West Hartlepool R.F.C.
| Full name | West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1881 | |
| Location | Hartlepool, County Durham, England | |
| Ground(s) | Brinkburn (Capacity: 76 seats plus standing room) | |
| Coach(es) |
Tim Sawyer, Kevan Oliphant | |
| Captain(s) | Anthony Carr | |
| League(s) | North 1 East | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
|
www | ||
Coordinates: 54°40′35″N 1°14′5″W / 54.67639°N 1.23472°W West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club (nicknamed West) is an English rugby union club who play in North 1 East having been relegated from National League 3 North at the end of the 2012–13 season.
History
West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club was formed in 1881.
Before the game turned professional, the club enjoyed several seasons in the Courage League and Allied Dunbar premiership during the 1990s[1] before finally being relegated in the 1998–99 season. There followed a drop through the divisions over the next three years that took them out of the national leagues and into the regional leagues.[2]
In the 1990s, when the club was at its peak positions they played at Brierton Lane. When the ground was sold they entered into one year ground share agreements, first with Hartlepool United Football Club at Victoria Park, Hartlepool and then with Hartlepool Rovers RFC.
The club's Junior Section then went on to play at West Hartlepool Technical Day School Old Boys Rugby Union Football Club (Tech) for a few years and in the early 2000s there was an agreement with the Hartlepool Sixth Form College for the whole club to play at Brinkburn which is located on Catcote Road.
Honours
- Courage National 3 champions 1990–91
- North Division 1 East champions (2): 2007–08, 2010–11
Club structure
West have five Senior Teams within the club.
- 1st team
- 2nd team (Stags)
- 3rd team (Bucks)
- 4th team
- 5th team (Ams)
International honours
| Nationality | Player | Honours |
|---|---|---|
| Carl Aarvold | England | |
| Sammy Morfitt | England | |
| Tim Stimpson | England (and British & Irish Lions) | |
| John "Jack" Taylor | England (captain) (and British & Irish Lions) | |
| Rob Wainwright | Scotland (captain) (and British & Irish Lions) | |
| Mike Mullins | Ireland | |
| Alan Whetton (AJ) | New Zealand | |
| Gary Whetton | New Zealand (Captain) | |
| Mike Brewer | New Zealand | |
| Micky Young | England Sevens and England Saxons |
Other international honours
| Nationality | Player | Honours |
|---|---|---|
| Micky Young | England U-16 & U-18, England Saxons | |
| Sean Dougall | Ireland U18's, U19's & U20's | |
| Andrew Welsh | Scotland U21 |
Mini and junior
West have a very successful mini & junior set up with teams from under-8 to under-18 with a large percentage going on to represent Durham County & The North.
Newcastle Falcons have now emerged as good stage for new and exciting players from West's to play at a higher level of rugby, such as Micky Young, Aaron Myers and Mark Laycock who is now the Falcons academy coach.
Rivals
In the 1990s when West Hartlepool were in the top leagues there was a rivalry with Newcastle Gosforth (now the Newcastle Falcons). However the real derby matches were with Hartlepool Rovers. Even though Rovers have always been in lower leagues the historical Boxing Day match between the sides has continued and Rovers have always given West Hartlepool good competitive matches and beat West in the 2008 Boxing Day derby but West have won all the other years. In recent years the games have come down to the last few seconds or injury time before the eventual winners were known, with side line conversions winning or losing matches.
References
- ↑ "English league". Rugby Football History. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ↑ Bolton, Paul (7 March 2002). "West Hartlepool go down". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2016.