Hartpury University R.F.C.
Hartpury University RFC is an English rugby union club. The men's first team play in the second tier of the English rugby union league system, the RFU Championship, having won promotion from National League 1 at the end of the 2016–17 season.
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| Full name | Hartpury University Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Gloucestershire RFU | |
| Founded | 2004 | |
| Location | Hartpury, Gloucestershire, England | |
| Ground(s) | ALPAS Arena (Capacity: 2,000) | |
| Coach(es) | Mark Cornwell | |
| Captain(s) | Jean-Baptiste Bruzulier Will Crane | |
| League(s) | RFU Championship | |
| 2020–21 | 9th | |
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| Official website | ||
| hartpuryrfc | ||
The club is based at Hartpury University in Gloucestershire, England, and is made up primarily of the college's students and staff.[1] Hartpury University share a close relationship with Premiership Rugby side Gloucester, who use Hartpury's facilities as their permanent training base and provide a small number of academy players, all of whom are current or recently departed students, to supplement the Hartpury University team. Several Hartpury University players have gone on to play for Gloucester and other professional teams.[2] They also jointly run the Gloucester-Hartpury Women team in Women's Super Rugby.
History
Hartpury College Rugby Academy was formed in September 2000 in partnership with Gloucester Rugby, consisting of a University side that competed in the BUCS league system and under-18 teams. In 2004, The college's vision of a Saturday side came to fruition, and became known as Hartpury College RFC.
Starting in the eleventh tier of the league pyramid, Hartpury lost their first ever match in the Gloucester Three North league. That was to be the last time that the club lost a league match until 2009, when they lost to Thornbury after four consecutive promotions, an EDF Junior Vase and an EDF Senior Vase. That setback did not prevent Hartpury from gaining further promotions to National League 1. During this time the team both the level six Champions Cup and EDF Intermediate Cup at Twickenham. In the 2016–17 season, their third at Level 3, Hartpury created history in winning National League 1 with a 100% record — winning all thirty of their fixtures and only twice failing to secure a four-try bonus point.
As a result, the club now play in the Greene King IPA Championship. The first season saw them finish in 10th place, but comfortably clear of relegation. The finish continued Hartpury's remarkable record of having improved their final league position in every single year of their existence.
Honours
- RFU Gloucester Three North champions: 2004–05
- RFU Gloucester Two champions: 2005–06
- RFU Gloucester One champions: 2006–07
- EDF Junior Vase winners: 2006–07
- RFU Gloucester Premier champions: 2007–08
- EDF Senior Vase winners: 2007–08
- Tribute Western Counties North champions: 2008–09
- EDF Intermediate Cup winners: 2008–09
- Tribute South West Division 1 West champions: 2009–10
- RFU Level Six Champions Cup winners: 2009–10
- National Division Three South West champions: 2010–11
- National Division Two South champions: 2013–14
- National League 1 champions: 2016–17
Current standings
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| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Diff | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Points | |||||||
| 1 | Ealing Trailfinders | 20 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 890 | 336 | 554 | 15 | 1 | 80 | ||||||
| 2 | Doncaster Knights | 20 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 524 | 322 | 202 | 9 | 0 | 77 | ||||||
| 3 | Cornish Pirates | 20 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 521 | 365 | 156 | 12 | 1 | 73 | ||||||
| 4 | Jersey Reds | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 596 | 436 | 160 | 12 | 3 | 69 | ||||||
| 5 | Bedford Blues | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 536 | 503 | 33 | 10 | 4 | 50 | ||||||
| 6 | Ampthill | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 420 | 511 | −91 | 6 | 4 | 46 | ||||||
| 7 | Hartpury | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 524 | 515 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 46 | ||||||
| 8 | Coventry | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 468 | 582 | −114 | 7 | 2 | 45 | ||||||
| 9 | Richmond | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 440 | 546 | −106 | 7 | 5 | 42 | ||||||
| 10 | Nottingham | 20 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 407 | 690 | −283 | 6 | 4 | 30 | ||||||
| 11 | London Scottish | 20 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 326 | 846 | −520 | 3 | 2 | 11 | ||||||
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| Green background Championship winners Updated: 2 April 2022 Source: "The Championship". England Rugby. | |||||||||||||||||
Current squad
The Hartpury University squad for the 2021–22 season is:[3][lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4]
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
- Gloucester academy players named Ollie Adkins, Josh Gray, Joe Howard, Ethan Hunt, Matty Jones, Cameron Jordan and Toby Venner join Hartpury University on season-long loans for the 2021–22 season.[4]
- Groves and Scott are dual-registered with Hartpury University with Bristol Bears and Worcester Warriors respectively for the 2021–22 season.
- Gloucester prop Ciaran Knight is dual-registered with Hartpury University for the 2021–22 season.
- Bristol Bears academy player Deago Bailey is dual-registered with Hartpury University for the 2021–22 season.
Notable former players
Gallagher Premiership
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Guinness Pro12
RFU Championship
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James Merriman ( Bristol)
References
- Team Homepage. Pitchero.com. Accessed 24 March 2012.
- Hartpury College RFC. Schoolsrugby.co.uk. Accessed 24 March 2012.
- "Team". Hartpury RFC. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- "Seven Academy players link up with Hartpury RFC". Gloucester Rugby. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
