Okehampton RFC

Okehampton RFC is an English rugby union team formed in 1884, that is based in Okehampton, Devon. The club has three senior men's teams, a colts team and multiple junior teams (u-7 to u-16).[1][2] Nicknamed the 'Okes' the club's colours are maroon and gold and they play home games at the Showground. The first team currently plays in South West Premier, a league at tier 5 of the English rugby union system, having won promotion as champions of Tribute South West 1 West at the end of the 2018-19 season.

The Showground, home of Okehampton RFC
Okehampton RFC
Full nameOkehampton Rugby Football Club
UnionDevon RFU
Nickname(s)The Okes
Founded1884 (1884)
LocationOkehampton, Devon, England
Ground(s)Showground (Capacity: 1,120 (120 seats))
ChairmanRobert Barkwell
PresidentAndy Ewen
Coach(es)Gareth Evans
League(s)South West Premier
2019–204th
Team kit
Official website
www.pitchero.com/clubs/okehampton

History

Early history

Okehampton had a rugby team dating back as far as 1884, and by 1902 had registered with the Devon Rugby Football Union. The club moved grounds several times during the early days, starting at Northams Meadows in 1902, switching to North Road in 1912 and then Cowlands Field at Mill Road in the 1920s. The outbreak of World War II caused the club to close as many players went into the Armed Forces. After the war was over, the club's former ground, Cowlands Field, was sold for housing development, and they had to share with the local football side, Okehampton Argyle, at Simmonds Park. The club had initially suffered a shortage of senior players after the war but the local grammar school provided a stream of new players, while soldiers at the nearby army camp, some of whom would go on to become international players, were available from time to time.[3]

The 1950s saw the club have a period of mixed fortunes. The introduction of rugby union in the secondary modern school would later pave the way for a colts team, while the men's senior team would go unbeaten between 1951–53. By 1955 many of the players had retired and the club had several seasons of poor results but by 1958 they were back on track. By 1961 the club had moved away from Simmons Park to purchase its own ground at Oaklands, where it has remained ever since. This ground had a small grandstand, a bar, changing room facilities, as well as several school pitches across the road from the main ground, where colts and junior games could take place. With a new ground, Okehampton went from strength to strength winning the Devon County Havill Plate competition in 1979, the Devon Merit Table "B" in 1982–83 and the Devon Merit Table "A" in 1983–84.[3]

League rugby

On the advent of league rugby union in 1987, Okehampton were placed in the Western Counties league (tier 7 of the English league system) where they remained until 1996–97 when they gained promotion as champions to South West 2 West.[4] Their stay in tier 6 (the highest level the club have reached) was short lived and they were relegated after just one season in the division.[5] The club also punched well above its weight in the Devon Senior Cup, appearing as losing finalists against Plymouth Albion in 1988 and Barnstaple in 1997.[3] After a period of relative stability the club would drop down the leagues, first being relegation from Tribute Western Counties West in 2002–03 and then being relegated from Tribute Cornwall/Devon in 2004–05 in what would be the club's worst spell in its league history so far.[6][7]

From the worst spell in its modern history, Okehampton would regroup and enter one of its best. They won a league and cup double in the 2005–06, winning promotion from Devon League 1 and claiming the Devon RFU Junior Cup for the first time, defeating league rivals Cullompton 8–3 in the final.[8][9] The 2008–09 season saw the club promoted from Tribute/Cornwall Devon in second place and the following season saw them win the inaugural Devon Intermediate Cup defeating Tiverton on the final.[10] In 2016 the club returned to tier 6 by winning the Tribute Western Counties West league title.[11]

In 2019 Okehampton reached the highest level in the club's league history when it won promotion to South West Premier (level 5) after finishing as the 2018–19 Tribute South West 1 West champions. They also made it a league and cup double when they won the inaugural Devon RFU Shield by beating Devonport Services in a closely contested final at the Showground.

Ground

Okehampton RFC have been based at the Showground since 1961. The ground is situated on Glendale Road next to Okehampton Primary School in a pleasant residential area in the north-west of town, and consists of a club-house and attached stand, a main pitch and a secondary pitch just across the road for 2nd XV and junior fixtures. The ground is quite compact meaning that the capacity is limited to about 1,000 standing, plus another 120 seats in the grandstand, bringing total capacity to approximately 1,120. Parking is extremely limited in and around the ground, although if you do not mind a 5-10 minute walk (admittedly uphill) then there is plenty of parking in town.

Season summary
Season League National Cup(s) County Cup(s)
Competition/Level Position Points Competition Performance Competition Performance
1987–88Western Counties West (7)Devon Senior CupRunners up
1988–89Western Counties West (7)Pilkington Cup1st Round
1989–90Western Counties West (7)
1990–91Western Counties West (7)
1991–92Western Counties West (7)
1992–93Western Counties West (7)
1993–94Western Counties West (7)
1994–95Western Counties West (7)Pilkington Cup1st Round
1995–96Western Counties West (7)
1996–97Western Counties West (7)1st (promoted)[12]33Devon Senior CupRunners up
1997–98South West 2 West (6)12th (relegated)[13]4Tetley's Bitter Cup1st Round
1998–99Western Counties West (7)7th[14]16
1999–00Western Counties West (7)7th[15]17
2000–01Western Counties West (7)6th[16]17
2001–02Western Counties West (7)10th[17]13
2002–03Western Counties West (7)11th (relegated)[18]13
2003–04Cornwall/Devon (8)4th[19]25Powergen Junior Vase2nd Round[20]
2004–05Cornwall/Devon (8)10th (relegated)[21]15
2005–06Devon 11st (promoted)[22]40Powergen Junior Vase[23]Devon Junior CupWinners
2006–07Cornwall/Devon (8)8th[24]20EDF Energy Senior Vase2nd Round[25]
2007–08Cornwall/Devon (8)5th[26]24EDF Energy Senior Vase[27]
2008–09Cornwall/Devon (8)2nd (promoted)[28]34
2009–10Western Counties West (7)5th[29]34Devon Intermediate CupWinners
2010–11Western Counties West (7)5th[30]78[a 1]Devon Intermediate CupSemi-finals[31]
2011–12Western Counties West (7)5th[32]86Devon Intermediate CupRunners up
2012–13Western Counties West (7)6th[33]70Devon Intermediate Cup1st Round[34]
2013–14Western Counties West (7)9th[35]54Devon Intermediate Cup1st Round[36]
2014–15Western Counties West (7)7th[37]66RFU Intermediate Cup5th Round[38]Devon Intermediate CupSemi-finals[39]
2015–16Western Counties West (7)1st (promoted)[40]108RFU Intermediate Cup3rd Round[41]Devon Intermediate CupSemi-finals[42]
2016–17South West 1 West (6)8th[43]64Devon Senior CupRunners up
2017–18South West 1 West (6)5th[44]68Devon Senior Cup1st Round[45]
2018–19South West 1 West (6)1st (promoted)[46]109Devon Senior ShieldWinners
2019–20South West Premier (5)4th67.20[a 2]
2020–21South West Premier (5)
Green background stands for either league champions (with promotion) or cup winners. Blue background stands for promotion without winning league or losing cup finalists. Pink background stands for relegation.

Honours

1st team

Colts

  • Devon Colts Cup: 1982[3]

Notable former players

Notes
  1. The 2010–11 season would see the introduction of bonus points into lower league English rugby union.
  2. The season was postponed and ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom with Okehampton sitting in 4th, having played 20 games and gained 56 points. The remaining games were calculated on a 'best playing record formula', with Okehampton remaining in 4th place with 67.20 points.[47]
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See also

References
  1. "Senior Teams". Okehampton RFC (Pitchero). Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  2. "Junior Teams". Okehampton RFC (Pitchero). Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  3. "History Okehampton RFC". Oke Rugby. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  4. "Final League Tables, 1996–97". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  5. "Final League Tables 1997–98". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  6. "Final League Tables 2002–2003". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  7. "Final League Tables 2004–2005". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  8. "Devon 1 2005-06". England Rugby. 22 April 2006.
  9. "Hearts of Oke!". Tavistock Times Gazette. 6 April 2006.
  10. "Okes win Devon Intermediate Cup". Okehampton RFC. 2 May 2010.
  11. "What a great season to celebrate at Oke RFC". Princetown Gazette. 8 June 2016.
  12. "Final League Tables, 1996–97". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  13. "Final League Tables 1997–98". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  14. "Final League Tables 1998–99". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  15. "Western Counties West". England Rugby. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  16. "Final League Tables 2000–2001". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  17. "Final League Tables, 2001–2002". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  18. "Final League Tables 2002–2003". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  19. "Final League Tables 2003–2004". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  20. "Swindon shuffle for Bradford trip". The Wiltshire Gazette & Herald. 17 October 2003.
  21. "Final League Tables 2004–2005". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  22. "2005-06 South-West Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  23. "Powergen Cup Draws". The Wiltshire Gazette & Herald. 17 August 2005.
  24. "Final League Tables 2006–2007". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  25. "Spirited Okes felled by rampant Camels". Okehampton Times. 2 November 2006.
  26. "Final League Tables 2007–2008". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  27. "Westbury drawn at home in Senior Vase". The Wiltshire Gazette & Herald. 13 July 2007.
  28. "Final League Tables 2008–2009". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  29. "Final League Tables, 2009–2010". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  30. "Final League Tables, 2010–2011". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  31. "Devon RFU OFFICIAL HANDBOOK 2011-12" (PDF). Devon RFU. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  32. "Final League Tables 2011–2012". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  33. "Final League Tables 2012–2013". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  34. "Okes dumped out of cup". Okehampton RFC (Pitchero). 10 November 2012.
  35. "Final League Tables, 2013–2014". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  36. "Bideford 19 vs. 0 Okehampton". Okehampton RFC (Pitchero). 21 December 2013.
  37. "Tribute Western Counties West 2014–2015". England Rugby. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  38. "RUGBY: Twickenham dreams end for Penryn". South West Farmer. 27 January 2015.
  39. "1st XV through to Devon Cup Final". Kingsbridge RFC. 10 April 2015.
  40. "Tribute Western Counties West 2015–2016". England Rugby. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  41. "South West Division Cups". England Rugby. 2 January 2016.
  42. "Kings crush Crediton to claim cup". South Hams Gazette. 25 April 2016.
  43. "Tribute South West 1 West 2016–2017". England Rugby. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  44. "Tribute South West 1 West 2017–2018". England Rugby. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  45. "2017/18 Devon Senior & Intermediate Cup/Shield draws". Devon RFU. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  46. "Tribute South West 1 West 2018–2019". England Rugby. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  47. "RFU confirms league positions". England Rugby. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  48. "White and Croft return to boost Tigers' cause". This is Devon. 25 February 2011.
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