ROCHDALE RUGBY UNION CLUB HISTORY

Rochdale inherits a tradition in Rugby Union Football which goes as far back as 1867, when the Rochdale Football club was formed and played on a ground at Sparth Bottoms.  The present club was formed in 1921 by a small band of enthusiasts who met in Smiths Cafe, Townhead.  Joseph Rigg, appropriately, was Chairman of the inaugural meeting.  The first ground was at Firgrove, but the permanent foundations of the club were laid at Balderstone, on ground now occupied by Balderstone School.  G.B. Johnston and H.D. Clayton shared the captaincy for nine years.  The former, a hooker, had no ambition other than to get the ball, whilst the latter rejoiced in receiving it.  The result was a highly attractive open game, which produced good results and brought players and spectators to the ground.  It was in the period at Balderstone that Hugh Baldwin began his stint of forty years as Treasurer.

Unfortunately, the Rochdale Corporation took over the Balderstone Estate in the early 1930's.  The club fled to the hills above Norden.  The sojourn on the Moss was interrupted by the war but was, never the less, highly successful from the playing point of view, and the season 1947/8 when H. Clayton was captain, remains one of the best in the history of the Club.  It was also at Norden that Joseph Rigg took over the Presidency.

The vast amount of work accomplished by officials and members in the purchase and preparation of the present ground at Bamford should not be underestimated.  It culminated in a new surge of playing enthusiasm, which added lustre to the Club.  J.R. Howarth and A.J. Harrison were the longest serving of a series of enthusiastic captains.  By 1965 the club had several first-class fixtures and E. Deasey had been selected to play for Lancashire.

Development at the Bamford Home continued with the building of a new bathhouse and bar.  Still under the Presidency of Joseph Rigg the club grew in strength.  Players turned to official with few exceptions to start a spirit within the club which is still burning today.

If the seventies built the super structure then the eighties provided another golden team.  The formidable Wing Forwards R. Fitton and R. Hartley will not be forgotten.  As captains and as players they helped to push Rochdale, literally through the eighties.  If the players of the eighties pushed the playing to new heights, the officials were never far behind.  A committee of commitment gave birth to the Osborne Suite and the new fabric.  Joseph Rigg was still among the number, now the Hon. Life President.

It is with regret that 1996 saw the passing of Joseph Rigg.  He had been involved with the club from its inception for three quarters of a century.  He had a most profound effect on the making of Rochdale Rugby Union Football Club.  This the 75th anniversary year also saw another sad loss in Arthur Buckley who was a fine supporter of the club and gathered much information on the clubs History.

In the late 1990's Chairman Tom Downham-Clarke led the club through a revival in Rugby terms.  The result was two league wins and a new belief in the club.  The wins on the field of play have had a healthy effect on the social life at Rochdale.

In the new millennium Chairman Mick Holden took things to new heights.  Mick’s vision enabled the club to construct a purpose built clubhouse and at the same time reconstruct and re-drain all the rugby pitches to dispel the image of Rochdale pitches as mud baths.  As a result Rochdale now has some of the finest facilities in the county and the club is financially sound.  Under the guidance of coach Mike Gould the first team adopted an attractive style of rugby which enabled the club, in spite of remaining strictly amateur, to manage three more league wins (plus three Lancashire Trophy wins) to achieve and maintain its highest ever league ranking (at level 5) in National Division 3 North.  In addition to the four playing pitches, in 2009 – 10 with the aid of an RFU grant a fully drained and floodlit training area was created from unused club land (“the Hollow”) to accommodate the greatly increased demand for training facilities for all age groups.

The Mini and Junior section continue to flourish and regularly provide players for the higher teams.  Their Easter Tours provide fantastic opportunities for travel and team bonding and the Minis’ tournament day in April is the largest of its kind in Lancashire.  Thanks to the first class organisation of the Mini and Junior section, Rochdale has become a regular venue for the Finals of Lancashire Schools, Lancashire Colts and Lancashire Juniors (Blackstick Blue Challenge) competitions.

One player who came through the Mini & Juniors and Colts teams is our first team fly half Steven Collins who in 2010 played for the Lancashire County XV in their four County Championship games which culminated in a victory over Gloucestershire at Twickenham.  He led the backline superbly, scoring 57 points in the four games played and was selected by the County as Lancashire Player of the Season, a great honour for Steven and for Rochdale RUFC.