Barking Rugby Football Club

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Barking
Barking rfc logo.png
Full name Barking Rugby Union Football Club
Founded 1930; 94 years ago (1930)
Location Becontree, Dagenham, London, England
Ground(s) Goresbrook (Capacity: 1,000)
Coach(es) England Steve Wagstaff
Captain(s) England Fat Dan
League(s) London 1 North
2012-13 15th (relegated)
Team kit
Official website
www.pitchero.com/clubs/barkingrufc/

Barking RFC is an English rugby union team based in Barking, east London and currently play in the fifth tier of the English rugby union league system the National League 3 London & SE.

History

Park Modern Old Boys

The club was founded in 1930, under the name of Park Modern Old Boys. In 1926 the Park Modern School in Barking was founded and the headmaster decided that the school would play rugby, despite football being the most popular sport in the area. As a result, the Old Boys team was created four years later and won 16 out of 19 games in its inaugural season.

Barking RFC

Old Boys continued to prosper after the war. In 1974 they were declared no longer an Old Boys team, and so were obliged to change their name to Barking Park RFC, which became just Barking RFC in 1976.

Barking were successful upon the introduction of leagues and moved slowly up the league ladder. It is widely known that Jason Leonard, the most internationally capped prop in the history of rugby union began his club career at Barking. In 1989 Barking opened their current ground at Goresbrook, Dagenham and have remained there since. They reached the National Leagues in 1994. After winning National Division Three South in the 2004-05 season, Barking enjoyed two seasons in National Division Two before being relegated in 2007. The season began with a crushing 63-10 defeat at the hands of newly promoted Mounts Bay, who were eventually crowned champions. This set the tone for a season in which the Eastenders were constantly staving off the threat of relegation. However, Barking survived by the narrowest of margins after defeating the very team who had destroyed them on the opening day and finished the league as champions. The 16-14 win at Goresbrook was enough to send Bristol-based Clifton down by a single point and secure another season of National League rugby for Essex and London's East End.

Comedian and actor Nick Frost, known for his many film and television collaborations with Simon Pegg, is an ex-player.

Club Honors

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Samu John Prop Samoa Samoa
Geoff Hughes Prop England England
Sean Mullins Prop England England
Francis Ambrose Hooker England England
Darren Bowles Hooker England England
Rob Anderson Hooker England England
Conner Otoole Second row Ireland Ireland
Darryl Ox Second row England England
Stephen Hayes Flanker England England
Joe Forde Prop England England
Michael Anderson Prop Nigeria Nigeria
Jason Ox Flanker England England
Keano Flanker England England
Joe Touma Prop Lebanon Lebanon
Prop England England
Prop England England
Prop England England
Andrew Moreland Prop England England
Player Position Union
Connor Baker Scrum-half England England
Joe Cook Scrum-half England England
Craig Ratford Fly-half England England
Ben Lloyd Fly-half England England
Zak Myers Prop England England
Fly-half England England
Shaun Turner Prop England England
Nathan Barham Prop England England
Callum Gardner Prop England England
Alex Foster Prop England England
Prop England England
Tom Bateman Prop England England
Fat Dan (C) Prop England England
(RIP) Prop China China
Prop Rwanda Rwanda
Prop Israel Israel
Ollie Forrests Sister Prop China China
Random Kid That Turned Up Prop Bulgaria Bulgaria

External links