Portobello RFC, formerly known as Portobello FP, is a

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 ...

side based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland. The first XV currently play in . Their 2nd XV play in the East Reserve League 2.

History

Portobello was founded as a former pupils club of

Portobello High School Portobello High School is a large secondary school in Portobello, Edinburgh, Portobello in the east of Edinburgh. With over 1400 pupils it is one of the largest state schools in Edinburgh and Scotland. The current headteacher, as of 2024, is Greg ...

, once one of the largest schools in Europe. It is no longer purely a haven for former pupils and welcomes players from all over the rugby world. They play their rugby at Cavalry Park in the shadow of

Arthur's Seat Arthur's Seat (, ) is an ancient extinct volcano that is the main peak of the group of hills in Edinburgh, Scotland, which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bol ...

The club was reformed in 1954 and enjoyed fixtures against the elite of the established "circuit". Portobello tried for many years to climb out of the old Edinburgh District League achieving that in the 1970s climbing through Divisions 7 to 2 in successive seasons. As recently as 2007 we were a club in doldrums with playing membership down and results on the field less than inspiring. Rather bizarrely the event that acted as a catalyst for improvement was a fire which decimated the clubhouse in May of that year. This unfortunate inferno brought friends, members and players (current and past) together to rebuild the club physically and metaphorically. The subsequent season saw a significant upturn in the playing fortunes with 1st and 2nd XV both turning in more than respectable performances. The icing on the cake was a glorious cup run culminating in an appearance in the National Plate final at Murrayfield on 3 May 2008. The 2008–09 season saw the 1st XV finishing runners up in their league while the 2nd XV finished top of the tree in their respective division. In 2009–10 the top team were once again pipped for the title by North Berwick and the SXY2S finished 3rd in their respective league. The club also runs a thriving Youth Section with teams at all Micro (Primary 1 and Primary 2), Mini (Primary 3 – Primary 7), Midi (S1 up to under-16) and Colts (under-18) levels. All coaching is run by experienced and qualified coaches The

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

team,

Dúnedin Connolly GAC Dunedin Connollys Gaelic Football Club is a Scotland GAA, Scottish GAA club based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1988, the club takes its name from the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Dùn Èideann and the surname of Ed ...

currently share their ground.

Portobello Sevens

The club run the Portobello Sevens tournament.

Honours

*Portobello Sevens ** Champions: 1983, 1984, 1990 * Edinburgh and Lothian U-16 ** Champions: 1993 ** Runners up: 1992 *

Peebles Sevens Peebles Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Peebles RFC, in Peebles, Scotland. This was one of a group of Sevens tournaments instated after the First World War extending the original Borders Spring Circuit. The Peebles Sevens began i ...

** Champions: 1987, 1990 *

Walkerburn Sevens Walkerburn Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Walkerburn RFC, in Walkerburn, Scotland. The Walkerburn Sevens was the sixth of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated, in 1911, after the bigger events of the Border Sevens spring ...

** Champions : 1974, 1981, 1983, 1984 *Livingston Sevens ** Champions: 1974, 1978, 1979, 1981 *Grangemouth Sevens ** Champions: 1983 * Gala Y.M. Sevens ** Champions: 1973 * Royal HSFP Sevens ** Champions: 1984, 1986, 1987 * Preston Lodge Sevens ** Champions: 1986 * Broughton Sevens ** Champions: 2009 * Alloa Sevens ** Champions: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 * Lismore Sevens ** Champions: 1978 * Holy Cross Sevens ** Champions: 1995 * Glenrothes Sevens ** Champions: 1980 * Haddington Sevens ** Champions: 1982, 1984, 1985 *

Edinburgh Northern Sevens Edinburgh Northern Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held by Edinburgh Northern, in the Inverleith district of Edinburgh, Scotland. History The first rugby sevens tournament took place in 1955 and it has been played in all subsequent ...

** Champions: 1970 * Edinburgh District Sevens ** Champions: 1973, 1974, 1983 * Musselburgh Sevens ** Champions: 1984 * North Berwick Sevens ** Champions: 1979 * Old Augustinians Sevens ** Champions: 1980

Notable former players

Glasgow Warriors players

References

* Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )

External links

Portobello
on pitchero.com Rugby union teams in Scotland Rugby union in Edinburgh Portobello, Edinburgh 1954 establishments in Scotland Rugby clubs established in 1954 Sports clubs and teams in Edinburgh {{Scotland-rugbyunion-team-stub