2016–17 1st (promoted) League National League 1 | Founded 2004 Captain Chris Fortey | |
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Full name Hartpury College Rugby Football Club Location Hartpury, Gloucestershire, England Ground(s) College Stadium (Capacity: 2,000) Coach(es) John Barnes, Mark Cornwell, Alan Martinovic | ||
Hartpury College RFC is an English rugby union club which currently play in National League 1, the third tier of the English league system. The club is based at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, England, and is made up primarily of the college's students and staff. Hartpury College share a close relationship with Aviva Premiership side Gloucester Rugby, who use Hartpury's facilities as their permanent training base and provide a small number of academy players, all of whom are current or recently departed students, to supplement the Hartpury College team. Several Hartpury College players have gone on to play for Gloucester and other professional teams.
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History
Hartpury College Rugby Academy was formed in September 2000 in partnership with Gloucester Rugby, consisting of a University side that competed in the BUCS league system and under-18 teams. In 2004, The college's vision of a Saturday side came to fruition, and became known as Hartpury College RFC.
Starting in the eleventh tier of the league pyramid, Hartpury lost their first ever match in the Gloucester Three North league. That was to be the last time that the club lost a league match until 2009, when they lost to Thornbury after four consecutive promotions, an EDF Junior Vase and an EDF Senior Vase. That setback did not prevent Hartpury from gaining a further three straight promotions to their current position in National League 1, during which time the team amassed only two more defeats and won both the Level Six Champions Cup and EDF Intermediate Cup at Twickenham. On 12 April 2014, the College sealed promotion to SSE National League 1 after their victory over Ampthill secured the National League 2 South title. Three seasons later they were promoted into the Green King IPA Championship with their win over Old Albanian on 11 March 2017.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.