Hawick RFC

Rugby team
teamname = Hawick


imagesize = 50px
union = Scottish Rugby Union
fullname = Hawick Rugby Football Club
location = Hawick, Scotland
country

founded = 1873
ground = Mansfield Park
president = flagicon|Scotland Terence Froud
url = www.hawickrfc.co.uk
league = Premiership Division One
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leftarm2=|body2=|rightarm2=|shorts2=|socks2=

Hawick Rugby Football Club is a rugby union side, currently playing in the Premiership Division One and Border League.

The team are based in Hawick in the Scottish Borders.

Hawick RFC are one of the most famous rugby clubs in the world, and play their games at Mansfield Park in Hawick, Scotland.Hawick have always contributed a huge amount to the national side with fifty seven Hawick players having represented Scotland

Early history

In October 1872, members of the Hawick and Wilton Cricket Club decided that in order to keep fit over the winter they should begin playing football. Both association and rugby union football were experimented with but the rugby format triumphed as it was considered "manlier and more congenial to the Border nature than the tamer association game". The club was formed on December 8th 1873 and played at Buccleuch Park, the home of the cricket club.

However few games were played as there were not many other rugby clubs in the area, players had difficulty being released from their work, and Edinburgh sides were seldom willing to travel down to play individual club teams.

Establishment of the Club

1885 saw the rugby players reorganised themselves as Hawick Football Club, moving to new premises at the Volunteer Park, just beyond the cricket pitch. New colours were adopted, dark green jerseys and stockings with white shorts, and in 1886 Hawick was admitted to membership of the Scottish Football (later Rugby) Union, only the 19th club to be admitted, the only earlier Border clubs being Gala and Melrose RFC.

In 1888 Hawick Football Club moved to its present home, Mansfield Park, at the other end of the town. The early seasons brought keenly contested games against Edinburgh Academicals, Gala, and Watsonians, and in 1896 Hawick won their first Scottish championship.

1945 to 1972 – Scottish Domination

Between 1945 and 1972 Hawick club firmly established among the leaders of Scottish rugby, winning the unofficial championship eight times, taking the Border League title fifteen times, and earning fame as sevens specialists.

In this period, Hugh McLeod, George Stevenson, Adam Robson, and Derrick Grant alone won 100 international caps between them, while fifteen other Greens played for their country.

1972 onwards

The official Scottish championship began in season 1972-73 and since that time Hawick Rugby Football Club has maintained its prized place in Division One, winning the championship on twelve occasions. The proud record of winning the first Border League in 1901-02 and the first Scottish championship in 1972-73 was added to in 1995-96 when the club were also first winners of the SRU Tennents' Scottish Cup. Indeed, in season 2002/03, the Greens completed the treble, winning Scottish League championship, Scottish Cup and Border League championship.

Today Hawick continue to be one of Scotland’s top Rugby sides, continually challenging for honors and producing players that can compete at the highest level.

External links

*Official Site: http://www.hawickrfc.co.uk/

ee also

* Hawick
* BT Premiership Division One
* Border League
* Borders Sevens Circuit
* Hawick Harlequins RFC