Captain(s) Stean Williams Ground Landseer Avenue | 2015–6] 10th Founded 1897 | |
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Full name Dings Crusaders Rugby Football Club Location Lockleaze, Bristol, England League National League 3 South West Profiles | ||
Dings Crusaders RFC is an English rugby union team based in the Bristol suburb of Lockleaze. The club was relegated from National Division Two South, the fourth tier of the English rugby union system in 2015 and currently play in National League 3 South West.
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Dings is one of the oldest clubs in Bristol, with its roots in a slum area of Bristol stretching back over 110 years.The club is entirely amateur, as opposed to the semi-professional structure of other clubs. The mantra "we don't play for personal gain" is a poignant line in the club's anthem, being very much a part of the community of Lockleaze it is not uncommon to find that some players in the teams today are third generation Dings players.
History
The Dings was a slum area of Bristol located between Barton Hill and Temple Meads. The Shaftesbury Crusade, a Christian mission in the area, encouraged sporting activity in the Dings. In 1897, H W Rudge founded Dings Crusaders as part of the Dings Boys Club. Dings is one of only two remaining members of the original Bristol Combination set up in 1901, the other being Bristol Saracens. In 1948, Jack Steadman instigated a move to Dings current home in Lockleaze. Since league structure was introduced, Dings gained three promotions between 1996 and 2003 to enter the National League for the first time. The club finished in the relegation places at the end of the 2003–04 season, their first in National Division Three South, but were spared demotion by the demise of Wakefield. Since then, the club has consolidated its position within the league.
In 2014 it was announced that the club would be moving from the Lockleaze ground to Frenchay Park Road in Frenchay, South Gloucestershire.
2008–09 season review
The 2008–09 season was to be Dings Crusaders sixth consecutive season in National Division Three South, making them the longest-serving club in that division. It began in unusual fashion with a first round Roadchef Gloucestershire County Cup match at home against South West Two West side Cheltenham at the end of August, who were thrashed 62–6. Remarkably, the first league match of the season at home to Canterbury was then postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, after atrocious weather around the country in the week leading up to the match. After the false start, the league campaign finally got underway a week later against Barking in Lockleaze, which saw a comfortable 30–13 victory for the Dings. The first away match of the season, a trip to big-spenders Ealing Trailfinders, saw Dings go down 46–9, a result not unexpected by many. Dings concluded the opening month by administering a thrashing of their own, to Havant, who were dispatched 55–14 courtesy of some scintillating rugby. Second row Dave Bufton grabbed a hat-trick of tries.
Club honours
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
Club officials
President Floyd Waters Vice President Raymond Bowden General Secretary Peter Jones Treasurer Richard Fackrell Chairman Steve Lloyd Chairman of Selectors Richard Grant Commercial Manager Chris Lloyd Head Coach Membership Secretary Richard Cecil
Assistant Coaches Jason Forster, Luke Arscott, Mark Irish, Hallam Smith Club Captain Stean Williams