Northumberland Rugby Football Union

Governing body for rugby union in England

Rugby team

Northumberland RFUFull name| Northumberland Rugby Football Union

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Union| RFU
Founded| 1880; 145 years ago (1880)
Region|  Northumberland
President|  Ruth Scott
Coach(es)|  Darren Cunningham

Team kit

Official website
northumberlandrugbyunion.com

The Northumberland Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in the historic county of Northumberland, England and one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union having been formed in 1880.[1] In addition, the county has won the county championship on two occasions, and finished runners-up on a further five occasions.

## History

[edit]

The Union was founded in 1880 by six club sides. The six founding members were The Northumberland Football Club (defunct), The (original) Borough of Tynemouth Football Club (defunct), The Northern Football Club, The (original) Gosforth Football Club, The Tynedale Football Club and The Percy Park Football Club.

Northumberland were one of the very few counties to own their own ground. In 1912 they began using the land of the Northumberland County Ground and later built a stadium. Many international fixtures were played there; all County Finals were played at the ground until it was demolished in 1988.

Northumberland County Ground in 1965

After moving from Scotland where he played for Royal HSFP and Edinburgh, James Robertson then played for Northumberland, a local club - but not the County team. Robertson was the first known black rugby union player.[2]

## Northumberland senior men's county honours

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* County Championship winners (2): 1898, 1981
* County Championship Plate winners (4): 2003, 2008, 2011, 2013

## Affiliated clubs

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There are currently 24 clubs [3] affiliated with the Northumberland RFU, making it one of the smaller unions in England. Most of the clubs in the Northumberland RFU have teams at both senior and junior level and are based either in Northumberland or Tyne and Wear.

* Alnwick
* Ashington
* Berwick[a 1]
* Blyth
* Border Park
* Gosforth
* Medicals
* Morpeth
* Newcastle Falcons
* Newcastle Ravens
* Newcastle University
* North Shields
* Northern
* Northumbria University
* Novocastrians
* Percy Park
* Ponteland
* Prudhoe & Stocksfield
* Seghill
* Tynedale
* Wallsend
* West End
* West Tynedale
* Whitley Bay Rockcliff

## County club competitions

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The Northumberland RFU currently runs the following competitions for club sides based in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear:

### Leagues

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* Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland (alongside Durham RFU) - league ranked at tier 7 of the English rugby union system for clubs that are based in either County Durham, Northumberland or Tyne and Wear
* Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland \- tier 8 league
* Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland \- tier 9 league

### Cups

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* Northumberland Senior Cup \- founded in 1882, typically open to clubs at tiers 4-6 of the English rugby union system
* Northumberland Senior Plate \- founded in 2002, open to clubs at tiers 7–9

[4]

### Discontinued competitions

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* Durham/Northumberland 4 \- tier 10 league that was discontinued in 2006

## Note

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1. ^ Despite being based in Northumberland, Berwick play in the Scottish Regional League and are joint members of both the Northumberland RFU and the Scottish RU.

## See also

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* Northern Division
* English rugby union system

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "History - Northumberland Rugby Union". Retrieved 30 January 2017.
2. ^ "The hidden history of Scotland's first black rugby player".
3. ^ "FIND A CLUB". Northumberland RFU. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
4. ^ "Senior Cup". 27 August 2014.

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Rugby union in England

Governing body|

* Rugby Football Union
* Rugby Football Union for Women (merged into the RFU)

National teams|

| Men's|

* England
* England A
* 7's
* U-21
* U-20
* U-18
* British & Irish Lions
* England Counties XV

|

Women's|

* Women's
* 7's

International competitions|

| Men's|

* World Cup
* Six Nations
* Rugby World Cup Sevens
* Sevens World Series
* Sevens Grand Prix Series
* Commonwealth Games

|

Women's|

* World Cup
* Six Nations
* World Series Sevens

Competition divisions|

| Men's|

* Premiership
* Champ Rugby
* National Leagues
* London and SE Division
* Northern Division
* Midland Division
* South West Division
* United Hospitals Cup

|

Women's|

* Premiership Women's Rugby

European competitions|

* European Rugby Champions Cup
* European Rugby Challenge Cup

National competitions|

* Premiership Rugby
* Premiership Cup
* Champ Rugby
* National League 1
* National League 2 East
* National League 2 North
* National League 2 West
* RFU Intermediate Cup
* RFU Senior Vase
* RFU Junior Vase
* Premiership Rugby Sevens Series
* Women's Premiership
* Premier 15s

London and South East
competitions|

* Regional 1 South East
* Regional 1 South Central
* Regional 2 Anglia
* Regional 2 South Central
* Regional 2 South East
* Regional 2 Thames
* London 1 North
* London 2 North East
* London 2 North West
* London 2 South East
* London 2 South West
* London 3 North West
* London 3 South East
* London 3 South West
* Counties 2 Eastern Counties
* London 3 Essex
* Eastern Counties 1
* Eastern Counties 2
* Eastern Counties 3
* Counties 2 Essex
* Counties 2 Hampshire
* Counties 3 Hampshire
* Counties 4 Hampshire
* Hampshire Cups
* Counties 1 Herts/Middlesex
* Counties 1 Middlesex
* Counties 2 Middlesex
* Herts/Middlesex 2
* Hertfordshire Cups
* Middlesex Cups
* Counties 3 Kent
* Counties 4 Kent
* Counties 5 Kent
* Kent Cups
* Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex
* Counties 2 Surrey
* Counties 3 Surrey
* Counties 4 Surrey
* Counties 5 Surrey
* Surrey Cups
* Counties 2 Sussex
* Sussex 1
* Sussex Cups

Midland competitions|

* Regional 1 Midlands
* Regional 2 North Midlands
* Regional 2 West Midlands
* Regional 2 East Midlands
* Counties 1 Midlands West (North)
* Counties 1 Midlands West (South)
* Midlands 2 East (North)
* Midlands 2 East (South)
* Midlands 3 West (North)
* Midlands 3 West (South)
* Midlands 3 East (North)
* Midlands 3 East (South)
* Midlands 4 West (North)
* Midlands 4 West (South)
* Midlands 4 East (North)
* Midlands 4 East (South)
* Midlands 5 West (South)
* Leicestershire Cups
* North Midlands Cups
* Staffordshire Cups
* Warwickshire Cups

Northern competitions|

* Regional 1 North East
* Regional 1 North West
* Regional 2 North
* Regional 2 North East
* Regional 2 North West
* North 1 East
* North 1 West
* North 2 West
* Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire
* Lancs/Cheshire 1
* Lancs/Cheshire 2
* Cheshire Cups
* Lancashire Cups
* Counties 1 Cumbria
* Cumbria Cups
* Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland
* Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland
* Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland
* Durham Cups
* Northumberland Cups
* Counties 1 Yorkshire
* Counties 2 Yorkshire
* Counties 3 Yorkshire
* Counties 4 Yorkshire
* Yorkshire Cups

South West competitions|

* Regional 1 South West
* Regional 2 Severn
* Regional 2 South West
* Counties 1 Southern North
* Counties 1 Southern South
* Counties 1 Western North
* Counties 1 Western West
* Counties 2 Cornwall
* Counties 3 Cornwall
* Cornwall Cups
* Counties 2 Devon
* Counties 3 Devon East
* Counties 3 Devon West
* Devon Cups
* Counties 2 Gloucestershire
* Counties 3 Gloucestershire
* Gloucester 2 North
* Gloucester 2 South
* Gloucestershire Cups
* Counties 2 Somerset
* Counties 3 Somerset
* Counties 4 Somerset North
* Counties 4 Somerset South
* Somerset 3 North
* Somerset 3 South
* Somerset Cups
* Counties 2 Berks/Bucks & Oxon
* Counties 3 Berks/Bucks & Oxon
* Counties 4 Berks/Bucks & Oxon
* Oxfordshire Cups
* Counties 2 Dorset & Wilts South
* Counties 2 Dorset & Wilts North
* Counties 3 Dorset & Wilts North
* Counties 3 Dorset & Wilts South
* Dorset & Wilts 3 North

County competitions|

* Division 1
* Division 2
* Division 3

Discontinued competitions|

* Anglo-Welsh Cup
* Championship Cup
* Cornwall/Devon League
* Divisional Championship
* National League 2 South
* North Premier
* RFU Knockout Cup
* South West 1 East

Related articles|

* International players
* Clubs
* Churchill Cup
* Calcutta Cup
* Millennium Trophy
* Ella-Mobbs Trophy
* Hillary Shield

Other|

* English rugby union system
* Timeline of rugby union on UK television

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English counties rugby unions

County rugby unions|

* Berkshire
* Buckinghamshire
* Cheshire
* Cornwall
* Cumbria
* Devon
* Dorset & Wilts
* Durham County
* East Midlands
* Eastern Counties
* Essex
* Gloucestershire
* Hampshire
* Hertfordshire
* Kent
* Lancashire
* Leicestershire
* Middlesex
* North Midlands
* Northumberland
* Notts, Lincs & Derby
* Oxfordshire
* Somerset
* Staffordshire
* Surrey
* Sussex
* Warwickshire
* Yorkshire

Defunct county unions|

* Cumberland
* Midland Counties
* Westmoreland

Major competitions|

* Division 1
* Division 2
* Division 3

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