History
THE EARLY DAYS
Historically, Old Wellingtonians working in London could play rugby for a major club such as Harlequins, Richmond, Wasps or Saracens. Or, if they wanted to concentrate on their careers and play a more social game, they generally joined one of the many Old Boys Clubs, almost all of whom had gone ‘open’ to survive.
One of these clubs was the Old Haileyburians for whom various Old Wellingtonians over several generations had played. By some quirk of history, the OHs had the privileged ownership of a field of 3 pitches off the A3 in Ewell, nowhere near Haileybury School in Hertfordshire.
Wellington, on the other hand, despite being one of the country’s leading rugby schools and one of the founding 7 clubs of the RFU in the 19th century, had never had an Old Boys rugby club at all. However, in 1993, it became clear that the Old Haileyburians would generously allow the Old Wellingtonians to use one of their pitches on an occasional rental basis.
A letter was distributed to OWs who had been on Bigside over the previous 10 years. They were invited to an inaugural meeting at The Alma Tavern in Wandsworth in order to discuss the desirability and feasibility of an OW rugby club. Hugh Salmon and 24 other OWs attended the meeting.
It was unanimously agreed that of course there should be an OW rugby club. To broaden awareness and interest, it was decided to hold an Over 25 v Under 25 OW match on Bigside in December 1993. The Master kindly approved the use of the pitch, both teams were over-subscribed and the occasion was an outstanding success.
There was now sufficient interest in the OWRFC for a few Sunday games to be played at the Old Haileyburians ground in early 1994. By now, the OWRFC was at a crossroads. The team had been competitive in all its games and, as is generally the case in all OW sport, all the players had enjoyed meeting and playing alongside other OWs.
But there were 2 major issues to resolve.
First, where should the Club play – at the OH’s ground or at College? The swing factor was that the RFU ordained that we would have to join the Berkshire league if playing at College. Berkshire is in the South West division, potentially taking fixtures all the way to the West Country. Given our difficulty in getting to some games in Surrey on time, making kick-off in the West Country would have been tricky! So, the Surrey league, and the OH ground was decided on.
The second issue was more fundamental. Should the OWRFC continue as an occasional Sunday team or should the club be more ambitious and aim to put out a side every week? The latter course would require over 30 OWs to leave their existing clubs, for whom many had played for years.
The emergence of the junior Leagues clinched the point. If the OWRFC could join the Leagues, the club would have a clearly defined identity and be able to offer players a competitive level of rugby. So, in 1995, and with great excitement, the Old Wellingtonian RFC joined Surrey League 4 and has fielded 2 teams throughout each season ever since.
The raison d’etre of the OWRFC had already been defined: ‘a social alternative to those OWs who wish to play serious rugby’. Some of these ‘serious’ players were, by now, professional sportsman at clubs such as Bath, Bristol and Newcastle. Supporting this objective, the first two rules of the Club were soon agreed.
First, the club would be as closed as possible (i.e. as many players as possible to be genuine OWs) – unlikely many other ‘Old Boys’ clubs.
And second - no training!
This second rule had a serious intent. It would allow OWs working in London, many of them in time-consuming jobs, the chance to play decent rugby on a Saturday but not pressurise them to turn up for Club training mid-week. This would mean selection would be based on Saturday playing performance rather than mid-week training attendance.
The no-training principle holds true today, and has been a source of amusement and amazement for many. When one opposition Committee member, not believing we didn't train, asked 'do you guys have a coach?', the OW reply was 'no, we all have our own cars' and drove off!
THE PRESENT
The club has gone from strength to strength. We moved up through the Leagues FROM Surrey 4 to, in season 2007-08, London South West 4. We have won the Combined London Old Boys tournament and various Sevens and Under 21 competitions.
Already, in its short existence, the OWRFC has toured Venezuela, the USA and the Far East.
So, the history of the club has not been a long one but, thanks largely to many OWs and some committed honorary OWs who have been prepared to stand up and be counted and who have put their hands up and taken on the challenge – as OWs do – the OWRFC has been an outstanding success for College itself and all Old Wellingtonians.