, England#Council constituencies, council constituency, managed by its own ...
for the 2023 season and is a new company under new ownership. In May 2022 coach, Richard Squires, was banned from the sport for three months (with one month suspended) by the
Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Footb ...
(RFL) for breaching RFL rules on betting. In his absence, assistant coach, Dave Scott took charge of the team. Former Super League player
Eorl Crabtree Eorl Crabtree (born 2 October 1982) is a British former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for England, and at club level in the Super League for the Huddersfield Giants, wh ...
became managing director of the Midlands Hurricanes in January 2025.


2024: Midlands Hurricanes Women

In 2024, the club introduced a women's team, coached by Jamie-Lee Jones and captained by Kelly Gell, who debuted on 27 April 2024 at the Rugby League Outsiders Midlands 9s tournament in Coventry. The freshly-formed team battled to the final of the tournament, enjoying wins against Loughborough University (26–4) and Leamington Royals (12–4). The final game ended in narrow defeat by the Royal Air Force (12–10), admitting the team to 2nd place in their first 9s tournament. The team's second appearance saw them travel away to Cheltenham, where they claimed a 40–18 win over Cheltenham Phoenixes in their first 13s match of the season. Their next three 13s games ended in defeat with losses to Bristol Golden Ferns (40–0), West Warriors (24–18), and the Royal Navy (26–20). The final two games of their inaugural season saw the Hurricanes Women victorious at home with wins against Leamington Royals (12–8) and Telford Raiders (10–4), leaving them in a strong position to head into the 2025 season. In March 2025, the club began announcing player retentions from the previous season ahead of their 2025 season campaign involving fixtures in Women's Southern Tier 3.


2025 squad


Seasons


Honours

League * National League Three: ::Winners (1): 2004 * RFL Midlands Division One: ::Winners (1): 2013 *RLC Midlands Premier: ::Winners (3): 2007, 2009, 2010 *RLC Midlands Division: ::Winners (2): 2001, 2002 * RLC Western Division: ::Winners (1): 2000 Cups * Harry Jepson Trophy: ::Winners (1): 2002 ::Grand Finalists (4): 2001, 2007, 2009, 2010 Nines * Midlands 9s: ::Winners (1): 2007, 2009, 2013 * Kilkenny 9s ::Winners (1): 2007 Women * RLC Women's Plate: ::Winners (1): 2010 * RLC Women's South Division: ::Winners (1): 2011


Notes


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midlands Hurricanes Rugby league teams in the West Midlands (county) Sport in Coventry Rugby clubs established in 1998 Rugby league teams in England