Bideford RFC
| Full name | Bideford Rugby Football Club |
|---|---|
| Union | RFU |
| Nickname(s) | The Chiefs |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Region | Devon Rugby Football Union |
| Ground(s) | King George's Field, Bideford (Capacity: 2,000) |
| Chairman | Lester Bird |
| Coach(es) | Dave Kimberley |
| League(s) | Tribute South West 1 West |
| 2015-16 | 5th |
| Official website | |
| www |
|
Bideford RFC is an English rugby union team formed in 1926. It is based in Bideford, Devon. The club operates 4 senior men's teams including colts, as well as youth, female, and mini teams. The first team is known as the "Chiefs", their kit is red and white hoops and they currently play in Tribute South West 1 West. The club has a longstanding rivalry with neighbors Barnstaple and the traditional Boxing Day fixture between the two sides often attracts crowds in excess of a thousand supporters. Bideford play home games at King George's Field.
Bideford was founded in 1926 by local players who had up until then played for neighbors, Barnstaple. Barnstaple was the traditional rugby powerhouse in North Devon having been established in 1877. It was the beginning of a long relationship and sporting rivalry between the clubs, with Bideford playing their first-ever game that year against a Barnstaple reserve side. This game was held at Victoria Park, which would remain Bideford's home ground until 1929 when they moved to the Sports Ground - sharing it with local football side, Bideford AFC. During the 1930s the club had a degree of success in the Devon Junior Cup (the secondary cup competition for men's rugby at the time) - winning the competition twice in 1933 and 1935. In 1969, Bideford left the Sports Ground and moved to , King George's Field, where it has remained to the present day. They won the Havill Plate in 1975.
When the leagues were introduced for the 1987-88 season, Bideford was placed in Courage Cornwall/Devon, a regional league for Cornish and Devon based clubs ranked in tier 8 of the English league system. In 1992 after four seasons in this division the club finished as champions and achieved promotion to Western Counties. They would remain part of Western Counties for six years (seeing the league change name twice) until the 1997-98 season when they finished bottom and were relegated. In 2001, after several years in Cornwall/Devon, Bideford achieved promotion as runners-up and returned back to their former league, now named Western Counties West. This promotion was short-lived as they were relegated the following year after a poor league campaign which saw just 1 win in 22 games. Two years later disaster struck as Bideford sunk to the lowest league ranking of their league history so far, and were relegated at the end of the 2004-05 season to Devon 1.
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