Richmond F.C.

Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs (of any code). It fields teams in both men's and women's rugby; the men's first team currently play in the RFU Championship following their promotion from National League 1 at the end of the 2019-20 season, while the women's first team play in the Women's Championship.

This article is about the English rugby union club. For the Australian rules football club, see Richmond Football Club.

Richmond Rugby
Full nameRichmond Rugby Club
UnionSurrey RFU
Founded1861 (1861)
LocationRichmond, London, England
Ground(s)Athletic Ground, Richmond (Capacity: 4,500 (1,000 seated))
ChairmanJohn Heaton
PresidentChris Mills
Coach(es)Steve Hill
League(s)RFU Championship
2019–20League 1, Champions (promoted)
Team kit
Official website
richmondfc.co.uk

History

Formed in 1861, it is one of the oldest football clubs in the world and holds a significant place in the history of association football, playing in the first ever match under the rules of the Football Association on 19 December 1863, against the Barnes Club,[1] even though it was not a member of the Football Association. In 1878 it hosted the first ever floodlit match and in 1909 played in the inaugural match at Twickenham Stadium, the home of English rugby.

Richmond always traditionally played without a number 13 (similar to Bath) – the outside centre would wear 14, right wing 15 and fullback 16. However, during the professional era they adopted squad numbering; meaning rather than rugby's usual method of giving numbers 1–15 to the starting line-up, players were assigned a number for the season, as seen in football. Back in the amateur leagues, Richmond returned to their traditional numbering system before promotion to the National Leagues in 2008 saw them forced to adopt the uniform 1–15 numbering system according to RFU laws.

Professional era

In 1996, the then third division club was bought by financial markets trader and Monaco tax exile Ashley Levett. Levett turned the club into the first professional team in England, and began buying in big names to push the club up the leagues, including Ben Clarke from Bath, the first £1million signing. The club outgrew the Richmond Athletic Ground and became tenants at the Madejski Stadium in Reading. But the crowds and revenues from competition meant that Levett was continually financing the club, and so he placed it in administration in March 1999.

The professional Richmond club and professional London Scottish F.C. were both merged into London Irish, who moved to the Stoop Memorial Ground before taking up tenancy at Madejski the following year.[2] This period of hesitancy and uncertainty resulted in many of the professional players leaving the club pre-merger, and returning to their original home-teams. The amateur club was reformed in 2000, and the club rejoined the leagues as an amateur club at the bottom of the pyramid.

Post administration

After the professional era, hooker Andy Cuthbert remained at the club and captained the side for several years. Despite its lowly league position, Richmond has still managed to attract some top class players - former South Africa captain Bobby Skinstad joined for the 2005–06 season, Chilean fly-half Sebastian Berti joined in 2006 and England Students' wing Joe Ajuwa was a regular starter in the 1st XV. Under head coach Andy Maren the club climbed through the lower ranks of the England rugby divisions, from Herts & Middlesex 1 (ninth level) to London 1 (fifth level) in four years, amassing a perfect record of 83 straight wins in league play in the process. However, the club seemingly stalled at that level, continuing to put together winning seasons, but failing to gain promotion in 2005–06 and 2006–07.

In the 2007–08 season, Richmond laid out a serious plan for promotion - something they had failed to achieve in the past two seasons, one reason being they had not had any semi-professional players on their books. For the 2007–08 season, the club recruited a number of semi-professional players to boost Richmond's promotion chances. One of these players was USA international Jon Hartman. Richmond eventually achieved promotion, winning all but one of their League games. The coach, Brett Taylor, laid out plans for the club to be in National League 2 South in two seasons, and attempts were made to structure the colts teams into an effective feeder system for the 1st XV. However, during summer 2008, London Scottish were boosted financially and subsequently signed Taylor as their head coach. Richmond appointed Geoff Richards to take his place. Following two years in National League Two, Geoff Richards decided not to renew his contract citing differences in opinion between the board and himself on how the club should move forward. In 2009–10 Richmond appointed Oxford University Director of Rugby Steve Hill to take over after fourteen years in charge of the university side. Within two years (summer 2011) promotion was achieved and Richmond played in National League 1 until the end of the 2015-16 season when they achieved a further promotion into the Green King IPA Championship. Following three seasons in the Championship, Richmond were relegated at the end of the 2018-19 season and forced to return to National League 1. They hit back strongly in season 2019-20, winning 20 out of 25 matches in National League 1 to finish top of the league and earn promotion back to the Championship.

Current standings
2020–21 RFU Championship Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Tries for Tries against Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1Ampthill000000000000
2Bedford Blues000000000000
3Cornish Pirates000000000000
4Coventry000000000000
5Doncaster Knights000000000000
6Ealing Trailfinders000000000000
7Hartpury University000000000000
8Jersey Reds000000000000
9London Scottish000000000000
10Nottingham000000000000
11Richmond000000000000
12Saracens000000000000
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background is the relegation place.
Source: "Greene King IPA Championship". England Rugby.

Youth

Richmond's youth section is also highly successful - London Irish fullback Delon Armitage was a member of the mini section, and London Wasps' centre Dominic Waldouck earned an England callup for the 2008 tour of New Zealand, having progressed through the agegroups at Richmond. London Wasps No.8 Hugo Ellis, another product of Richmond's youth section, captained Wales U16s, as well as England at U19 and was the England U20 Captain in the 2008 Grand Slam winning side, also reaching the finals of the iRB Junior World Championship. Yet another former Richmond Youth, Joe Simpson, winning his first full England cap in 2011 Rugby World Cup, also of London Wasps, was scrum half for the U20s. Simpson was in the England Sevens squad for the first round of the 2007–08 IRB Sevens World Series; Sevens being an important stepping stone for the development of the best youth talent.

In the 2009–10 season a colts team was revived based on the highly rated U17 age group team of the previous season, and several U19 players returning to further bolster the squad. They entered the National Colts Cup and having defeated eight opponents most notably Blackheath, they beat former champions Old Northamptonians, 25–12 at Franklin's Gardens.

Home ground

Richmond play at the Athletic Ground, Richmond, which borders Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club, and is close to other sporting facilities such as Richmond Swimming Pool, Old Deer Park and also a gym. The complex includes two pitches (pitches 3 & 4) by the front gate, the 1st team pitch and perpendicular to that, pitch 2. The site also has a disused driving range behind the 1st team pitch which has three pitches on it, and a disused bowls club. One side of the pitch has a large concrete all-seater stand, under which are the changing rooms, a canteen, shop, physio room and two bars. Also on this southern side of the pitch is a disused cricket pavilion which also contains several more changing rooms and showers. During the early professional years, a temporary stand was erected along the north side of the pitch.

Later on in the professional era, Richmond 1st team moved to the Madejski Stadium, Reading, where they played until bankruptcy. The stadium would later become London Irish's home ground, and was an early example of London rugby clubs playing in football grounds – London Wasps played at Loftus Road before moving to Adams Park, and Saracens moved to Vicarage Road.

Rivalries

Richmond contested the first ever rugby match with Blackheath F.C., and the clubs have continued to play an annual fixture to uphold the tradition – now referred to as the longest-running annual fixture in rugby. As of 2013–14, the two clubs are in the same league, after many years apart, meaning that they play each other at least twice during the regular season, in addition to the traditional pre-season fixture.

Richmond share the Athletic Ground with London Scottish, and this rivalry is very intense. Both sides experienced a high point at the beginning of the professional era and played in the Premiership. Both teams also fell into administration and dropped down to a level well below the national leagues, and though the routes taken have been slightly different, both clubs have battled their way up the leagues. As of 2013–14, London Scottish were in the Championship – one division above Richmond. In years when the clubs are in the same division, the two "home" and "away" matches are two of the most well-attended and hotly contested of the year. For the 2020-21 season, Richmond re-join their rivals in the Championship, having won promotion from National League 1.

Richmond also have a local rivalry with Barnes who they have recently frequently played as both sides sought to move into the national leagues.

At youth level, Richmond's strongest rivalry tends to be with nearby Rosslyn Park. A Richmond vs Rosslyn Park game is always surrounded by controversy of some sort.

Honours

Current squad
For player movements before or during the 2020–21 season, see List of 2020–21 RFU Championship transfers § Richmond.

The Richmond squad for the 2020–21 season are:[8]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Gino Corradi Hooker Italy
Rupert Freestone Hooker England
Ross Grimstone Hooker England
Jason Phipps Hooker England
Caldon Pike Hooker England
Toby Saysell Hooker England
Richard Townsend Hooker England
Jeremy Cunnew Prop England
Sam Curran Prop England
Kennith Dowding Prop England
Joe Tarrant Prop England
Dave Banfield Prop England
Timmy Walford Prop England
Max Crawford Lock England
Charlie Lenygon Lock England
Will Swan Lock England
Jack Allcock Back row England
Chris Davies Back row England
Chris Edwards Back row England
Adam Lee Back row England
Ed Milne Back row England
Tom Sargeant Back row England
Player Position Union
Callum Grant Scrum-half England
Rory Damant Fly-half England
Lewis Dennett Fly-half Wales
Freddie Gabbitas Fly-half England
Rory Lynn Fly-half England
Sean O'Hagan Fly-half Ireland
Chris Reakes Fly-half England
Oliver Evans Centre England
Ronnie McLean Centre United States
Cameron Mitchell Centre England
Rhys Owen Centre England
James Swan Centre England
Jono Woodward Centre England
Sam Edgerley Wing England
Martin Freeman Wing England
Nick Scott Wing England
James Simpson-Hefft Wing New Zealand
Jack Wallace Wing England
Ali Chisholm Fullback England
Rob Kirby Fullback New Zealand
Tom Platt Fullback England

Notable former players
See also Category:Richmond F.C. players

See also

Notes

    References
    1. "The History of The FA". The Football Association. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
    2. Sugar daddies Four for whom the game turned sour The Independent - 23 January 2005
    3. "UNDER 14 COMPETITIONS". www.hampshirerugby.co.uk.
    4. "Hampshire Rugby". www.hampshirerugby.co.uk.
    5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    7. "Our History". Archived from the original on 22 October 2013.
    8. http://richmondfc.co.uk/index.php/profiles
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