Kendal Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Kendal, Cumbria. The first XV currently plays in Regional 1 North West, a level five league in the English league system, following the club's promotion from North 1 West at the end of the 2021–22 season.
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| Full name | Kendal Rugby Union Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Cumbria RU | |
| Founded | 1905 | |
| Location | Kendal, Cumbria, England | |
| Ground(s) | Mint Bridge Stadium (Capacity: 3,500 (258 seats)) | |
| Chairman | Stephen Green | |
| President | Mike Bowerbank | |
| Coach(es) | Steve Whitehead | |
| League(s) | Regional 1 North West | |
| 2023–24 | 6th | |
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| Official website | ||
| www | ||
History
editKendal RUFC was formed in 1905. moving to their present ground at Mint Bridge in 1927. The club found success in the decades before league rugby was introduced in 1987 and the club was placed in North One. By the turn of the century they were in National Division Two, finishing in fourth place in their first season in the third tier of English rugby. In 2002–03 they were relegated for the first time in the club's history and have subsequently dropped down two further levels.
Ground
editOriginally based at Maude's Meadow until 1906, Kendal moved to Mint Bridge off Shap Road in 1927.[1] The original Mint Bridge had a capacity of 3,000 (including 300 in the stand) - which was the attendance achieved in 1999 when Kendal lost 20-25 to London Scottish in the fourth round of the Tetley's Bitter Cup.[2] They would remain at the old Mint Bridge up until the end of the 2016-17 season when they sold the land to Sainsbury's for the construction of a supermarket. The money from the sale would enable Kendal to build a new ground (retaining the Mint Bridge name) just up the road. It would cost up to £11 million - a figure that included a £3.5 million club-house - and development would officially begin in July 2016, undertaken by local construction group Pinington.[3] The ground was completed in time for the 2017-18 season, with the first game taking place against Preston Grasshoppers on 30 September 2017 - a 19-25 defeat in front of a crowd of over 1,000 supporters.[4][5]
The new Mint Bridge Stadium has a 4G pitch with electronic scoreboard alongside the club-house/stand, with additional facilities including a function room, kitchen, cafe, children's play area and memorial garden.[6][7] Capacity at the ground allows for up to 3,000 standing pitch side, along with 258 seats in the stand and space for 200 on the club-house balcony, bringing total capacity to approximately 3,500.
Honours
edit1st team:
- Westmorland & Furness Cup winners (10): 1974, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000[a 1]
- North 1 champions (2): 1988–89, 2007–08
- Cumbria Cup winners (5): 1995, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2018
- Jewson National League 2 North champions: 1999–00
- North 1 West champions: 2015–16
2nd team:
- Cumbria Shield winners: 1996
- Cumbria Vase winners (3): 2008, 2009, 2012
Notes
edit- ^ Westmorland & Furness Cup honours includes nine wins by a Kendal 'A' team.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Club History". Kendal RUFC. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "Two tries for ex-Eden player as 3,000 watch Kendal test Exiles". Cumberland & Westmorland Herald. 16 January 1999.
- ^ "Work starts on Kendal Rugby Club's new £11m ground". The Westmorland Gazette. 9 July 2016.
- ^ "Out Powered - but only just !". Kendal RUFC. 30 September 2017.
- ^ "Nat 2 Crowds". Rolling Maul. 3 October 2017.
- ^ "New Ground Tidbits!". The Kendal RUFC. 26 June 2017.
- ^ "PICTURE GALLERY: First look around Kendal RUFC's ground". The Westmorland Gazette. 22 September 2017.
