Dunstablians Rugby Union Football Club are an amateur

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

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, who play their rugby in

Midlands 3 East (South) Counties 2 Midlands East (South) (formerly Midlands 3 East (South)) is a level 8 English Rugby Union league and level 3 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the East Midlands region including clubs from Bedfordshi ...

, an eight tier 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 consi ...

. Their ground is located just outside nearby

Houghton Regis Houghton Regis is a market town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Bidwell, Thorn and Sewell. Houghton Regis, together with its contiguous neighbours of Dunsta ...

and is commonly known as Bidwell Park. The club run two Senior teams and a full Mini & Junior section (catering for 5-15 year old players) and Academy teams (catering for 16-18 year old players). Numerous local rivalries are shared, most notably with Stockwood Park and Luton Rugby Club.

History

In 1927, members of

Dunstable Grammar School Dunstable Grammar School was a grammar school in the market town of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. Opened in 1888, it was closed in 1971. The site is now home to residential flats and apartments. Foundation Dunstable Grammar School was est ...

formed a rugby section, based at Fensomes Field in

Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Borough of Luton, Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The current council ward is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torqu ...

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

. Unfortunately, the number of regular players dwindled, forcing the closure of the club after only three seasons. In 1948, another group of former pupils made a new start, securing a ground at French's Avenue in

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fou ...

and later moving to Skimpot Lane in Luton. In 1954 ground in Bullpond Lane, Dunstable was leased. The event was marked with a match against an East Midlands Invitation XV. It was eventually decided that a new ground was needed and the site at Bidwell Hill in Houghton Regis should be purchased, with the bulk of the financing raised through the sale of the Bullpond Lane site for housing development. In September 1985, the club opened the current clubhouse by hosting an International XV that included six past England Captains. The club has seen several promotions in the past. Highlights include the near perfect 1999/2000 season which delivered victory in all RFU competitions entered, along with League, County and East Midlands Cup success. This culminated in Dunstablians becoming National Intermediate Cup Champions at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

. A successful period followed; Dunstablians retained the County Cup in 2000/01 and added the Colts Cup to the collection. They lifted the County Cup again in 2005. During 2006/07 Dunstablians also secured the Bedfordshire County Cup, defeating

Bedford Athletic Bedford Athletic Rugby Club is a rugby union team based in Bedford, in the county of Bedfordshire. The club currently play in the fifth tier of the English rugby union system, participating in Regional 1 South East after being promoted from M ...

in the process. They then returned to Twickenham for their second Intermediate Cup Final losing 36–46 to Cornish side

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 ...

and finished 3rd in Midlands League 1 (RFU Level 5), their highest ever league placing. After a five-year wait, Dunstablians won the Beds County Cup again by defeating Stockwood Park in 2012, but since then have finished runners up in no less than three successive County Cup Finals.

Club honours

1st XV: * Midlands East 2 champions: 1997–98 * Midlands East 1 champions: 1999–00 *Bedfordshire County Cup winners (5): 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2012 *East Midlands Cup winners: 2000 * Midlands 2 East champions: 2000–01 *NPI Cup Champions: 2000 *Rugby World Magazine – Team of the Year: 2001 *Bedfordshire Shield winners: 2019 Youth *Bedfordshire Colts County Cup winners: 2001

Current squad

International honours

Notes

References

External links

Dunstablians Rugby Football Club

Rugby Football Union
{{Rugby union in England Rugby union teams in England Rugby clubs established in 1948 Rugby union in Bedfordshire Dunstable