A BRIEF HISTORY

16

LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS RFC A BRIEF HISTORY

1919 1962-68

Loughborough College formed the original Rugby Union side in September 1919.

1930

Loughborough Colleges competed in their first Universities Athletic Union competition, beating Nottingham University 8-0 in their first match.

1939

Loughborough Colleges reached the UAU final for the first time,losing narrowly to Swansea.

1953

Loughborough Colleges won the UAU for the first time.

1984

Rex Hazeldine is appointed as Head Coach leading the side to a UAU title and victory in the Leicestershire Cup. A touring Australian Universities side was also defeated.

1976

These were spectacular years for Loughborough, winning every UAU title except 1965. Gerald Davies, John Mantle, Dave Rollit, John Taylor, Bev Risman and Colin MacFadyean, became world class players. John Robins became the first British and Irish Lions coach.

Middlesex 7s winners: 1959, 1964 1966, 1970 and 1976.

1996

Loughborough enter the leagues at the bottom of the RFU pyramid. The Student’s Unions of the University of Technology and the Loughborough Colleges merged and the Loughborough Students Rugby Club was formed. The team won the UAU in 1977, 1978 and 1979, with the 1978–79 side captained by the young centre Clive Woodward.

1970

The legendary Jim Greenwood coaches the Colleges to victory in the Middlesex Sevens, and the first UAU final at Twickenham. This side was probably the strongest ever, with six future internationals, Louis Dick, David Cooke, Clive Rees, Fran Cotton, Steve Smith, and Dick Cowman.

1997

Loughborough wins over Cambridge and Oxford in consecutive weeks signals the changing balance of power in student rugby.

1998

Ian Smith is appointed as the first full-time Director of Rugby.

2003

The World Cup winning England team was coached by six Loughborough alumni: Clive Woodward, Dave Alred, Andy Robinson, Dave Reddin, Phil Larder and Simon Hardy.

2005

Winning BUCS in 2005 breaks our longest spell without a BUCS victory.

2006

Real Varsity Match v Bath. Floodlights Appeal provides campus venue for the first ever rugby ‘event’ and engages alumni leading to the Vice Presidents club. A 3000+ crowd watched Loughborough beat Bath.

2008

Director of Rugby Dave Morris leads the side to promotion into National League 2 North, making the team the first student side to take part in the National Leagues.

2009

The Dan James Memorial Match Loughborough 23 – 20 England U20 A magnificent achievement for Dave Morris’ team and a suitably characterful performance through which to remember Dan.

2012

Loughborough v The Barbarians. A huge match to mark the opening of the Loughborough Stadium. Andy Robinson’s Barbarian side win 40– 7. Loughborough promoted into National League 1.

2016

Fiji win the first Olympic 7s competition coached by Loughborough alumni Ben Ryan, defeating Team GB in the process and fellow Loughborough alumni Phil Burgess.

2017

Loughborough Lightning enter the Tyrrells Premier 15s league.

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