Gloucester RFC
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Gloucester Rugby Club is an English rugby union team which plays in the Guinness Premiership. Its stadium is called Kingsholm. The team plays in cherry-red and white hooped shirts, which led to the nickname Cherry and Whites. Gloucester is a city in Gloucestershire in South West England.
History
Formation
Gloucester Football Club was formed on the September 13, 1873 following an announcement in the Gloucester Journal. The famous 'Cherry and Whites' jersey did not originally belong to the club. Painswick RFC, based in Gloucestershire and the oldest village club, are the original 'Cherry and Whites'. After Gloucester's inception, Painswick RFC sent the new club 15 of their jerseys, but the Gloucester club never returned them. However in 2003 to celebrate Gloucester's 130th anniversary, Gloucester returned the favour and gave Painswick RFC 15 Gloucester jerseys.Professionalism: Shewell case
Gloucester were suspended by the RFU for professionalism as a result of the club recruiting players: the "Shewell case". The club responded by adopting a more puritanical adherence to the amateur regulations, and were reinstated. However when the Northern clubs split from the RFU to form the Northern Rugby Union (later known as the Rugby Football League) a number of Gloucester players "went North".
Kingsholm
Just before World War One, Gloucester opened the "sixpenny" stand later known as the Shed. Kingsholm's capacity was further increased to 20,000 in the 1930s when a grandstand was added to the stadium.
Like the clubs of the Welsh mining valleys, Gloucester traditionally drew its support and its playing strength from local working-class communities. "The Shed" became the home for working class fans. The Shed, so-called because it looks like a cow shed, dates back to the 1950s. Gloucester's fanzine refers to it as 'the cauldron of fear'. The Shed is standing-only terracing that runs continuously down one touchline, opposite the point where visiting teams emerge from the dressing rooms. Its low tin roof amplifies the effect of a passionate support which has been mentioned by commentators sitting above it during live broadcasts.
Success marred by violence
In 1972 Gloucester won the first ever National Knock-Out Competition. Having overcome Bath, Bristol, London Welsh and Coventry (all away from home) in earlier rounds, they beat Moseley in a Twickenham final that was marred by violence and the sending off of Moseley's Nigel Horton. In 1978 Gloucester won the first ever John Player Cup, defeating Leicester in another final noted for violent play both on and off the pitch at Twickenham.
Professionalism again
By 1992/93 however it was a different story. The players called a crisis meeting with club coach Keith Richardson about the perceived lack of player rewards relative to other comparable clubs. A year later, club chairman Peter Ford restated the club's traditional antiprofessionalism: "We play by the rules... whatever anybody else does, we'll stick by the rules. If they say we can't pay players, or offer them inducements or cars or flats... then we won't do it."
Professionalism finally came in 1995, but Gloucester was without a major investor, and lost ground in terms of player recruitment and revenue acquisition. But this did not prevent the club from transforming itself into a limited company.
The abbreviation Gloucester RFC is what is displayed on each jersey, standing for Gloucester Rugby Football Club — the traditional name for this club.
At the start of the 2005 season, much to the anger of the Gloucester faithful, the club chairman Tom Walkinshaw began several changes which some feel have distanced the club from its fans and its heritage. 'Gloucester RFC' are now know as 'Gloucester Rugby' and no longer use Gloucester City's Coat of Arms as the clubs crest. This is in order to prevent others creating Gloucester RFC merchandise (as the city's coat of arms can be used by anyone).
The club's jerseys no longer feature the cherry-and-white hoops, instead featuring a largely red shirt with white armbands and black-and-white strips down the sides. There is also some debate over the club's nickname, though due to supporter protest there is likely to be no change. The proposed change was from the nickname 'Cherry and Whites' to 'Gloucester Lions'. Such a move was met with a negative response from most fans, who also have concerns over a potential move of the club from the city, which a name change would certainly assist. Several fan-suggested alternatives to 'Lions' such as 'Meteors' or 'Javelins', which refer to the city's aviation links, were also met with similar derision. The club insists that the nickname 'Cherry and Whites' has never been official, but fans have rightly pointed out that the official club history has used the term in its title. The nickname is also commonly used throughout the national press, and not just in the local sports coverage.
Current England elite squad
Other internationals
- Alex Brown (England)
- Henry Paul (England)
- Terry Fanolua (Samoa)
- Patrice Colazo (France)
- Olivier Azam (France)
- Mefin Davies (Wales)
- Quinton Davids (South Africa)
- Rob Thirlby (England)
- Simon Amor (England Sevens)
- James Bailey (England Sevens)
- Nick Wood (England U21)
- Marcel Garvey (England U21)
- James Merriman (Wales U21)
Club honours
- Zurich Premiership 2002/03 (playoffs won by Wasps)
- John Player Cup 1972 1978 1982 2003
- Middlesex 7s 2005
- Zurich Premiership League Play-off Champions 2001/02
- European Challenge Cup 2005/06
External links
| Rugby union in England | [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit ] | |
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Federation Rugby Football Union | ||
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Competitions Guinness Premiership | National Division One | Heineken Cup | European Challenge Cup | European Shield | Powergen Cup | ||
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National team English national team | ||
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Guinness Premiership teams Bath | Bristol | Gloucester | Harlequins | Leicester Tigers | London Irish | Newcastle Falcons | Northampton Saints | Sale Sharks | Saracens | London Wasps | Worcester Warriors | ||
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National Division One teams Bedford | Cornish Pirates | Coventry | Doncaster | Exeter | Leeds Tykes | London Welsh | Newbury | Nottingham | Otley | Pertemps Bees | Plymouth Albion | Rotherham | Sedgley Park | ||
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