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Newton Abbot Rugby Club
Full nameNewton Abbot Rugby Club
UnionDevon RFU
Founded1873; 151 years ago (1873)
LocationKingsteignton, Newton Abbot, Devon, England
Ground(s)Rackerhayes (Capacity: 1,150 (150 stand))
ChairmanMark Shaddick
PresidentBrian Pilkington
League(s)Regional 2 South West
2023–2410th
Team kit
Official website
narfc.co.uk

Newton Abbot Rugby Club is an English rugby union team based the town of Kingsteignton, just outside of Newton Abbot in Devon. The club runs two senior teams and a ladies side as well as the full range of junior teams.[1] The first XV play in Regional 2 South West, a level six league in the English rugby union system, following their relegation from South West Premier at the end of the 2018–19 season.

View of main pitch and stand at Rackerhayes, home of Newton Abbot RFC
View of Newton Abbot RFC club house at Rackerhayes
Covered stand alongside one of the training pitches at Rackerhayes

Background/History

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Early history

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The rugby club of the Newton Rifle Volunteers, commonly known as Newton Rifles, changed its name to Newton Abbot RFC in 1886. That year's annual supper recalled how the club had been formed after Rev George Townsend Warner had invited the volunteers to play football after the annual shooting matches.[2] This earlier event took place on 18 November 1878.[3] The club was the third in Newton after Newton College (who changed from Association to Rugby in 1875) and the recently formed GWR club. The Volunteers' first reported match against another club took place on 25 January 1879.[4] During the early years of the club the kit changed from green and red hoops to red, white and amber in 1897, before settling with an all white kit in 1903, thus earning the nickname of 'All Whites'. This period is also notable for the two Newton players who gained international caps for England while at the club, full-back Henry Tristram who was capped in 1887 and forward Denys Dobson who was capped in 1902.[5][6] To date these are the only Newton Abbot players who have received international caps with England.

Prior to World War II the club had the distinction of hosting some of the top international sides on their tours of the country, including the New Zealand All Blacks in 1905, 1924 and 1935, the South African Springboks in 1907, and Australia in 1908. Indeed, it was during their time at Newton Abbot that the Australian team gave themselves the nickname of the 'Wallabies' following questioning from a local reporter. On the pitch the 1920s were one of the most successful in the club's history, winning the Devon Senior Cup for the first time in 1923, reclaiming it in 1924 before going on to claim a third title in 1927. The reserve side also did well, winning the Devon Junior Cup in 1921 and 1925.[7] Although the club had some good seasons in the 1950s and 1960s the glory years were behind them and by the advent of league rugby the club was on the decline.[8]

League rugby

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The advent of league rugby in 1987 saw Newton Abbot placed in Cornwall/Devon – a tier 8 league in the English rugby union system. Their debut season in the leagues was one to forget as the club finished in bottom spot with 10 losses from 10 games played and were relegated to Devon League 1.[9] Although relegation was disappointing, the club started to rebuild and by 1990 they had won their first county silverware since the 1920s, claiming the Havill Plate.[7] Newton spent the next decade in Devon League 1, until after three seasons spent as runners up the club finally gained promotion as champions at the end of 1997–98.[10][11][12][13]

Success was quick to follow the very next season as Newton made it two promotions in a row at the end of 1998–99, this time winning Cornwall/Devon ahead of runners-up Withycombe and gaining promotion to Western Counties West.[14] In 2004 the club won their first Devon Senior Cup since 1927, defeating Brixham 33–31 in an exciting final at Astley Park.[7][15] The 2005–06 season saw Newton finish second in the league behind Torquay Athletic, qualifying for a promotion playoff against the runners up from Tribute Western Counties North.[16] Due to a stronger league performance, Newton Abbot were granted home advantage, and they made it count by sealing a 24–12 victory over Walcot at Rackerhayes.[17] Also of interest during this period was the formation in Newton Abbot of rugby league side Devon Sharks in 2005. The Sharks played home games at Rackerhayes until 2008 when they moved to a purpose-built ground in Torquay.[18]

The 2008–09 season saw Newton Abbot once more compete for promotion, fighting their way to a second-place finish, some way adrift of champions Taunton Titans who won all their games. As runners up the club found themselves with a second stab at promotion, heading east to take on South West 2 East runners-up, Reading, but ultimately ending up disappointed as they went down 10–16 at Holme Park.[19] The following season Newton Abbot were once more in with a shout with promotion in what had been re-branded Tribute South West 1 after the RFU had re-organized the league structure. As with the previous season the club once again finished well behind the league champions, this time in the form of Hartpury College, who like Taunton finished unbeaten, winning all their games.[20][21] Despite finishing 10 points behind Hartpury, Newton still did enough to secure home advantage for the promotion play-off. Once again Rackerhayes was the scene of a second home victory in the play-offs as Newton went on to beat High Wycombe 23–14 to seal promotion to National League 3 South West – the highest level the club had reached in its history.[22][23]

Ground

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The Rackerhayes rugby ground is on the edge of an industrial estate, on southern the outskirts of Kingsteignton, near the Newton Abbot Racecourse, and about 2 miles walk from the town of Newton Abbot. The rugby ground consists of three pitches including two training pitches and backs on to the Rackerhayes fishing complex. The main pitch is next to the club house and has standing capacity for approximately 1,000 spectators including a couple of small covered standing areas. There is also a covered stand with seating for around 150 people, making the overall capacity of Rackerhayes about 1,150. In-ground parking is available next to the club-house, with additional parking in the surrounding industrial estate.

One of the two training pitches has a covered stand for standing spectators. Both training pitches are of decent quality. Reserve and youth fixtures are fulfilled on these pitches.

Season summary

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Season League National Cup(s) County Cup(s)
Competition/Level Position Points Competition Performance Competition Performance
1987–88 Cornwall/Devon (8) 11th (relegated) 0
1988–89 Devon League 1 (9)
1989–90 Devon League 1 (9) Havill Plate Winners
1990–91 Devon League 1 (9)
1991–92 Devon League 1 (9)
1992–93 Devon League 1 (9)
1993–94 Devon League 1 (10)[a] 2nd[24]
1994–95 Devon League 1 (10) 2nd[25]
1995–96 Devon League 1 (10) Havill Plate Runners up
1996–97 Devon League 1 (9)[b] 2nd[26] Devon Junior Cup Runners up
1997–98 Devon League 1 (9) 1st (promoted)[27]
1998–99 Cornwall/Devon (8) 1st (promoted)[28] 30
1999–00 Western Counties West (7) 3rd[29] 23
2000–01 Western Counties West (7) 5th[30] 20
2001–02 Western Counties West (7) 6th[31] 22
2002–03 Western Counties West (7) 8th[32] 20 Powergen Intermediate Cup 5th Round[33][34]
2003–04 Western Counties West (7) 4th[35] 27 Powergen Intermediate Cup 1st Round[36][37] Devon Senior Cup Winners
2004–05 Western Counties West (7) 3rd[38] 38 Powergen Cup Preliminary Round[39][40]
2005–06 Western Counties West (7) 2nd (promoted via playoff)[41] 35 Powergen Intermediate Cup 3rd or 4th Round[42][43][c]
2006–07 South West 2 West (6) 5th[45] 26 EDF Energy Intermediate Cup Quarter-finals[46]
2007–08 South West 2 West (6) 5th[47] 21 EDF Energy Intermediate Cup 2nd Round[48]
2008–09 South West 2 West (6) 2nd (lost playoff)[49] 36 EDF Energy Intermediate Cup 3rd Round[50]
2009–10 South West 1 West (6)[d] 2nd (promoted via playoff)[51] 42
2010–11 National 3 South West (5) 6th[52] 75[e] Devon Senior Cup Runners up
2011–12 National 3 South West (5) 7th[53] 62 Devon Senior Cup 1st Round[54]
2012–13 National 3 South West (5) 4th[55] 90 Devon Senior Cup Semi-finals[56]
2013–14 National 3 South West (5) 4th[57] 75 Devon Senior Cup Runners up
2014–15 National 3 South West (5) 7th[58] 64 Devon Senior Cup Runners up
2015–16 National 3 South West (5) 11th[59] 53 Devon Senior Cup 1st Round[60]
2016–17 National 3 South West (5) 4th[61] 75 Devon Senior Cup Quarter-finals[62]
2017–18 South West Premier (5)[f] 4th[63] 71 Devon Senior Cup 1st Round[64]
2018–19 South West Premier (5) 13th (relegated)[65] 35 Devon Senior Cup 6th[66]
2019–20 South West 1 West (6) 13th (relegated) 20.40[g] Devon Senior Shield
2020–21 Western Counties West (7)
Green background stands for either league champions (with promotion) or cup winners. Blue background stands for promotion without winning league or losing cup finalists. Pink background stands for relegation.

Honours

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Notable former players

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Notes

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  1. ^ RFU restructuring due to creating of Courage League Division 5 meant that Devon League 1 became a tier 10 league.
  2. ^ The cancellation of Courage League Division 5 at the end of the 1995–96 season meant that Devon League 1 once again became a tier 9 league.
  3. ^ Newton Abbot reached at least the 3rd Round of the 2005–06 Powergen Intermediate Cup. They may have reached the 4th Round but due to poor press reporting there is no mention of any 4th Round fixtures from this season. What is certain is that they went out before the 5th Round as they are not listed in that draw.[44]
  4. ^ South West 2 West was renamed as South West 1 West for the 2009–10 season.
  5. ^ The 2010–11 season be the first in which Newton Abbot would use bonus points having been introduced to tier 5 from the 2009–10 season onward.
  6. ^ National League 3 South West would be renamed to South West Premier for the 2017–18 season.
  7. ^ The season was postponed and ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom with Newton Abbott sitting in 13th, having played 20 games and gained 17 points. The remaining games were calculated on a 'best playing record formula', with Newton remaining in 13th place with 20.40 points.[67]

References

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  1. ^ Club website home page
  2. ^ "Advertiser 17/04/1886".
  3. ^ "Advertiser 23/11/1878".
  4. ^ "Western Times 1/2/1879".
  5. ^ "Henry Tristram". ESPN. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Denys Dobson". Scrum.com. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b c "DRFU Handbook 2011-12" (PDF). Devon RFU. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Short History Of Newton Abbot RFC". Newton Abbot RFC (Pitchero). Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  9. ^ Stephen Jones, ed. (1988). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1988–89. London: Rothmans Publications Ltd.
  10. ^ Jones, Stephen (1994). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1994–95. London: Headline Bookline Publishing. p. 448. ISBN 0-7472-7850-4.
  11. ^ Cleary, Mick; Griffiths, John (1995). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1995–96. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0-7472-7816-4.
  12. ^ Cleary, Mick; Griffiths, John (1997). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997-98. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0-7472-7732-X.
  13. ^ Devon Rugby Football Union Ltd Official Handbook 2012 – 2013 (PDF). Devon RFU. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Final League Tables 1998–99". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  15. ^ "Brixham win semi-final to set up Devon Cup final showdown". Brixham RFC (Pitchero). Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Final League Tables, 2005–2006". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  17. ^ "South West Play-Offs". England Rugby. 29 April 2006.
  18. ^ "About". Devon Sharks RLFC. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  19. ^ "South West 2 West 2008–2009". England Rugby. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  20. ^ "South West Play-Offs". England Rugby. 25 April 2009.
  21. ^ "All Whites suffer play-off heartache". Mid-Devon Advertiser. 1 May 2009.
  22. ^ "South West Play-Offs". England Rugby. 24 April 2010.
  23. ^ "All Whites v High Wycombe". Newton Abbot RFC. 24 April 2010.
  24. ^ Jones, Stephen (1994). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1994–95. London: Headline Bookline Publishing. p. 448. ISBN 0-7472-7850-4.
  25. ^ Cleary, Mick; Griffiths, John (1995). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1995–96. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0-7472-7816-4.
  26. ^ Cleary, Mick; Griffiths, John (1997). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997-98. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0-7472-7732-X.
  27. ^ Devon Rugby Football Union Ltd Official Handbook 2012 – 2013 (PDF). Devon RFU. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  28. ^ "Final League Tables 1998–99". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  29. ^ "Western Counties West 1999–2000". England Rugby. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  30. ^ "Final League Tables 2000–2001". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  31. ^ "Final League Tables, 2001–2002". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  32. ^ "Final League Tables 2002–2003". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  33. ^ "Sport in Brief". The Telegraph. 4 December 2002.
  34. ^ "Sport in Brief". The Telegraph. 24 December 2002.
  35. ^ "Final League Tables 2003–2004". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  36. ^ "Walkover for Borough". South West Farmer. 23 October 2003.
  37. ^ "Powergen Draws". ESPN. 12 July 2003.
  38. ^ "Final League Tables 2004–2005". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  39. ^ "Berry Hill reinstated for cup tie". Somerset County Gazette. 16 September 2004.
  40. ^ "Powergen Cup 2004/05 Preliminary Round". Rugby Statbunker. 3 September 2004.
  41. ^ "Final League Tables, 2005–2006". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  42. ^ "Camborne's cup hopes dashed". South West Farmer. 19 October 2005.
  43. ^ "Rugby Union Results". Daily Telegraph. 17 October 2005.
  44. ^ "Sport in Brief". The Telegraph. 30 November 2005.
  45. ^ "South West 2 West 2006–2007". England Rugby. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  46. ^ "Showpiece final beckons for Caldy". Northwich Guardian. 13 February 2007.
  47. ^ "South West 2 West 2007–2008". England Rugby. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  48. ^ "Four-try Eddy inspires Dunn". Daily Echo. 20 November 2007.
  49. ^ "South West 2 West 2008–2009". England Rugby. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  50. ^ "OAs claim derby win". The Herts Advertiser. 18 December 2008.
  51. ^ "Tribute South West 1 West 2009–2010". England Rugby. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  52. ^ "National League 3 South West 2010–2011". England Rugby. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  53. ^ "National League 3 South West 2011–2012". England Rugby. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  54. ^ "Devon RFU Handbook 2012–13" (PDF). Devon RFU. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  55. ^ "National League 3 South West 2012–2013". England Rugby. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  56. ^ "Exmouth v All Whites". Newton Abbot RFC (Pitchero). 16 April 2013.
  57. ^ "National League 3 South West 2013–2014". England Rugby. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  58. ^ "National League 3 South West 2014–2015". England Rugby. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  59. ^ "National League 3 South West 2015–2016". England Rugby. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  60. ^ "Senior Cup results 2015-16". Devon RFU. 3 October 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016.
  61. ^ "National League 3 South West 2016–2017". England Rugby. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  62. ^ "Devon Senior Cup results 2016/17". Devon RFU. 4 February 2017.
  63. ^ "South West Premier 2017–2018". England Rugby. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  64. ^ "2017/18 Devon Senior & Intermediate Cup/Shield draws". Devon RFU. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  65. ^ "South West Premier 2018–2019". England Rugby. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  66. ^ "2018/19 Devon Senior Cup results". Devon RFU. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  67. ^ "RFU confirms league positions". England Rugby. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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