King's College Hospital RFC is an open rugby union club founded in the 19th century as a football club whose representatives were made up of medics from King's College Hospital. In its original form it was one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union, and produced a number of international players in the sport's early international fixtures. The merging of King's College Hospital medical department in 1999 with the already merged Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital led to the creation of Guy's, Kings and St. Thomas' Rugby Football Club, an amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history. King's College Hospital Rugby Football Club opted to remain a separate entity in so doing became an open rugby club that no longer represented the Hospital medics.
In 1869, 90 members from King's College formed a football club representing faculties including the Medical Department. The club played football using a modified form of the Rugby School code. On 26 January 1871, they sent representation in the form of CM Madden and CE Pope to a meeting of twenty-one London and suburban football clubs that followed Rugby School rules assembled at the Pall Mall Restaurant in Regent Street. E.C. Holmes, captain of the Richmond Club assumed the presidency. It was resolved unanimously that the formation of a Rugby Football Society was desirable and thus the Rugby Football Union was formed. A president, a secretary and treasurer, and a committee of thirteen were elected, to whom was entrusted the drawing-up of the laws of the game upon the basis of the code in use at Rugby School. Although King's College was considered prominent enough to have been invited, they did not gain any of the thirteen places on the original committee.[2]
The team entered the Inter-Hospital Challenge Cup (aka the United Hospitals Challenge Cup) from 1874.[1] The team played in every competition until they became an open club in the mid-1990s, and although they reached the final four times, they never once lifted the trophy. The club's move away from its direct association with the Hospital means that it is no longer eligible to enter the tournament.
The early twentieth century saw the club in a period of demise. A report from the 1903 season goes towards explaining why the club found itself in that predicament:
"This season, more than ever before, the difficulty in raising teams is overwhelming. Richmond Club claims our heavy forwards and our best half, hospital duties seem to claim others, whilst general slackness and old age appear to render others a suitable excuse for not playing."[1]
It appears that such was the nadir the club was in at this time that it was no longer recognised by the Rugby Football Union, the organisation it had been a founding member of. In 1920 a concerted effort was made to resurrect the club, to dispel the 'appalling apathy displayed by so many. The effects of the rejuvenation began with KCH being recognised by the Union in 1921. In 1924 they won 10 of 13 games and reached the final rounds of the Hospital Cup, a feat which was almost repeated the following season when King's fell in the semi-final to Guy's Hospital. King's found themselves in the finals of 1926 and 1929 where Guy's were victorious, and in the final of 1935 they lost to St. Mary's.[1]
During the 1920s and 1930s a number of international players played for King's among them being the England and 1924 British Lions captain, Dr Ron Cove-Smith, as well as the 1927 British Lions captain and Scotland International Dr D J Macmyn (who later became President of the Scottish Rugby Union). W R F Collis of Ireland was another international capped player.[1]
The 1940s, '50s and '60s were undistinguished for the club and it is notable that a single victory in the 1965 Hospital's Cup championship match was the first in seven seasons. The 1970s saw some improvement with a 1971 playing record of played 35, Won 25 and a narrow defeat to Bart's Hospital in the Semi-final of the Cup.[1] In 1976 as the Club won 27 out of a possible 38. In 1975 the clubhouse on Dog Kennel Hill was lost to fire having stood since 1921. New facilities were built and the club continued to play on Dog Kennel Hill until 1990. Between 1990 and 2012, King's played their homes games at the Griffin Sports Club on Dulwich Village. In the summer of 2012, coinciding with their promotion to the Kent 1 RFU league, King's moved to their new home at the Dulwich Sports Ground in Turney Road, Dulwich.[1]
In 1999 Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' Medical Departments merged to become one and so too did the Rugby teams that represented their respective medics. King's College Hospital Rugby Football Club opted to remain a separate entity in so doing became an open rugby club that no longer represented the Hospital medics. In so doing they maintained their status as one of the oldest clubs in the World. The early years of the new millennium have seen success in the merit leagues and an invitation to compete in Kent Rugby's leagues. As of 2023 Byron Crofton holds the record for try scoring, drop goals and most appearances. {www.simplythe best.co.uk}. As of 2020 David "Groundhog" Phillips holds the record as the oldest player to turn out for the first team at 78 years old. In 2019 KCHRFC were awarded the Guinness World record for the heaviest front row in a senior grade game - made up of Byron Crofton, Jack Mcavoy and Byron's Mum averaging 28.1 stone per player. Jack and Byron's mum are due to marry to Corfu in June 2023. In 2023 Byron Crofton was voted best Joe Larler lookalike by Pikey Weekly. In the 2011/12 season King's obtained promotion to the Kent 1 RFU league.[1]
^ abcdefghOfficial Website of King's College Hospital RFC
^Marshall, Francis, Football; the Rugby union game, p68, (1892) (London Paris Melbourne, Cassell and company, limited)
External linksedit
Official website
April 12, 2024
king, college, hospital, confused, with, king, college, london, rugby, football, club, open, rugby, union, club, founded, 19th, century, football, club, whose, representatives, were, made, medics, from, king, college, hospital, original, form, twenty, founding. Not to be confused with King s College London Rugby Football Club King s College Hospital RFC is an open rugby union club founded in the 19th century as a football club whose representatives were made up of medics from King s College Hospital In its original form it was one of the twenty one founding members of the Rugby Football Union and produced a number of international players in the sport s early international fixtures The merging of King s College Hospital medical department in 1999 with the already merged Guy s Hospital and St Thomas Hospital led to the creation of Guy s Kings and St Thomas Rugby Football Club an amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history King s College Hospital Rugby Football Club opted to remain a separate entity in so doing became an open rugby club that no longer represented the Hospital medics King s College HospitalFull nameKing s College Hospital Rugby Football ClubUnionKent RFUNickname s KCHRFCFounded1869 155 years ago 1869 1 better source needed LocationDulwich Southwark London EnglandGround s Dulwich Sports GroundChairmanMarc AveryCoach es Ed CurranCaptain s John LedgerLeague s Kent 12019 203rdTeam kitOfficial websitekchrfc wbr co wbr uk Contents 1 History 2 International Players 3 Club Honours 4 References 5 External linksHistory editIn 1869 90 members from King s College formed a football club representing faculties including the Medical Department The club played football using a modified form of the Rugby School code On 26 January 1871 they sent representation in the form of CM Madden and CE Pope to a meeting of twenty one London and suburban football clubs that followed Rugby School rules assembled at the Pall Mall Restaurant in Regent Street E C Holmes captain of the Richmond Club assumed the presidency It was resolved unanimously that the formation of a Rugby Football Society was desirable and thus the Rugby Football Union was formed A president a secretary and treasurer and a committee of thirteen were elected to whom was entrusted the drawing up of the laws of the game upon the basis of the code in use at Rugby School Although King s College was considered prominent enough to have been invited they did not gain any of the thirteen places on the original committee 2 The team entered the Inter Hospital Challenge Cup aka the United Hospitals Challenge Cup from 1874 1 The team played in every competition until they became an open club in the mid 1990s and although they reached the final four times they never once lifted the trophy The club s move away from its direct association with the Hospital means that it is no longer eligible to enter the tournament The early twentieth century saw the club in a period of demise A report from the 1903 season goes towards explaining why the club found itself in that predicament This season more than ever before the difficulty in raising teams is overwhelming Richmond Club claims our heavy forwards and our best half hospital duties seem to claim others whilst general slackness and old age appear to render others a suitable excuse for not playing 1 It appears that such was the nadir the club was in at this time that it was no longer recognised by the Rugby Football Union the organisation it had been a founding member of In 1920 a concerted effort was made to resurrect the club to dispel the appalling apathy displayed by so many The effects of the rejuvenation began with KCH being recognised by the Union in 1921 In 1924 they won 10 of 13 games and reached the final rounds of the Hospital Cup a feat which was almost repeated the following season when King s fell in the semi final to Guy s Hospital King s found themselves in the finals of 1926 and 1929 where Guy s were victorious and in the final of 1935 they lost to St Mary s 1 During the 1920s and 1930s a number of international players played for King s among them being the England and 1924 British Lions captain Dr Ron Cove Smith as well as the 1927 British Lions captain and Scotland International Dr D J Macmyn who later became President of the Scottish Rugby Union W R F Collis of Ireland was another international capped player 1 The 1940s 50s and 60s were undistinguished for the club and it is notable that a single victory in the 1965 Hospital s Cup championship match was the first in seven seasons The 1970s saw some improvement with a 1971 playing record of played 35 Won 25 and a narrow defeat to Bart s Hospital in the Semi final of the Cup 1 In 1976 as the Club won 27 out of a possible 38 In 1975 the clubhouse on Dog Kennel Hill was lost to fire having stood since 1921 New facilities were built and the club continued to play on Dog Kennel Hill until 1990 Between 1990 and 2012 King s played their homes games at the Griffin Sports Club on Dulwich Village In the summer of 2012 coinciding with their promotion to the Kent 1 RFU league King s moved to their new home at the Dulwich Sports Ground in Turney Road Dulwich 1 In 1999 Guy s King s and St Thomas Medical Departments merged to become one and so too did the Rugby teams that represented their respective medics King s College Hospital Rugby Football Club opted to remain a separate entity in so doing became an open rugby club that no longer represented the Hospital medics In so doing they maintained their status as one of the oldest clubs in the World The early years of the new millennium have seen success in the merit leagues and an invitation to compete in Kent Rugby s leagues As of 2023 Byron Crofton holds the record for try scoring drop goals and most appearances www simplythe best co uk As of 2020 David Groundhog Phillips holds the record as the oldest player to turn out for the first team at 78 years old In 2019 KCHRFC were awarded the Guinness World record for the heaviest front row in a senior grade game made up of Byron Crofton Jack Mcavoy and Byron s Mum averaging 28 1 stone per player Jack and Byron s mum are due to marry to Corfu in June 2023 In 2023 Byron Crofton was voted best Joe Larler lookalike by Pikey Weekly In the 2011 12 season King s obtained promotion to the Kent 1 RFU league 1 International Players edit nbsp England W J Penny 1878 nbsp England Ronald Cove Smith 1921 29 also British Lion nbsp Scotland D J MacMyn 1925 28 also British Lion nbsp Ireland W R F Collis 1924 1926 Club Honours editSurrey 4 champions 1995 96 Kent 2 champions 2011 12References edit a b c d e f g h Official Website of King s College Hospital RFC Marshall Francis Football the Rugby union game p68 1892 London Paris Melbourne Cassell and company limited External links editOfficial website nbsp Rugby First details for King s College Hospital Rugby Football Club Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title King 27s College Hospital RFC amp oldid 1170881895, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
