 | |||
| Full name | Nottingham Rugby Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire RFU | ||
| Founded | 1877; 149 years ago (1877) | ||
| Ground | Lady Bay Sports Ground (Capacity: 3,700[a]) | ||
| Chairman | Alistair Bow | ||
| President | Nigel Bettinson-Eatch | ||
| Director of Rugby | Craig Hammond | ||
| League | Champ Rugby | ||
| 2024–25 | 7th | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| nottinghamrugby.co.uk | |||
Nottingham Rugby Club is arugby union club based inNottingham, England. The club's first team currently plays in theChamp Rugby, the second tier of theEnglish rugby union system.
The first XV are nicknamed The Archers, in reference to the famousRobin Hood. Now situated in theLady Bay area of Nottingham, the club was formerly based atMeadow Lane, the home ground ofNotts County F.C. They previously played at Ireland Avenue inBeeston until the end of the 2005–06 season.
The club was established circa 1877 by Alexander Birkin after returning fromRugby School, where he was introduced to the sport. The Birkin family later purchased the land at Ireland Avenue that would be the home of the club until 2006.
The club's heyday was in the late 1980s with a number of top international players representing the first XV. These includedSimon Hodgkinson,Rob Andrew,Gary Rees,Dusty Hare andBrian Moore (also aLion) representing England andChris Gray representing Scotland.
The advent of professionalism[citation needed] saw the Green & Whites fall on hard times and the first XV narrowly avoided relegation to the regional divisions in 2002–03. The club has bounced back since then and was promoted into National League One in 2003–04. The club finished a creditable 7th in 2005–06 before leaving Ireland Avenue after 102 years. Alistair Bow was appointed chairman in 2010 after having been a director since 2008.
On 30 July 2010 the club signed an agreement to become part of Notts County PLC.[1]
In early July 2012 it was announced that Martin Haag had become the new director of rugby at the club.Martin Haag appointed Dan Montagu captain on 21 July 2015. He replaced Brent Wilson who retired at the end of 2014–15 season. Since then Ian Costello has been appointed as Head Coach, with Neil Fowkes and Alex O'Dowd rounding out the coaching team.
A change in funding by the RFU ahead of the 2020–21 season forced the club into become only a part-time professional club.[2]
Founded in 1877, the club originally played in a field behind the White Hart Inn inLenton. In 1904 the club purchased land in the village ofBeeston and were able to have their first permanent ground, initially known as Rylands Road but becoming Ireland Avenue by 1947. By the advent of league rugby in the late 1980s the capacity of Ireland Avenue was 4,990 which included a covered grandstand with 590 seats and space for around 4,400 standing.[3] The club would play at Ireland Avenue for over a century, eventually selling the ground for housing development in 2004.[4][5]
The club spent a couple of seasons ground sharing atNotts County's home,Meadow Lane between 2004 and 2006. Since 2006 the club have been based at Lady Bay Sports Ground atLady Bay. Ground capacity at Lady Bay was originally 3,500 but this has risen to 3,700 for the 2024–25 season, when a Lady Bay ground record of 3,690 watched the club'sPremiership Rugby Cup game againstLeicester Tigers on 22 November 2024.[6]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ealing Trailfinders | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 748 | 284 | +464 | 15 | 0 | 83 | Play-off semi-finals |
| 2 | Worcester Warriors | 17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 604 | 393 | +211 | 14 | 5 | 63 | |
| 3 | Bedford Blues | 17 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 505 | 424 | +81 | 13 | 2 | 61 | Play-off quarter-finals |
| 4 | Hartpury | 17 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 483 | 446 | +37 | 9 | 1 | 56 | |
| 5 | Coventry | 17 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 624 | 499 | +125 | 14 | 5 | 55 | |
| 6 | Chinnor | 17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 431 | 385 | +46 | 6 | 4 | 54 | |
| 7 | Nottingham | 17 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 427 | 384 | +43 | 11 | 6 | 51 | |
| 8 | Cornish Pirates | 17 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 486 | 444 | +42 | 11 | 3 | 48 | |
| 9 | Caldy | 17 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 389 | 466 | −77 | 9 | 2 | 43 | |
| 10 | Doncaster Knights | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 454 | 403 | +51 | 8 | 4 | 42 | |
| 11 | Ampthill | 17 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 414 | 648 | −234 | 10 | 3 | 37 | |
| 12 | Richmond | 17 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 343 | 496 | −153 | 3 | 4 | 27 | Relegation play-off |
| 13 | London Scottish | 17 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 310 | 557 | −247 | 5 | 2 | 23 | |
| 14 | Cambridge | 17 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 293 | 682 | −389 | 6 | 4 | 12 | Relegated |
The Nottingham squad for the2025–26 season is:[7][b]
Note: Flags indicate national union underWorld Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
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The following Nottingham players have been selected for theLions tours while at the club:
The following are players which have represented their countries at theRugby World Cup while playing for Nottingham:
| Tournament | Players selected | England players | Other national team players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 2 | Brian Moore,Gary Rees | |
| 1991 | 3 | Gary Rees,Simon Hodgkinson | Chris Gray |
| 2011 | 4 | James Arlidge ,Sione Kalamafoni ,Tim Usasz ,Filipo Levi | |
| 2019 | 1 | Shane O'Leary |
The following players have played for Nottingham and have been capped by their national side.
Rob Andrew,England andBritish & Irish LionsVincent Cartwright,England captainDusty Hare,England andBritish & Irish LionsChris Wyles,United States
Ali Williams,All Black #1022Chris Oti,EnglandTom Youngs,England andBritish & Irish LionsAlex Corbisiero,England andBritish & Irish LionsNick Preston,EnglandNeil Back,England andBritish & Irish LionsBilly Twelvetrees,EnglandOllie Chessum,England andBritish & Irish LionsJoe Carpenter,EnglandGeorge Furbank,EnglandWill Stuart,England andBritish & Irish Lions
Josh Adams,Wales andBritish & Irish LionsEllis Mee,Wales
Ale Loman,Sweden
