Letchworth Garden City rugby football club

Rugby team
teamname = Letchworth Garden City


fullname = Letchworth Garden City Rugby Union Football Club
location = Letchworth, England
country

founded = 1926
ground = Baldock Road, Letchworth Garden City
president = Brian Burke
chairman = Dave Sharpe
coach = Phil Waters
league = London 2 North
colours = Black and amber
url= www.letchworthrugby.com

Letchworth Garden City Rugby Football Club is a rugby club based in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.

The club runs up to three senior teams each week and has thriving Mini, Junior and Girls' sections.

Formation

The club was formed in 1926 when a group of rugby followers declared that "no town could be complete without a rugby club", a reference to the fact that the town itself was only just over 20 years old. Despite this Letchworth was one of the first rugby clubs to be formed in the area - local rival clubs in Hitchin and Stevenage not being formed until after the war.

Men's rugby

Following the introduction of leagues into the game, Letchworth gradually worked its way up to London 2 North by the mid 1990s, where it has stayed more or less ever since - a division or two above most of its local rivals. Good performances in the Herts Presidents Cup have resulted in the club making several appearwences in the Powergen Cup.

Junior rugby

For a period junior rugby was a low priority at Letchworth, but in recent years that has changed dramatically. Several years of steady growth since 2000 culminated in January 2007 when both the club's Under 13 and Under 14 teams won promotion to the first division of the Herts/Middlesex League in only their second season in the league.

Women's and Girls' rugby

A women's team existed at the club for a short period in the 1990s, but it was not until 2004 that the female game was revived at the club with the formation of a [http://letchworthgirls.blogspot.com girls' section] catering for girls aged 11 to 18. Beginning with only seven girls in its first year, by 2006 the section had grown to be one of the largest in the region when it lifted its first trophy - the Rochford Tens.

In 2006 the club also hosted one of the largest one-day girls' rugby festivals ever - [http://herts7s.blogspot.com Hertfordshire Girls' Sevens] .

External links

* [http://www.letchworthrugby.com Official Site]
* [http://www.letchworthminirugby.com Junior and mini rugby site]
* [http://letchworthgirls.blogspot.com Girls' "blog" website]
* [http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?cat=leisure&scale=10000&pc=SG62ER&title=Letchworth+Rugby+Club Letchworth Rugby Club ] at Multimap.