Union Rugby Football Union Location Portsmouth, England League London 3 South West | Nickname(s) US, The Bulldogs Founded 1882 | |
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Full name United Services Portsmouth Rugby Football Club Ground United Services Recreation Ground | ||
The United Services Portsmouth RFC is a long established rugby union club that although no longer in the top flight of English rugby has a strong history boasting a number of former international players as well as formerly being a regular feature on the fixture list of touring international teams such as the New Zealand All Blacks.
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History
It is believed that United Services Portsmouth RFC was founded in 1882, there being records of the club from that date With the exception of the 1884-5 season and the War Years, the club has unbroken records of fixtures. At the beginning of the twentieth century the club found it hard to gain support from service players, because it was considered necessary to turn out for civilian clubs to get first-class games. However, in 1902 the United Services Recreation Ground began to give financial support to the club to stimulate interest and by the time a Royal Navy Rugby Union was formed in 1906 the club was performing strongly with an excellent reputation and equally strong fixture list. It was described by Wavell Wakefield in the 1930s as one of the strongest clubs in the country. This dominance was helped in no small part by the continued sponsorship of the Royal Navy. As well as the fixture list boasting the elite of domestic football (such as Bath, Leicester, Harlequins, and Devonport Albion) the team was also a regular fixture on the All Blacks tour.
In the professional era, the club no longer features as a first-class side. The early twenty-first century saw the club fielding three squads, The Bulldogs, Buccaneers & Crusaders. In order to shore up numbers the club is also open to civilians to join. This results in a club that boasts a combination of players from the Royal Navy, Army, Air Force, local Civilians and the Students from Portsmouth University.
The first squad, the United Service Portsmouth Bulldogs, compete in London 3 SW and play at the Burnaby Road ground. In the season 2013/14 the club won the Hampshire 1 League with an unprecedented 18 wins out of 18 and gained 18 try bonus points. The club is still backed by the Royal Navy Rugby Union.
Notable players
International players include: