Hartpury University RFC is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

club. The men's first team play in the second tier of the English rugby union league system, the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, whe ...

, having won promotion from

National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

at the end of the 2016–17 season. The club is based at Hartpury University in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and is made up primarily of the college's students and staff. Hartpury University share a close relationship with

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

side

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of t ...

, who use Hartpury's facilities as their permanent training base and provide a small number of academy players, all of whom are current or recently departed students, to supplement the Hartpury University team. Several Hartpury University players have gone on to play for Gloucester and other professional teams.Hartpury College RFC
Schoolsrugby.co.uk. Accessed 24 March 2012. They also jointly run the

Gloucester-Hartpury Women Gloucester-Hartpury Women's Rugby Football Club is a women's rugby union club based in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. They are the unified women's team of Gloucester Rugby and Hartpury University R.F.C. They were founded in 2014 and as of 2 ...

team in Women's Super Rugby.

History

Hartpury College Rugby Academy was formed in September 2000 in partnership with Gloucester Rugby, consisting of a University side that competed in the

BUCS British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

league system and under-18 teams. In 2004, The college's vision of a Saturday side came to fruition, and became known as Hartpury College RFC. Starting in the eleventh tier of the league pyramid, Hartpury lost their first ever match in the Gloucester Three North league. That was to be the last time that the club lost a league match until 2009, when they lost to Thornbury after four consecutive promotions, an EDF Junior Vase and an EDF Senior Vase. That setback did not prevent Hartpury from gaining further promotions to National League 1. During this time the team both the level six Champions Cup and EDF Intermediate Cup at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the borou ...

. In the 2016–17 season, their third at Level 3, Hartpury created history in winning National League 1 with a 100% record — winning all thirty of their fixtures and only twice failing to secure a four-try bonus point. As a result, the club now play in the Greene King IPA Championship. The first season saw them finish in 10th place, but comfortably clear of relegation. The finish continued Hartpury's remarkable record of having improved their final league position in every single year of their existence.

Honours

* RFU Gloucester Three North champions: 2004–05 * RFU Gloucester Two champions: 2005–06 * RFU Gloucester One champions: 2006–07 * EDF Junior Vase winners: 2006–07 * RFU Gloucester Premier champions: 2007–08 * EDF Senior Vase winners: 2007–08 * Tribute Western Counties North champions: 2008–09 * EDF Intermediate Cup winners: 2008–09 * Tribute South West Division 1 West champions: 2009–10 * RFU Level Six Champions Cup winners: 2009–10 * National Division Three South West champions: 2010–11 *

National Division Two 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 ...

champions: 2013–14 *

champions: 2016–17

Current standings

Current squad

The Hartpury University squad for the 2022–23 season is:

Notable former players

Gallagher Premiership

* Mat Gilbert (

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in th ...

) * Dave Lewis ( Harlequins) *

Jonny May Jonathan James May (born 1 April 1990) is a professional rugby union player for Gloucester in Premiership Rugby and for the national team. He plays as a winger and is known for his speed and try scoring. He began his senior career at Glouces ...

(

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed i ...

) *

Alex Cuthbert Alex Cuthbert (born 5 April 1990) is a Welsh rugby union player. Born in Gloucester, he plays on the Wing (rugby union), wing for the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys and the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. Early life Born in ...

(

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

) * Tom Savage (

) * Jake Polledri (

) *

Charlie Sharples Charlie Sharples (born 17 August 1989) is a former English rugby union footballer, who last played in the Aviva Premiership for Gloucester. He plays as a wing. Sharples was born in Hong Kong. As a former Gloucestershire district athlete, Sharp ...

(Gloucester Rugby) *

Elliott Stooke Elliott Stooke (born 10 September 1993) is an English professional rugby union player. His playing position is Lock. Professional career Stooke was called up to the England Saxons squad on 20 January 2014 as injury cover for Graham Kitchene ...

(Bath Rugby) *

Dan Robson Dan Robson (born 14 March 1992) is an English professional rugby union player for Pau in the French Top 14. Personal life Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Robson attended Newcastle-under-Lyme School. His father was also a rugby player for Moseley an ...

(

Wasps RFC Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in ...

) * Gareth Evans (Gloucester Rugby) * Henry Trinder (Gloucester Rugby) * Callum Braley (Gloucester Rugby) * Richard Barrington (

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

) *

Ed Shervington Ed Shervington (born 11 March 1985, in Newport), is a Welsh rugby union player, in the position of hooker for Wasps Born in Newport, Shervington debuted for Neath RFC 2003. After signing for Ospreys, he made his debut in September 2006, as a re ...

(

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic ...

) * Ryan Mills (Worcester Warriors) * Ben Vellacott (Gloucester Rugby) *

Ellis Genge Ellis Genge (born 16 February 1995) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Premiership Rugby club Bristol Bears. He made his international debut for in 2016. Genge played 26 times for Bristol in a first spel ...

(Bristol Bears) *

Callum Braley Callum Braley (born 23 March 1994) is an English rugby union player who plays for Northampton Saints in the Premiership Rugby. Braley played his early rugby with St Mary's Old Boys RFC. His first taste of senior rugby came when he made his full ...

(Gloucester Rugby)

Guinness Pro12

* Andries Pretorius (

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff ...

) *

Callum Black Callum Black (born 25 February 1986) is an American-born Irish former rugby union player for Worcester Warriors in the English Premiership. He plays as a loosehead prop. Black was born in Washington, D.C. in the United States, and raised in Eng ...

(

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Unio ...

) *

Dan Tuohy Dan Tuohy (born 18 June 1985) is an English-born Ireland international rugby union player, currently playing for Vannes after leaving Stade Français. He plays as a lock. He also captained the Barbarians in their 2016 tour against the Czech ...

(Ulster Rugby)

RFU Championship

Tristan Roberts Tristan Roberts (born 23 March 1987 in Maidstone, England) is a rugby union player who currently plays for Esher in National League 1, having previously been at US Cognac ( France's third division) and Ealing Trailfinders (RFU Championship). ...

(Bristol Rugby) *

Matt Evans Matthew Nicolas Evans (born October 22, 1986) is a Filipino actor who rose to prominence after appearing in Filipino soap operas '' Komiks Presents: Da Adventures of Pedro Penduko'', ''Tanging Yaman'' and '' Rosalka''. Evans previously competed ...

(

Cornish Pirates The Cornish Pirates ( kw, An Vorladron Gernewek) are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newly ...

) * Alex Dancer (Cornish Pirates) * Dean Brooker (Cornish Pirates) *

Jordi Pasqualin Jordi Pasqualin (born 28 March 1990 in Sheffield) is a rugby union footballer. Most recently played for London Scottish in the RFU Championship 2013-2014 after signing from Newcastle Falcons 2011-2013. Previously with Gloucester 2008-2011, hav ...

(London Scottish) * Greg King (

Moseley Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...

) * Tom Calladine (

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

) * Tom Harrison (

Plymouth Albion Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The present club was founded in 1920 from a merger between Plymouth RFC (founded 1876) and Devonport Albion RFC (founded 1876). Since 2003 they have pl ...

) * Paul Jarvis (Doncaster Knights) James Merriman ( Bristol)

References

External links

Hartpury University

Championship Rugby
{{Hartpury University squad English rugby union teams Forest of Dean Hartpury College Rugby clubs established in 2004 Rugby union in Gloucestershire University and college rugby union clubs in England