Coventry RLFC

Coventry RLFC was a semi-professional rugby league team based in Coventry, West Midlands, England that played in the Northern Rugby Football Union League in the 1910–11, 1911–12, and 1912–13 seasons.

History

The beginning

In 1874, a Coventry XV, which included members of Stoke Cricket Club, took part in what could be described as the first organised game of Rugby football in Coventry.[1] It was played against Allesley Park College at Allesley. With the game in its infancy, one half was played to Rugby rules, the other to Association.

The first headquarters were set up at the Old Bull Fields and for the first two seasons the club were unbeaten. The ground became known as "The Butts" when part of the Old Bull Fields was enclosed, the first match being against Stourbridge in October 1880. The club won the Midland Counties Cup five times in the first seven years.

Northern Union

The club converted to Northern Union in time for the start of the 1910-11 season. The new league club continued to play at the Butts. Results on the field were poor and as a consequence, so were attendances. Receipts were not sufficient to sustain the club and Coventry RLFC folded after completion of the 1912-13 season.

On the collapse of Coventry RLFC in 1913, a new club was re-constituted to play rugby union and until the outbreak of the first world war in 1914, played on a new ground at London Road made available by Col Sir William Wyley, a ground on which the government purchased and built on during the First World War.[1]

Today

Rugby League is still played in Coventry. The semi-professional Coventry Bears are currently playing in the third tier League 1.

Club League Record

For the 1910–11 to 1912–13 seasons, Coventry RLFC achieved the following record:[2]

Season Competition Pos Team Name Pl W D L PW PA Diff Pts % Pts No of teams in league Notes Ref
1910-11RL27Coventry326125288524-2361320.3128
1911-12RL23Coventry346226208646-4381420.5827
1912-13RL26Coventry270126157896-73911.8526

Heading Abbreviations
RL = Single Division; Pl = Games Played: W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose; PF = Points For; PA = Points Against; Diff = Points Difference (+ or -); Pts = League Points
% Pts = A percentage system was used to determine league positions due to clubs playing varying number of fixtures and against different opponents
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.

Notable players
  • Howard Davis signed for Warrington
  • James Ruddick signed for Warrington
  • John "Jack" Tomes (born 1885 in Rugby, and died 1960 in Coventry) won a cap for England while at Coventry in 1910 against Wales.[3]
  • William Woodburn signed for Warrington, scored two tries on his début for Warrington on Saturday 2 September 1911
gollark: The naming situation is going to be horrible given a few more years.
gollark: My naming process recently has been visiting wikipedia for fancy words which are vaguely related to the dragon. This must somehow be automatable.
gollark: What's wrong with hellhorses?
gollark: I, personally, breed most of my stuff for no reason weekly.
gollark: Are random junk, I mean.

See also

References
  1. "Coventry RFC History". Archived from the original on 20 October 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  2. Jack Winstanley & Malcolm Ryding (1975). John Player Rugby League Yearbook 1975-76. Queen Anne Press.
  3. "J. Tomes England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.