Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union


The Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union is the union responsible for rugby union in the county of Gloucestershire, England and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union. Formed in 1878, it has won the county championship on numerous occasions.

History

The Union was formed at a meeting held at Gloucester in September, 1878. At that meeting, the clubs represented were Clifton RFC, Gloucester RFC, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester RFC, Rockleage, Stroud, and Cheltenham White Cross. The Union was formed mainly due to the efforts of J. D. Miller, J. H. Dunn, and J. F. Brown. all of whom were amongst the Union's first officers. For many years, the playing strength depended almost entirely on the Clifton and Gloucester Clubs. In the first five seasons the Union side only lost two of seventeen fixtures in Inter-County matches. The RFU recognised its success by electing in 1880 J. D. Miller to represent the West of England on the central executive. Ironically, the representative side then went through a period in which they had a very poor record. From 1883 to 1889 the team played only 10 times and of these 6 were lost, 3 drawn, and only 1 won. It was noted that the fortunes of the county side mirrored the success of the Gloucester City club side. When the Gloucester City side revived in the early 1890s, so to did the County, and in the seasons 1889-90, 1890–91, 1891–92, Gloucestershire lost two matches only.
In the first year of the County Championship Gloucestershire were the winners in the South-Western group, but when they entered the second phase, they were crushed by Lancashire.

County side

Honours

YearWinnersHome TeamScoreAway TeamVenueNotes
1902Durham CountyGloucestershire3-9Durham CountyGloucester
1910GloucestershireGloucestershire23-0YorkshireGloucester
1913GloucestershireCumberland3-14GloucestershireCarlisle
1920GloucestershireYorkshire3-27GloucestershireBradford
1921GloucestershireGloucestershire31-4LeicestershireKingsholm
1922GloucestershireNorth Midlands0-19GloucestershireAston Villa
1925LeicestershireGloucestershire6-14LeicestershireBristol
1930GloucestershireLancashire7-13GloucestershireBlundellsands
1931GloucestershireGloucestershire10-9WarwickshireGloucester
1932GloucestershireDurham County3-9GloucestershireBlaydon-on-Tyne
1934East MidlandsEast Midlands10-0GloucestershireNorthampton
1937GloucestershireGloucestershire5-0East MidlandsBristol
1947LancashireLancashire8-8GloucestershireBlundellsands
1947LancashireGloucestershire3-14LancashireKingsholmReplay match
1949LancashireLancashire9-3GloucestershireBlundellsands
1959WarwickshireGloucestershire9-14WarwickshireMemorial Ground Bristol
1970StaffordshireStaffordshire11-9GloucestershireBurton on Trent
1971SurreyGloucestershire3-14SurreyKingsholm
1972GloucestershireWarwickshire6-11GloucestershireCoundon Road, Coventry
1973LancashireGloucestershire12-17LancashireMemorial Ground Bristol
1974GloucestershireLancashire12-22GloucestershireBlundellsands
1975GloucestershireGloucestershire13-9East CountiesKingsholm
1976GloucestershireMiddlesex9-24GloucestershireRichmond Athletic Ground
1978North MidlandsNorth Midlands10-7GloucestershireThe Reddings, Moseley
1980LancashireLancashire21-15GloucestershireVale of Lune
1982NorthumberlandGloucestershire6-15NorthumberlandKingsholm
1983GloucestershireGloucestershire19-7YorkshireMemorial Ground Bristol-

From 1984 all Championship finals were played at Twickenham.
YearWinnersScoreRunner's UpVenueNotes
1984Gloucestershire36-18SomersetTwickenham
1996Gloucestershire17-13WarwickshireTwickenham
1999Cornwall25-15GloucestershireTwickenham
2002Gloucestershire26-23CheshireTwickenham
2003Lancashire24-18GloucestershireTwickenham
2004Devon43-14GloucestershireTwickenham
2009Lancashire32-18GloucestershireTwickenham

Notable players for the County side

Many notable players have represented the county.
Formed by Clifton RFC, Gloucester RFC, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester RFC, Rockleage, Stroud, and Cheltenham White Cross, by 1891, the Union consisted of ten clubs, viz.,
Gloucester, Clifton, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, Bristol, Cheltenham, Lydney, Sharpness, Dursley, Stroud, and Gordon Wanderers. In its early days, only Gloucester City was rated as a first class side, and this was deemed the county's weakness. Since then, the fortunes of the constituent clubs has varied enormously.
Today there are 74 clubs affiliated with the Gloucestershire RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. Geographically, most clubs in the RFU are from Gloucestershire or Bristol, although several teams are based in bordering counties such as Somerset. In turn clubs are affiliated with one of the five combinations – Bristol, Cheltenham, Forest of Dean, North Gloucestershire and Stroud – that make up the Gloucestershire RFU.
The Gloucester RFU currently runs the following club competitions for club sides in Gloucestershire and parts of Bristol:

Leagues

Although in the past there has been a cup covering the whole of the county, Gloucestershire currently has competitions for each of the five affiliated bodies that make up the Gloucestershire RFU. These are as follows:
Bristol Combination
Cheltenham Combination
Forest of Dean Combination
North Gloucestershire Combination
Stroud & District Combination