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Clifton Rugby Football Club History | |
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Station Road, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol BS10 7TT Tel: 0117 950 0445 Fax: 0117 950 2855 |
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The history of this club up to the present day is set to become a book by Patrick Casey, Richard Hale and Tony Page. Published by Redcliffe Press in December 2008.
Clifton Rugby Club was formed on 27th September 1872 at the Kings Arms on Blackboy Hill in Clifton, Bristol. The pub still stands , although it was rebuilt in 1902, and since refurbishment in the late 1990's was known as Bohemia. It was then renamed Babushka, then Stark and was refurbished and renamed The Black Bear at the end of 2007. We are the 30th oldest club in the United Kingdom, the 19th oldest in England, the 2nd oldest in the South West (Bath beat us by 7 years) and the oldest in Bristol.
We have had 3 players gain international honours while playing for Clifton, James Arthur Bush in 1872, 73, 75, and 76, Hiatt Cowles Baker in 1887 and John Currie 1956-62. Many players have played for their country before or after playing for Clifton, most notable of these are 2 England captains, in 1955 Peter Young and in 1967 Colin McFadyean and the first captain of Wales, James Alfred Bevan, in 1881.
This web site is the most comprehensive history of Clifton Rugby Football Club ever. Not just a history of Clifton Rugby Football Club but also background on the players, what they did outside of rugby, who they were. This has concentrated on the 32 Internationals that have played for Clifton. We have had playing for us 18 England internationals, 4 Scotland, 1 Ireland, 4 Wales, 2 Zimbabwe, 1 Hong Kong, 1 Switzerland and 1 Malta. They are
| England | ||
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James Arthur Bush |
5 | 1872
vS  ,
1873 vS  ,
1875 vS  ,
vI  ,
1876 vS  |
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William Octavius Moberly |
1 | 1872
vS |
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Arthur James Budd |
5 | 1878
vI  ,
1879 vS  ,
vI ,
1881 vW ,
vS  |
|
William John Penny |
3 | 1878
vI ,
1879 vS ,
vI |
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Herbert George Fuller
|
6 | 1882
vI ,
vS ,
vW ,
1883 vI ,vS
,
1884 vW |
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Hiatt Cowles Baker |
1 | 1887
vW |
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Richard Dutton Budworth |
3 | 1890
vW  ,
1891 vW ,
vS |
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Edwin Field |
2 | 1893
vW  ,
vI |
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Charles Alexander Hooper |
3 | 1894
vW  ,
vI  ,
vS  |
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Bevan Stanishaw Chantrill |
4 | 1924
vW  ,
vI  ,
vF ,
vS  |
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John Arthur Gregory |
1 | 1949
vW |
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Peter Dalton Young |
9 | 1954
vW ,
vNZ  ,
vI  ,
vS ,
vF  ,
1955 vW
, vI
 , vF
 , vS
  |
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Victor H Leadbetter |
2 | 1954
vS ,
vF
|
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John David Currie |
25 | 1956
vW  ,
vI  ,
vS ,
vF ,
1957 vW
, vI
, vF
 , vS
 , 1958
vW ,
vA  ,
vI ,
vF ,
vS ,
1959 vW
, vI
 , vF
, vS
 , 1960
vW  ,
vI ,
vF ,
vS ,
1961 vSA
 , 1962
vW  ,
vI ,
vF |
|
Stephen Brookhouse Richards |
9 | 1965
vW ,
vI ,
vF  ,
vS ,
1967 vA
, vI
, vF
 , vS
, vW
 |
|
Colin William McFadyean |
11 | 1966
vI ,
vF  ,
vS ,
1967 vA
, vI
, vF
, vS
, vW
,vNZ
 , 1968
vW  ,
vI |
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Robert Hoskins Lloyd |
5 | 1967
vNZ ,
1968 vW
,
vI ,
vF ,
vS  |
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Alex Brown |
3 | 2006
vA , 2007 vSA1 , vSA2 |
| Scotland | ||
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Edward Innes Pocock |
2 | 1877
vI  ,
vE  |
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Harry Loft Evans |
2 | 1885
vI ,
vI  |
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Robert Kenneth Gillespie MacEwen |
13 | 1954
vF  ,
vNZ ,
vI ,
vW ,
1956 vF  
vW  ,
vI ,
vE  ,
1957 vF  ,
vW ,
vI ,
vE ,
1958 vW
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Alan Sharp |
6 | 1994
vE  ,
vI ,
vF ,
vArg1
, vArg2
, vSA
|
| Ireland | ||
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Maurice J. Daly |
1 | 1938
vE  |
| Wales | ||
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James Alfred Bevan |
1 | 1881
vE  |
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Glyn Davies |
11 | 1947
vS ,
vA
1948 vE ,
vS  ,
vF ,
vI ,
1949 vE
 ,
vS ,
v F
1951 vE ,
vS |
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Gareth Lloyd Evans |
3 | 1977
vF  ,
1978 vF 
, vA 
|
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Rhys Oakley |
2 | 2003
vI ,
vS |
| Zimbabwe | ||
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Paul Johnstone |
? | 1990's? |
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Dean Dewdney |
3 | 1990's? |
| Hong Kong | ||
Alan Dixon |
? | 1970s |
| Malta | ||
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Ollie Sacco |
? | 2000's? |
| Switzerland | ||
Yves Bellanger |
? | ? |
E - England, S - Scotland, I - Ireland, W - Wales, A - Australia, NZ - New Zealand, Arg - Argentina.
There have been 29 Oxbridge Blues
| Oxford | ||
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William Octavius Moberly |
3 | 1872
(captain) ,1873
(Feb) (captain) ,
1873 (dec) |
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Reginald Wynn Rucker |
2 | 1874
,
1876  |
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Graeme Vassal Cox |
1 | 1878
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Charles Cyril Bradford |
1 | 1887
 |
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Richard Thomas Dutton Budworth |
3 | 1887
,
1888  ,
1889  |
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George Fuller-Eberle |
2 | 1901
 ,
1902  |
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Christopher William Wordsworth |
1 | 1902
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Worthington Wynn Hoskin |
4 | 1904
 ,
1905  ,
1906  ,
1907 (captain)  |
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Charles James Gardner |
2 | 1905
, 1906
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Edward Turk Benson |
1 | 1928
  |
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Charles Anthony Langdon Richards |
1 | 1932
  |
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John David Currie |
4 | 1954
  ,
1955   ,
1956   ,
1957   |
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Stephen Brookhouse Richards |
1 | 1962
  |
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Andrew Christopher Thomas |
1 | 1979
 |
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James Max Michael Averis |
1 | 1996
 |
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Adam Reuben click here |
2 | 1997
 1998
 |
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Andrew Stanley Collins |
2 | 1998
,
1999  |
| Cambridge | ||
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Walter Fairbanks |
2 | 1873
,
1874 |
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James Alfred Bevan |
2 | 1877
 ,
1880  |
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Herbert George Fuller
|
6 | 1878
 ,
1879  ,
1880 ,
1881  ,
1882  ,
1883  |
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Charles Alexander Hooper |
1 | 1890
 |
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Edwin Field |
3 | 1892
 ,
1893  ,
1894  |
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Glyn Davies |
3 | 1948
  1949
 
1950   |
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Peter Dalton Young |
1 | 1949
|
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Victor H. Leadbetter |
2 | 1951
  ,
1952   |
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Robert Kenneth Gillespie MacEwen |
2 | 1953
  ,
1954  |
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David Cecil Mills |
1 | 1958
  |
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Ross Blake |
2 | 2006
 2007 (captain)   |
James Lumby |
1 | 2007 |
The junior section of Clifton RFC was founded in 1977 largely due to the efforts of the club captain Ian Elvin. The club now boasts one of the largest junior sections in the United Kingdom with nearly 300 players spread over 12 age groups. We are a Regional Development Centre of Bristol Shoguns and some of our players now perform in Premiership Rugby and represent their Country. Some of the players who have gone through the junior ranks at Clifton are
Marcus Barrow - New Brighton (formerly Manchester) and Cheshire
Ross Blake - Cambridge University and London Irish (formerly Bristol and Bath) and Scotland u21
Alex Brown - Gloucester (formerly Pontypool, Bath and Bristol) and England
George Davies - Exeter (formerely Worcester)
Joe Ewens - Weston (formerly Stourbridge, Rotherham, Bristol, Bath, Bedford and Gloucester) and England u21.
Duncan Hayward - London Welsh (formerly Bristol) and England u21
Ollie Kohn - Harlequins (formerly Plymouth and Bristol)
Sean Marsden - Glasgow (formerly Bristol, Exeter and Neath) and England u21
Rhys Oakley - Leeds Carnegie (formerly Gwent and Bristol) and Wales
Jonathan Pritchard - Cleve (formerly Bath, Bristol, Newport and Rotherham) and Wales A
John P O'Reilly - Esher (formerly Leicester, Worcester and Leeds Tykes)
As and when it is possible the following more detailed pages will be included. These are more my reference notes for the main pages which have information which I need to refer back to, or are areas I need to investigate and fill in the gaps. I have made these available to any other historian or genealogist. As these pages are started the links will appear below.General
The Oldest Clubs - A look at the formation of the club and where it appears in the list of oldest clubs.
The Clubs - who we played with a focus on those clubs that no longer exist.
Famous Players
The Bush Family - An account of the famous Clifton family. Prominant sportsmen, merchants and philanthropists. A family history I have already traced back to 1427. A family that produced 2 Gloucestershire Cricket players and 1 England Rugby player. Close friends and neighbours of the Grace family.
The Pocock Family - A family that produced 4 Clifton players one who went on to play for Scotland.
C.A.L.Richards - Clifton College, Clifton RFC, Oxford University & Gloucestershire
Connections
Bishops Knoll - A history of the World War 1 hospital owned and run by Robert Bush.
Bristol Schools, Rugby and Clifton RFC - An account of how prolific schools such as Clifton College, Bristol Grammar and Colstons have been.
Bristol and Clifton Rugby Clubs - The rivalry that has always existed.
Cricket and Clifton RFC - Many county cricketers have played rugby for Clifton.
Clifton RFC and The Merchant Venturers - A look at how club members became involved in this ancient organisation.
For an excellent chronological history of rugby go here.
Site map here