Barnes Rugby Football Club

Barnes Rugby Football Club (formerly Harrodians Rugby Football Club) is a rugby union club based in Barnes, London. The club currently play in the fourth tier of the English league system, National League 2 East, following an increase of fourth tier leagues from two to three.

For the association football club founded in the nineteenth century, see Barnes Football Club.

Barnes
Full nameBarnes Rugby Football Club
UnionMiddlesex RFU, Surrey RFU
Foundedc. 1920 (as Harrodians RFC)[1]
LocationBarnes, Richmond upon Thames, London, England
Ground(s)Barn Elms (Capacity: 500)
ChairmanMichael Whitfield
League(s)National League 2 South
2021–2211th
1st kit
2nd kit
3rd kit
Official website
www.barnesrfc.org

History

The club's website states that it was established in Barnes in the 1920s.[1] For many years the club played at the Harrodian Club before moving to its Barn Elms location in 1987 when the grounds were sold to form a school.[1] Barnes RFC first XV has been promoted eight times since being positioned in Surrey Division Three in 1987. The club changed its name from Harrodians to Barnes at the beginning of the 1992–93 season.

Claim of continuity with Barnes Football Club

In 2002, the club's website claimed continuity with Barnes Football Club, stating that "[o]ur earliest recorded match was November 1862 versus Richmond, played at Barn Elms. We won that match and the replay that followed. For many years we played as Harrodians RFC before moving to our Barn Elms location in 1987."[2] In 2005, this claim was amplified in The Daily Telegraph by BBC sports presenter John Inverdale. Inverdale, who stated that he was "[f]or reasons that I'm not altogether clear about, ... one of a number of vice-presidents" of Barnes RFC, wrote that "in 1839, according to the club records, Barnes RFC were born, playing fixtures against a whole mish-mash of teams of which no match results have been kept."[3]

In 2008, the rugby club's website weakened this claim, stating only that "Barnes Rugby Club is a club with a rich history and was established in Barnes in the 1920s. Although there are indeed possibilities that our earliest recorded match was in November 1862 versus Richmond and played at Barn Elms, it is from the 1920s that our true history is clear."[4] As of 2018, similar wording remains on the current version of the rugby club's website.[1]

Honours

Current standings
2022–23 National League 2 East Table
Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Losing bonus Points Points adj
1Blackheath17150269821947914276
2Dorking17121458231626611263
3Worthing Raiders18120662046115913263
4Barnes17110650535215312359
5Bury St Edmunds17110650140110010256
6Henley Hawks171106440355858456
7Old Albanian1711064474064111055
8Tonbridge Juddians1810084814027910252
9Guernsey Raiders187110521450719443
10Canterbury186012448544−968234
11Sevenoaks174211329471−1425429
12Rochford Hundred174013327633−3069227
13North Walsham175012347596−2494024
14Westcliff170017236876−64022−1−5
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are the relegation places.

Source: "National League 2 East". RugbyEngland.
Updated: 11 February 2023

Notes
  1. Won when club was known as Harrodians RFC.
  2. Both titles won when club was known as Harrodians RFC – 1988–89 title was for Surrey 2A.

References
  1. "Barnes RFC History".
  2. "About BRFC". Archived from the original on 10 August 2002. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  3. Inverdale, John (2 November 2005). "My assumptions about 'oldest' were confounded by Barnes". The Daily Telegraph.
  4. "Barnes RFC - a club going places!". Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2021.

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