Durham City Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Durham, County Durham. The mens first XV currently play in Regional 2 North, a sixth tier league in the English rugby union system. The womens first XV competes in NC3. The club runs a mens 2nd XV, a womens 2nd XV, colts team and the full range of mini and junior sides.[1]
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| Full name | Durham City Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Durham County Rugby Football Union | |
| Founded | 1872 | |
| Location | Durham, County Durham, England | |
| Ground(s) | Hollow Drift (Capacity: 1,500 (500 seats)) | |
| League(s) | Regional 2 North | |
| 2023–24 | 4th | |
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| Official website | ||
| www | ||
League history
edit
When league rugby was introduced in 1987, Durham City was allocated a place in the fourth tier, playing in Area 4 North, ending the first season as runner-up. The club stayed at that level until 1993 when a league restructure by the RFU saw the club placed in a new fifth tier – Courage League Division 5. However the club was relegated from that league after just one season[2] and the club has subsequently played in the regional leagues, fluctuating between North 1 East and Durham/Northumberland 1.
Honours
edit- Durham County RFU Senior Cup winners (20): 1885, 1888, 1910, 1921, 1929, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1988, 2024
- Durham/Northumberland 1 champions (2): 2015–16, 2018–19
Ground
editThe club have played at Hollow Drift on Green Lane, Durham, since 1885.[5] In October 1905, the ground hosted The Original All Blacks tour match against Durham County, the English county champions, with the All Blacks winning 16–3 in front of a crowd of 8,000 but Durham scoring the first try the New Zealanders had conceded on the tour.[6][7]
The current stand was erected in 1950 as both a war memorial (the memorial plaque is now on the front of the club house) and a replacement for the previous grandstand that was in poor condition and had been damaged by a gale in 1942.[6][8]
The ground is part of the Durham University estate (although the club house is not), and is also used by Durham University RFC. It was identified in the university's 2017–2027 masterplan as one of the sites 'for possible strategic investment';[9] as of 2022,[update] the university had raised £500,000 towards a £1.5 million goal to redevelop the ground, including a new 500-seat stand and an artificial grass pitch.[10]
References
edit- ^ Official website teams page
- ^ "Courage League - Division 5 1993/94". The Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "2015-16 Northern Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "2018-19 Northern Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Hollow Drift". North East Heritage Library. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ a b Chris Lloyd (18 November 2022). "County Durham brothers & rugby players who made the ultimate sacrifice". Northern Echo.
- ^ "All Blacks vs Durham". All Blacks. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "Memorial details". North East War Memorial Project. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Masterplan Executive Summary" (PDF). Durham University. p. 7. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Annual Donor Report 2021/22" (PDF). Durham University. p. 10. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
