Silhillians Rugby Union Football Club is a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

club based at Copt Heath near

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

in the English West Midlands. They compete in

Regional 1 Midlands Regional 1 Midlands (until 2021–22 known as Midlands Premier and up until 2016–17 known as National League 3 Midlands) is a level five semi-professional league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When ...

following their promotion from

Regional 2 West Midlands Regional 2 Midlands West is an English level 6 rugby union league for rugby clubs in the western region of the Midlands. It includes sides from Birmingham, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Worcesters ...

in 2024. The club regularly fields a 1st and 2nd XVs and in the 'mini and junior' section teams, ages range from under 6s to under 17s and colts.

History

Origins and early days

The club was founded in 1932 as Solihull Old Boys and was exclusively for former pupils of

Solihull School Solihull School is a coeducational private day school in Solihull, West Midlands, England. Founded in 1560, it is the oldest school in the town and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History In 1560 the revenu ...

, an historic

Private School A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

. The school's headmaster at the time, Mr A R Thompson, was the club's first President and attended every meeting and fixture until his retirement in 1947. Upon the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

thirteen members of the 1st XV were called up meaning that the club was temporarily defunct but was reformed by Alan Bradbury, Mel Cooper and Claude 'CT' Coton in 1947 as the ''Old Silhillians'' (the name given to Old Boys of

. Coton was selected, at the age of 18, for the committee immediately after leaving

School A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

. 'CTC' went on to captain the 1st XV, served as President twice and was a committee member for more than fifty years. In 1953, the club moved to Dingle Lane in

and the first game on the site was a notable occasion. WC Ramsey, who was the President Elect of the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

1954-55, sent a WC Ramsey XV to play against the 'Solihull Old Boys' and over 3,000 spectators were in attendance. In 1959, the inaugural ''Birmingham and Warwickshire Old Boys

Rugby Sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

'' tournament was held for former pupils of notable schools from the region. Amongst others,

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

King Edward VI Aston King Edward VI Aston School is a selective, all-boys grammar school and specialist sports college. The school, designed by Birmingham architect J.A. Chatwin, opened in 1883 and is still, with additional buildings, located on its original site ...

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

Bablake School Bablake School is a secondary school, secondary co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school located in Coventry, England. It was founded in 1344 by Isabella of France, widow of Edward II of England, Edward II, maki ...

and

Warwick School Warwick School is a British Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent school (UK), independent boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school) for boys, in the market town of Warwick, in Warwickshire, England. Known as ...

sent former pupils to compete. In 1967, the Old Silhillians moved to their current home at Copt Heath, about 1 mile from the

campus. This season was a hugely successful one in the club's history. They won the ''Birmingham and Warwickshire Old Boys' Rugby Sevens'', beating Old Saltleians 13–5 in the final. Captained by Martin Green, they also won 8–3 against the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

1st XV. They remained one of the best Old Boys' sides in the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

for many years. One of the most significant points in the history of the club was the decision to go 'open' in 1982, i.e. they accepted members and players who had not attended

. Thus, they dropped the 'Old' from the name and became Silhillians RUFC.

Recent years

''The Sils'' were promoted to Warwickshire Division One of the 'Courage League' in 1991 under the captaincy of Alan Elliot. More recently 'The Sils' have enjoyed further promotions; in 1994 to 1996 captained by Nick Savage, 1998–99 when captained by Andrew Durrant, in 2000–01 under the captaincy of Andrew Clutterbuck and in 2012–13 captained by Peter Nicholls. Undoubtedly the club's greatest achievement to date was their appearance in the 1999 Tetley's Bitter Vase Final 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 ...

. They lost to

Billericay Rugby Football Club Billericay Rugby Football Club is a rugby football club based in Billericay. The club runs 3 teams on a Saturday with the first XV competing in Essex 1. To support the club's long term ambitions and sustainability the club is building a youth ...

19–3 but Silhillians look back fondly on that season and the experience of playing at 'Rugby HQ'. The 2007–08 season saw the Silhillians RUFC celebrate their 75th Anniversary.

Present day

Silhillians RUFC are located at the Memorial Ground in Copt Heath near Solihull. Although the site is skirted to the south and east by rural land it is only 150 yards from the

M42 motorway The M42 motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south-west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth on the way, ...

and the easy access has made Silhillians a popular fixture for touring teams or as a pre-season friendly. The rugby club shares the Memorial Clubhouse with the Old Silhillians Association (OSA), the old boys' club of

. The building houses a gymnasium, squash courts, changing facilities, a rifle range, a function room, a members' bar and administration offices for the rugby club and OSA. The youth system at the club is thriving with 11 'mini and junior' teams regularly turning out on Sundays. The high standard of education in the local area, both state and private, means that many students carry on to university and thus Silhillians 1st XV is deprived of many young players during term time. Although the club is now open to those who are not former pupils of

the link between the school and rugby club is still strong and many Old Silhillians represent Silhillians RUFC.

Club traditions

;Easter tour In May 1953 Old Silhillians Rugby Club (as then named) travelled to the Southend Rugby Festival. It has since been an annual tradition that all members of the senior squads are invited to tour with the club. Recent tours have been slightly more far-afield than Southend and have been to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. ;Annual dinner The annual dinner is a black tie event held at the Memorial Clubhouse and it is traditional that selected members of the committee and the 1st XV captain make speeches and that awards are presented. The ''Most Improved Player Award'', ''The Peter Styles Trophy'' and various top try-scorer awards are traditionally given out. ;Members' clock Those who are later than the predetermined meeting time for a fixture, according to the clock in the members' lounge, are fined at the discretion of the senior players. ;Captaincy Captains of the club will stand down at the end of their second season in the role. ;Sils Saxons The Silhillians 2nd/Development XV is known as the Sils Saxons, in the same way that the England Development XV is known as The Saxons. ;The Wedgebury Cup The Wedgebury Cup is annually contested between Silhillians RUFC and local rivals Solihull RFC. The match takes place on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

and is a popular day amongst spectators, club officials and players alike.

Honours

* Staffordshire/Warwickshire 2 champions: 1994–95 * Staffordshire/Warwickshire 1 champions: 1998–99 *

Midlands 4 West (South) Counties 3 Midlands West (East) / (South) (formerly Midlands 4 West (South)) is a level 9 English Rugby Union league and level 4 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the West Midlands region including clubs from ...

champions: 2000–01 *

Midlands 2 West (North) Counties 1 Midlands West (North) (formerly Midands 2 West (North)) is a level 7 English rugby union league and level 3 of the Midlands League, made up of clubs from the northern part of the West Midlands region including Shropshire, Staffords ...

champions: 2012–13 *

champions: 2023–24

References

External links

{{Rugby union in England Rugby union teams in England Rugby clubs established in 1932 Sport in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull Rugby union in the West Midlands (county) 1932 establishments in England