Waterloo R.F.C.
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| Full name | Waterloo Rugby Football Club | ||
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| Union | English Rugby Union | ||
| Founded | 1882 | ||
| Location | Blundellsands, Merseyside, England | ||
| Ground(s) | St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands | ||
| President |  Phil Mahon |
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| Coach |  Martin O'Keefe Mark Godwin |
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| League | National League Division 2 | ||
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| Official website | |||
| www.waterloorugby.com | |||
Waterloo Football Club is an English Rugby Union team based at St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands, Merseyside in the borough of Sefton. 2007/8 will be its 125th season, having been founded in 1882 by brothers Sidney and Harry Hall and George Abercrombie. From 1882 until 1884 the club was known as Serpentine after the road near its original ground. In 1884 a dispute prompted a relocation to Waterloo and so the club's name was changed. The club returned to the Blundellsands area in 1892 and has remained there ever since.
They play in myrtle green, white and scarlet hooped shirts, green shorts and green socks. Their badge features a Lancastrian red rose with a black griffin in the centre.
Former players include Dick Greenwood, Ben Kay, Will Greenwood, Andy Titterrell, Watcyn Thomas, Kyran Bracken, Austin Healey, and Paul Grayson. [1]
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[edit] Notes
- In 1977 they were the runners-up in the John Player Cup.
- They competed in the top division of English rugby for the first two seasons after the league structure was introduced but were relegated in 1989.
- In Season 2003/2004 the 1st XV gained promotion to National League Division 2, reached the final of the Powergen Shield at Twickenham and was Rugby World Magazine 'Team of the Year'.
- In 2005/2006 they secured promotion to National League Division 1.
- In 2005 club president and former England women’s rugby union international Gill Burns received an M.B.E. for services to sport.
[edit] 2005/2006 Season
The 2005/2006 season saw both the men's and women's teams near the top end their respective divisions.
The men's XV finished in second position behind divisional champions Moseley, this secured them promotion to National Division One. In April the coaching team of Ian Aitchison and Phil Winstanley announced they would be stepping down after the end of the season because of the demands of trying to balance their fulltime occupations and coaching a first division rugby team.
The women's XV finished top of the northern regional division and so entered the promotion playoffs against the winners of the Midlands, South West and South East divisions. They won the playoffs and gained promotion into the Premiership 2 division.
At the end of the season Waterloo players Neil Kerfoot, Freeman Payne, Jan Van Deventer, Steve Nutt, Martin O'Keefe and Dan Palmer made a notable contribution to Lancashire's national county championship campaign culminating in a 32-26 triumph over Devon at Twickenham.
[edit] 2006/2007 Season
The close season saw 37-year-old Australian Mick Melrose installed as coach with Ian Aitchison moving from chief coach to director of rugby. Gill Burns stepped down as club president to be succeeded by former Waterloo and Scotland forward Colin Fisher.
Full back Peter Murchie has joined from Bath, Prop Johnathon Hopgood has signed from Marist St Pats in Wellington, New Zealand and Scottish lock Rory McKay & Jonathan Brandling Harris have arrived from Australian club Manly and Chad Erskine arrived from the USA.
Front Rower Rob O'Donnell left the club to join Guinness Premiership Champions Sale.
The challenge of stepping up to the higher level proved to be a difficult one, Mick Melrose was replaced by former player Dave Blythe during the course of the season. Although there were creditable victories along the way against Cornish Pirates and Exeter Chiefs the team were bottom of the league for most of the campaign and with 2 games to go Waterloo were relegated.
[edit] 2007/2008 Season
After relegation a large number of first teamers departed Blundellsands most notably club captain Freeman Payne and coach Dave Blythe. Prop Martin O'Keefe was given the captaincy and former Aberavon coach Chris O'Callaghan was brought in as coach. Rugby League legend Joe Lydon also arrived as a performance consultant.
New players arriving include Alastair Davies, Pablo Feijoo and Aled Gravell. A slow start meant that Waterloo were never able to mount a promotion challenge.
[edit] 2008/2009 Season
The 2008 close-season proved difficult with financial constraints impinging on the the club's rebuilding plans. Chris O'Callaghan left early in the season no longer able to justify his own salary and the club lost it's first 5 matches.
[edit] Ground move
At the 2008 AGM the prospect of selling their Blundellsands ground and relocation to a new purpose built facility was discussed.[2]
[edit] Womens Rugby
The womens team currently play in RFUW Championship North 1, the league below the Premiership. Captained by Claire White the club has current Welsh International Jenny Davies in their ranks together with England 'A' winger Helen Price. The ladies sections also boasts numerous regional and county players not only at senior level but also at u18 and u15 levels.
[edit] Colts
Waterloo RFC has a history of high success at Colts level. The most successful team, captained by Tom Benbow and featuring long serving veterens Tom White, Matt Daley and Mike Bates won their League in the 2002/03 season, gaining promotion and then winning the Lancashire Cup the following season. The team has now largely disbanded and the majority of the members have moved on from the club.
The Colts currently compete in the Senior B league of the Lancashire Colts section (a division also featuring Liverpool St Helens, Kirkby Lonsdale and Fylde). They are captained by Jack Weare who is deputising for the injury stricken Carl Nolan. The season started well with the team winning 6 out of 6 games leaving them top of the table but shortly after this injuries and player availability contributed to the team losing the majority of their matches within weeks of the season opening.
[edit] Internationals
The full list of Waterloo players to earn international caps is as follows :
England : Alan Ashcroft 1956-59, Jasper Bartlett 1951, Reg Bazley 1952-55, N.O. Bennet 1948, Eric Bole 1946, John Cain 1950, Roy Foulds 1929, Dick Greenwood 1966-69, Dicky Guest 1939-49, Jack Heaton 1935-47, Chris Jennins 1967, Roy Leyland 1935, Humphrey Luya 1948-49, Graham Meikle 1934, Steve Meikle 1929, Joe Periton 1925-30, Sam Perry 1948, Gordon Rimmer 1949-54, Jim Syddall 1982-84, Peter Thompson 1959, Bert Toft 1936-39, Dick Uren 1948-50, Harold Uren 1946, Jack Wallens 1927, Bob Weighill 1947-48, Gill Burns.
Ireland : Robin Godfrey 1954.
Spain : Pablo Feijoo 2007-08, Jaime Nava 2008.
Scotland : Alistair Fisher 1947, Colin Fisher 1975-76, Jackie McArthur 1932, Sammy McQueen 1923, Allan Roy 1939, J.W. Scott 1928-30, Ally Little 2001.
Wales : Raymond Bark-Jones 1933, Watcyn Thomas 1931-33, Kylie Wilson, Rachel Brown, Jennifer Davies.
USA : Chad Erskine 2006
[edit] Other
- They are affiliated with Liverpool's Capital of Culture 2008 promotions (official website).
- The club has a long tradition of rivalries with some of the sport's most famous clubs. One such tradition, recently revived, is the game against Wanderers. The winners of this match get to keep the "Percy the Pike" trophy in their clubhouse.[3]
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Current National League 1 Table (BBC)
- Liverpool Echo Rugby Union pages
- Waterloo on itsrugby.co.uk
- Video of Waterloo Rugby Club taking the field at Blundellsands
