Middlesex Rugby is the governing body for

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 ...

in the former county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, England. Middlesex is a

historic county of England The historic counties of England are areas that were established for administration by the Normans, in many cases based on earlier kingdoms and shires created by the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Celts and the Danes and Norse in the North. They are ...

that covered areas that are now part of

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 ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. The historic county is still in use when referring to sport. Middlesex RFU was originally created as the Middlesex County Rugby Club but within six years was being referred to as the Middlesex County Rugby Football Union and is now known simply as Middlesex Rugby.

History

FR Adams Esq of

Richmond F.C. Richmond Rugby Club is a rugby union club in Richmond, London, England. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs (of any code). It fields teams in both men's and women's rugby; the men's fir ...

called a meeting at the Bedford Hotel at which a resolution was passed bringing the club into being. He served as the Club and Union's first president until 1883 being succeeded by E. Temple Gurdon (also of

Middlesex Sevens

The world-famous

Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 T ...

were organised by Dr. Russell-Cargill and the Middlesex Hon. Secretary CS Bongard, the first tournament taking place according to one source in 1925 and others in 1926. This was the first seven-a-side rugby festival in England. The first tournament took place at Twickenham in aid of Middlesex hospital was won by Harlequins.

Union officials

Past Presidents

''Asterisk denotes President of the R.F.U.''
''Two asterisks denotes member of the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

Honorary Secretaries

Honorary Treasurers

Members who were Presidents of the RFU

County side

Middlesex County Rugby Union was originally created as a rugby club and as such fulfilled fixtures for six years before becoming the Union for clubs within the county. After becoming a union the club continued to operate selecting players from its constituent clubs to play representative matches for the county and to go on tours. Very early in its history, Middlesex played

under floodlights at the

Old Deer Park Old Deer Park is an area of open space within Richmond, London, Richmond, owned by the Crown Estate, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It covers of which are leased as sports grounds for sports, particularly rugby, gol ...

. This is possibly the first rugby match played under floodlights as electric light had only just been invented. A floodlit game was the ideal opportunity to try out the new technology although the game was not a great success by all accounts. On 24 October 1905, Middlesex played the touring South African side at Richmond for their ninth match. The Springboks won 9 – 0, their narrowest score so far in the tour; a penalty by Douglas Morkel and try by Brink made the half time score 6 – 0 whilst in the second half the only points came from a try by Loubser. Middlesex fielded a cosmopolitan team including Jim Louwrens the South African College scrum half of 1901, three Welshmen who were also later to play for Wales (Harding, Jenkins & Williams) and the Scottish international Geddes. The match referee was Cartwright. On 2 September 1964 Staines RFC played a Middlesex XV on the occasion of the opening of their new ground, "The Reeves".

English County championship

1968 tour of East Africa

Middlesex were the English county champions for the sixth time in 1968, having defeated Warwickshire in the final (tries by Brian Stoneman and

Sandy Hinshelwood Alexander James Watt Hinshelwood (born ) is a former international rugby union player. He was capped twenty-one times for Scotland as a wing between 1966 and 1970.Griffiths, page 2:38–2:40 He scored five tries for Scotland. Hinshelwood was s ...

helped them to their 9–6 win 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 ...

). At least ten of the players that had participated in the final went on the tour in July of that year. Middlesex played a total of seven matches on a tour that lasted a little over two weeks, two games being played in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and five in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. The tourists won all seven matches comfortably and reported that the standard of rugby in the region had dropped noticeably since some members of the touring party had last played there. It was generally felt that the East African sides lacked stamina and tactical nous; the latter is understandable as the opportunities for playing high level rugby in the region were limited, though the former is surprising as much of the region is at altitude and it would be expected that the visitors would suffer more than the hosts. The Middlesex tour party consisted of 70 members though the minority of these were players, the majority were officials and non-playing members who were travelling as supporters. Amongst the players, at least three had previously toured East Africa; Patrick Orr (twice, with

Anti-Assassins The Anti-Assassins Rugby Union Football team (A-As) was an invitation team that selected players from the northern counties of England to play friendly charitable matches locally and to go on tour. The team was remodelled in 2004, teaming up with ...

in 1965 and Richmond F. C. in 1963), Chris Ralston (with Richmond F. C. in 1963) and Brian Stoneman (twice, with Richmond F. C. and Combined (

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

) Universities, both in 1963). Middlesex scored 262 points in seven matches, an average of more than 37 per game. In total they conceded only 14 points. They scored 61 tries, 32 conversions, three penalty-goals and two dropped-goals. Top scorer was Gordon MacDonald (45 points, all from goal-kicking), Ricky Parsons was second highest scorer (33 points, from 5 tries, the rest from goal-kicking), Mike Alder was third (31 points from 6 tries, the rest from goal-kicking). Top try scorers were Tim Rutter and Robin Jolliffe (7 each), Mike Alder and Roger Weaver (6 each). Francis Mann was the outstanding player of the tour. The tour had been organised by the Middlesex Hon. Secretary Barry Boyden, his assistant Cyril Brandon and the RFUEA's appointed Tour Chairman Bernard Nicholls. As with all rugby tours to East Africa in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, it would not have been possible without the hosting arrangements offered by the rugby fraternity in Kenya and Uganda; in order to cut down on costs, members of the tour party were welcomed into the homes of the hosts and provided for in a manner that was acclaimed by those that were lucky enough to have toured the region. Hence the frequency with which first time tourists rapidly made certain they returned a second or third time.

Notable players

These players have played test rugby. *

Lawrence Dallaglio Lorenzo Bruno Nero Dallaglio (born 10 August 1972) is an English retired rugby union player. He is a former captain of England, and a 2016 inductee of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Dallaglio played as a flanker or number eight for London ...

, (

Wasps FC {{Infobox rugby team , teamname = Wasps Football Club , nickname = , image = , colours = Black and yellow , fullname = , founded = 1867 , ground = Twyford Avenue Sports Ground , capacity = , location = Acton, Ealing, ...

, ,

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

and

Barbarian F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians, is a Great Britain, British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitatio ...

) * Rob Lozowski (

, and

) * Chris Sheasby (

Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of ...

, and ) * Bob Mordell (

, and ) *

John Dawes Sydney John Dawes (29 June 194016 April 2021) was a Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach. He captained London Welsh, Wales, the 1971 British Lions and the Barbarians. He is credited with being a major influence in t ...

(

London Welsh RFC London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...

, ,

and

) *

( London Scottish, and

) * Ian Conin Jones (

and ) * George James * Hamish Keith (

and ) * Andy Ripley (

Rosslyn Park F.C. Rosslyn Park Football Club is a rugby union club based in south west London currently playing in National League 1 - a tier 3 league in the English rugby union system. History Founded in 1879 by cricketing friends in north London, at the end o ...

, ,

and

) * Chris Ralston (

, and

) * Arthur Gould (

and ) * Peter Kininmonth () * CEL "Curly" Hammond (for four successive years was captain of

and Middlesex and later captained ) * Patrick C.R. Orr (

and

) * Brian Stoneman (

and

) * Charles Webster Thorburn ( Guy's Hospital RFC and

) * Thomas Lawther (Old Millhillians) ()

Affiliated clubs

There are currently 88 clubs affiliated with the Middlesex RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. All these clubs are based in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

– in what used to be the historic county of

, although a large number of clubs are also members of the Surrey RFU. * Askeans *

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...

* Barnet Elizabethans * Battersea Ironsides * Bec Old Boys * Bedfont Sports *

Belsize Park Belsize Park is a residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, in the Inner London, inner North West London, north-west of London, England. The residential streets are lined with Georgian and Victorian villas and mews houses. ...

* Birkbeck Phantoms * Blackheath *

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

CS Rugby 1863 Civil Service Rugby, mostly known as CS Rugby 1863, currently CS STAGS 1863, is an England, English rugby union team based in Chiswick, Greater London. The club runs three senior sides and the first XV currently play in Regional 1 South Central ...

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the reigning RFU Championship champions of 2024–25 but were considered ineligible for promotion to Premiership Rugby a ...

* Effingham & Leatherhead * Enfield Ignatians * Epping Upper Clapton *

Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston (UK Parliament constituency), Felt ...

* Feltham Phoenix *

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in Harringay, north London, England. The park lies on the southern-most edge of the London Borough of Haringey. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal ...

* Footscray *

Grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

* Hackney *

Hammersmith & Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metr ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is about west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post town. Hanwell is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. St ...

* Haringey Rhinos * Harlequin Amateurs * Harlequin Ladies * Harlequins *

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

* Hillingdon Abbots * Kilburn Cosmos * London Cornish * London Exiles *

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

* London Irish Wild Geese * London New Zealand * London Nigerian * London Scottish Lions RFC * London Scottish *

London Welsh Amateur London Welsh Amateur Rugby Football Club, previously known as London Welsh Druids and as of 2017 London Welsh, is an English amateur rugby union club based at Old Deer Park in Richmond, London. They were the amateur team of London Welsh until th ...

* Merton *

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross, close to the Hertfordshire border. It was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it b ...

* Millfield Old Boys *Millwall *

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

Northolt Northolt is a town in North West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing and a smaller part in th ...

* Old Actonians * Old Alleynians * Old Cliftonians *

Old Colfeians Old Colfeians Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Lee in south London, open to anyone interested in the game! The club runs three senior teams and a veterans side and a full range of junior and girls teams, each of which ...

* Old Dunstonians * Old Emanuel * Old Grammarians * Old Haberdashers * Old Haileyburians * Old Hamptonians * Old Isleworthians * Old Millhillians * Old Pauline * Old Priorians *Old Streetonians * Old Tiffinians * Old Tottonians * Old Whitgiftian * Old Wimbledonians *Pinner & Grammarians *

Quintin Quintin (; ) is a commune in the Cotes-d'Armor department (Brittany region) in the northwest of France from Saint-Brieuc, the department capital. History The area around Quintin has been occupied since the Neolithic. Early Quintin was origina ...

* Rosslyn Park *

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is a suburb in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London. Prior to 1965 it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

* Saracens Amateur *

Southgate SouthGate is a shopping centre in Bath, Somerset, England, It is home to over fifty shops, ten restaurants, 99 homes and an 860-space underground car park. It replaced a shopping centre which was demolished in 2007. The new centre developed b ...

* Southwark Lancers * Staines * Streatham-Croydon *

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

* Thamesians *

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

Warlingham Warlingham is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, south of London and east of Guildford. Warlingham is the centre of a civil parish that includes Hamsey Green to the north. Caterham is to the southwest ...

* Wasps Amateurs *

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

* Whitton Lions *

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

County club competitions

The Middlesex RFU currently helps run the following competitions for clubs based in the historic county of

(now part of

Leagues

* Herts/Middlesex 1 – (alongside Hertfordshire RFU) league at tier 9 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 ...

* Herts/Middlesex 2 – league at tier 10

Cups

Middlesex Senior Cup The Middlesex Senior Cup is the most prestigious football cup competition in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex, England. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although league clubs have ...

– founded in 1971, currently open to clubs at tiers 6–7 of the

* Middlesex Bowl – founded in 2003, clubs at tiers 6–9 * Middlesex Vase – founded in 2002, clubs at tiers 9–10 * North West Floodlight Cup

Discontinued competitions

Herts/Middlesex 3 Herts/Middlesex 3 was a tier 11 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the third division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that belo ...

– tier 11 league, discontinued in 2014 *

Herts/Middlesex 4 Herts/Middlesex 4 was a tier 12 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the fourth division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that tr ...

– tier 12 league, discontinued in 2010 * Herts/Middlesex 5 – tier 13 league, discontinued in 1997 *

Middlesex 1 Counties 1 Middlesex (formerly Middlesex 1) is a level 8 Rugby Union league with teams from North-West London taking part. Historically the league was a level 10 completion and the division was cancelled in at the end of the 1995–96 campaign a ...

– tier 8–10 league, discontinued in 1996 * Middlesex 2 – tier 9–11 league, discontinued in 1996 * Middlesex 3 – tier 10–12 league, discontinued in 1996 * Middlesex 4 – tier 11–13 league, discontinued in 1996 * Middlesex 5 – tier 12 league, discontinued in 1992

Notes

References

External links

*
Middlesex Sevens Profile on UR7s.com

The First Middlesex Sevens From The Rugby History Society {{County rugby union in England Rugby union governing bodies in England Sports organizations established in 1879 1879 establishments in England