Nottingham R.F.C.
| Full name | Nottingham Rugby Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire RFU | ||
| Founded | 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 | |||
| www | |||
Nottingham Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently plays in the Champ Rugby, the second tier of the English rugby union system.
The first XV are nicknamed The Archers, in reference to the famous Robin Hood. Now situated in the Lady Bay area of Nottingham, the club was formerly based at Meadow Lane, the home ground of Notts County F.C. They previously played at Ireland Avenue in Beeston until the end of the 2005–06 season.
History
The club was established circa 1877 by Alexander Birkin after returning from Rugby 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 included Simon Hodgkinson, Rob Andrew, Gary Rees, Dusty Hare and Brian Moore (also a Lion) representing England and Chris Gray representing Scotland.
The advent of professionalism 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]
Ground
Founded in 1877, the club originally played in a field behind the White Hart Inn in Lenton. In 1904 the club purchased land in the village of Beeston 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 around 4,950 which included a covered grandstand with seating. The club would play at Ireland Avenue for over a century, eventually selling the ground for housing development in 2004.[3][4]
The club spent a couple of seasons ground sharing at Notts County's home, Meadow Lane between 2004 and 2006. Since 2006 the club have been based at Lady Bay Sports Ground at Lady 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's Premiership Rugby Cup game against Leicester Tigers on 22 November 2024.[5]
Honours
- Midland Counties Senior Cup winners: 1905–06
- Midland Counties Junior Cup winners: 1907–08
- Noel Syson Cup (Notts, Lincs & Derby Sevens) winners: 1935, 1936, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1959, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983
- Middlesex Sevens winners: 1944–45
- Midland Merit Table champions: 1984–85
- Selkirk Sevens winners: 1990–91
Current standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ealing Trailfinders | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 505 | 162 | +343 | 10 | 0 | 54 | Play-off semi-finals |
| 2 | Bedford Blues | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 357 | 275 | +82 | 10 | 1 | 45 | |
| 3 | Worcester Warriors | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 385 | 257 | +128 | 9 | 2 | 43 | Play-off quarter-finals |
| 4 | Hartpury | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 307 | 278 | +29 | 5 | 1 | 36 | |
| 5 | Chinnor | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 292 | 239 | +53 | 4 | 3 | 35 | |
| 6 | Coventry | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 423 | 340 | +83 | 9 | 2 | 35 | |
| 7 | Nottingham | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 280 | 257 | +23 | 8 | 4 | 34 | |
| 8 | Cornish Pirates | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 305 | 261 | +44 | 7 | 3 | 32 | |
| 9 | Ampthill | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 269 | 436 | −167 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
| 10 | Doncaster Knights | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 291 | 280 | +11 | 5 | 2 | 27 | |
| 11 | Caldy | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 247 | 295 | −48 | 6 | 2 | 24 | |
| 12 | Richmond | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 231 | 296 | −65 | 1 | 3 | 16 | Relegation play-off |
| 13 | London Scottish | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 191 | 375 | −184 | 3 | 2 | 9 | |
| 14 | Cambridge | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 189 | 521 | −332 | 4 | 2 | 6 | Relegated |
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
- Number of matches won
- Number of matches drawn
- Difference between points for and against
- Total number of points for
- Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
- Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Current squad
The Nottingham squad for the 2025–26 season is:[6]
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Notable former players
British & Irish Lions
The following Nottingham players have been selected for the Lions tours while at the club:
Rugby World Cup
The following are players which have represented their countries at the Rugby 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 |
Other notable former players
The following players have played for Nottingham and have been capped by their national side.
- Rob Andrew, England and British & Irish Lions
- Vincent Cartwright, England captain
- Dusty Hare, England and British & Irish Lions
- Chris Wyles, United States
- Ali Williams, All Black #1022
- Chris Oti, England
- Tom Youngs, England and British & Irish Lions
- Alex Corbisiero, England and British & Irish Lions
- Nick Preston, England
- Neil Back, England and British & Irish Lions
- Ellis Mee, Wales
Notes
- ^ Lady Bay capacity increased from 3,500 to 3,700 for the 2024–25 season.
References
- ^ "Ray Trew takes over Nottingham Rugby Club". BBC News. 30 July 2010.
- ^ "Planning for Next Season". Nottingham Rugby. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ "Ireland Avenue, Nottingham R.F.C, 1904-2004". The Rugby Journal. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
- ^ "A last farewell to Ireland Avenue". BBC Sport. 27 April 2006.
- ^ "Ten-try Tigers take charge to brush past Nottingham". The RugbyPaper. No. 845. 24 November 2024. p. 19.
- ^ "Senior Squad – Nottingham Rugby". Nottingham Rugby. Retrieved 18 December 2025.