Huddersfield R.U.F.C.
| Full name | Huddersfield Rugby Union Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Field |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Location | Huddersfield |
| Ground(s) | Lockwood Park (Capacity: 1,500 (500 seated)) |
| Chairman | Dexter Cowan |
| Coach(es) | Gareth Lewis |
| Captain(s) | Alex Battye |
| League(s) | National League 2 North |
| 2016–17 | Promoted from National League 3 North (champions) |
Huddersfield Rugby Union Football Club is an English rugby union team situated in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the domestic National League 2 North having won promotion from National League 3 North in season 2016-17. The club also competes in the Yorkshire Cup competition and play its home matches at Lockwood Park, which has a capacity of 1,500 with seating for 500. HRUFC also has an academy squad, feeding the senior team with new players.
Rugby football was first played in Huddersfield in 1869 and the club established in 1870. Matches were initially played at the Rifle Field in Trinity Street and then, with the amalgamation of the St John's Cricket Club, at Fartown from 1879.
Huddersfield was playing in the top ranks of English clubs when, in August 1895, the town hosted a meeting at the George Hotel and was one of the 20 clubs that resigned from the Rugby Union to set up The Northern Rugby Football Union, which allowed players to be compensated for 'Broken Time.' This meant they could claim for wages lost by playing on Saturdays. They were not allowed to make a living from the game – they were not 'professional.' A new club was re-formed and named Huddersfield Old Boys in 1909.
The club's first ground was at the United Cricket Club in Luck Lane with changing facilities at the Croppers Arms.
World War I blew the whistle on the sport and games were not restarted until 1919 on a ground at Salendine Nook initially before the club took a lease on land at Waterloo. It was here that the club established their current colours of white, claret and gold. A stand was built and changing rooms completed for exclusive rugby use a luxury in those days. But the ground was plagued with drainage problems and another move was contemplated. In the event it was decided to buy the ground outright for £700 and invest in drainage. In 1935 £370 was invested in a new pavilion and bar and ladies were welcomed to a hitherto male bastion and they themselves began the tradition of aftermatch tea making. By 1964 the original pavilion was falling to bits and a new one, costing £11,000, was officially opened by Huddersfield's then MP J P W Mallalieu, himself a former Oxford Blue.
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