Middlesex Rugby is the governing body for

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 ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

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 ...

; 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 others. They are alternatively known as anci ...

that covers areas in the ceremonial counties of

Greater London Greater may refer to: * Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film * Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 * Greater Bank, an Austra ...

, Surrey and Hertfordshire. The historic county is still in use when referring to sport, businesses and postal addresses in the area. 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. 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 Richmond F.C.).

Middlesex Sevens

The world-famous Middlesex Sevens 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 world 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 rug ...

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 Surrey under floodlights at the

Old Deer Park Old Deer Park is an area of open space within 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 and golf. Despite the ...

. 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 helped them to their 9–6 win 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 ...

). 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 }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country 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 south by Tanzania. The south ...

and five in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. 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. Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. 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 first t ...

in 1963), Chris Ralston (with

in 1963) and Brian Stoneman (twice, with

and Combined (

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

) 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

* John Dawes (

London Welsh RFC London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) 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 ...

, ,

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

and

Barbarian F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a 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 invitation. As of 2011, p ...

) * Sandy Hinshelwood ( London Scottish, and

) * Ian Conin Jones (

and ) * George James ''Hamish'' Keith ( Wasps FC and ) * Andy Ripley ( Rosslyn Park F.C., ,

and

) * Chris Ralston ( Rosslyn Park F.C., and

) * Arthur Gould (

Richmond F.C. and ) * Peter Kininmonth () * CEL "Curly" Hammond (for four successive years was captain of Harlequin F.C. and Middlesex and later captained ) *

Patrick C.R. Orr Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

( Harlequin F.C. and

) * Brian Stoneman ( Richmond F.C. and

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

)

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

– in what used to be the historic county of

, although a large number of clubs are also members of the Surrey RFU. * Askeans * Barnes * Barnet Elizabethans * Battersea Ironsides * Bec Old Boys * Bedfont Sports *

Belsize Park Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England. The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ...

* 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 of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...

* CS Rugby 1863 * Ealing Trailfinders * 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 has been held by Labour Party M ...

* Feltham Phoenix * Finchley *

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London park ...

* Footscray * Grasshoppers * Hackney *

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

* Hampstead *

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...

* Haringey Rhinos *

Harlequin Amateurs Harlequin Amateurs Rugby Football Club are a Hampton Wick-based England, English rugby union club who play their rugby in the RFU league system, currently in Counties 4 Surrey. They train and play in Bushy Park. The club formed as a result of 200 ...

Harlequin Ladies Harlequins Women, formerly known as Harlequins Ladies, are a women's rugby union club based in Guildford, Surrey, England and in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. They were founded in 1995 as the women's team of Harlequin F.C. and rebranded in 2 ...

* 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 * Ha ...

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

* Hillingdon Abbots * Kilburn Cosmos *

London Cornish London Cornish RFC is a rugby union club which was originally formed for Cornish expats in London. It was established in 1962 by a group who met in Fleet Street's Cock Tavern, and were originally known as the ″Cornish Exiles″. The club ...

* London Exiles * London Irish *

London Irish Wild Geese London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club, also known as London Irish Wild Geese, is an amateur English rugby union club based in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, who play their rugby in Regional 2 Thames – a league at tier 6 of the English rugby u ...

* London New Zealand * London Nigerian *

London Scottish Lions RFC London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a ma ...

* 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 * 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. I ...

* Northolt * Old Actonians *

Old Alleynians Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose ...

* 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 whic ...

* Old Dunstonians * Old Emanuel * Old Grammarians * Old Haberdashers * Old Haileyburians * Old Hamptonians * Old Isleworthians * Old Millhillians * Old Pauline *

Old Priorians Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

*Old Streetonians * Old Tiffinians * Old Tottonians * Old Whitgiftian *

Old Wimbledonians Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

Phantoms Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy unm ...

*Pinner & Grammarians *

Quintin Quintin (; br, Kintin) 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 Quinti ...

* Rosslyn Park *

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, and in the historic county of 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 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 ...

Saracens Amateur 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 ...

* Southgate * Southwark Lancers * Staines * Streatham-Croydon *

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

* Thamesians *

* Uxbridge *

Warlingham Warlingham is a villages in England, village in the Tandridge (district), Tandridge district of Surrey, England, south of the centre of London and east of the county town, Guildford. Warlingham is the centre of a civil parishes in England, ...

* Wasps Amateurs * West London * Whitton Lions * Wimbledon

County club competitions

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

(now part of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Leagues

* Herts/Middlesex 1 – (alongside Hertfordshire RFU) league at tier 9 of the English rugby union system * Herts/Middlesex 2 – league at tier 10

Cups

* Middlesex Senior Cup – founded in 1971, currently open to clubs at tiers 6–7 of the English rugby union system * Middlesex Bowl – founded in 2003, clubs at tiers 6–9 * Middlesex Vase – founded in 2002, clubs at tiers 9–10 *

North West Floodlight Cup North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

Discontinued competitions

* Herts/Middlesex 3 – 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 trad ...

– tier 12 league, discontinued in 2010 *

Herts/Middlesex 5 Herts/Middlesex 5 was a tier 13 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the fifth division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that trad ...

– tier 13 league, discontinued in 1997 * Middlesex 1 – 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 Middlesex 4 was an English level 13 Rugby Union league with teams from north-west London taking part. Promoted teams moved up to Middlesex 3 and since the cancellation of Middlesex 5 at the end of the 1991–92 season there was no relegation. ...

– tier 11–13 league, discontinued in 1996 *

Middlesex 5 Middlesex Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Middlesex, England; Middlesex is a historic county of England that covers areas in the ceremonial counties of Greater London, Surrey and Hertfordshire. The historic county is still in use ...

– tier 12 league, discontinued in 1992

Notes

References

External links

www.middlesexrugby.com

Middlesex Sevens

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