Tower and Town, October 2023 (view the full edition)History of Marlborough RugbySince being one of the founding clubs of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to the current day on the Common, rugby and Marlborough have never been far apart. Marlborough Public School (now Marlborough College) formed a rugby team in 1861. The Marlborough Nomads were founded in 1868 and comprised masters and ex pupils from Marlborough College and army personnel from the local army camps - a strong relationship which continues today. On 4 December 1870, The Times published a letter suggesting that "those who play the rugby-type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play". On 26 January 1871 a meeting attended by representatives from 21 clubs (including the Marlborough Nomads) was held in London at the Pall Mall Restaurant on Regent Street. As a result of this meeting the RFU was founded and three lawyers who were Rugby School alumni drew up the first laws of the game, which were approved in June 1871. Marlborough Nomads contributed eight England internationals, including Alfred St George Hamersley, who captained England in 1874 before introducing rugby to South Canterbury, New Zealand and British Columbia in Canada. In 2015 Marlborough College named a sports field after him: The "Hamersley" Field. Marlborough RFC was formed in 1930 and first played on a field at the top of Savernake Hill near to Savernake Forest. In 1934 the team played on the Marlborough Common for the first time. Their base was the Sun Inn (now The Marlborough) where they changed and entertained the visiting teams. At the beginning of World War 2, the club ceased to exist but reformed in 1967 and played their first fixture against customers of the Sun Inn (the "Sun Downers") and sought to generate support in the town. At the time, players changed at St John's School on Cherry Orchard, then drove a mile to the Common to play Marlborough followed by entertaining the visiting team at a small cricket pavilion on Elcot Lane (now used as a local amateur boxing gym). During the late 1990s the strips changed from amber to black and amber, with black shorts. During this time Marlborough strengthened its links with the army camp at Tidworth, one of the largest army garrisons in the UK and is now greatly influenced by players and coaches from the South Pacific Islands. Marlborough continued to be nomadic up until 2000 when a club house was finally secured on the Common, funded by grants from the National Lottery, Sport England, the RFU and local fund raising efforts. Last season the First XV were promoted to the RFU Level 5 league with 100% unbeaten record....making the club the highest rated in Wiltshire. The team also won the RFU's "Level 6 Men's Team of the Season" and now feature on England Rugby social media channels. This season Marlborough are playing in Regional 1 South Central League and will be entertaining London Welsh, Brighton, Bournemouth and several other notable clubs. The Second XV play at RFU Level 8 (the same level as the 1st XV played seven years ago) having narrowly missed out on promotion last season as runners up in their league.  Photo dated 8 December 1967 Marlborough Rugby Football Union XV team: Back Row: Dick Anglis, Elved Phillips, John Walton, John and Richard Acheson, Tom Seamen, Peter Lovatt, John Bullen, Owen Martin, Dick Norcross. Front Row: P. Brain, Graham Light, Martin Kidson-Trigg, Chris Beasant, Chris Naish. Alec Thomas |