Set in the beautiful LaganValley, Lisburn, which was awarded City status in 2002, covers 174 square miles of contrasting scenery from the gentle drumlins of the open countryside to its many picturesque towns and villages. Located mid way between Lisburn City Centre and the historic Georgian village of Hillsborough, Lisburn Rugby Football Club, now in its 125th year, has a rich and proud history. Formed in 1884 the Club quickly found success winning the Ulster Rugby Challenge Cup in 1888. This success seems to have been short lived with the club all but disappearing by 1890. In 1899 a club called Lisburn ‘Wheelers Rugby Club’ was formed by ‘Lisburn Wheelers Cycling Club’ to give their members a form of winter exercise. The ‘Wheelers’ continued to play on and off until 1913 and whether dueto a shortage of players or the increasing threat of war the Lisburn club ceased to be. Nearly 35 years and 2 World Wars were to pass when in 1947 the Club was ‘reborn’ as ‘Wallace Old Boys RFC’ by anenthusiastic small band of the local Schools former pupils. Recognising the importance of growth and sustainability, in1951, membership of the club was extended to include ‘Friends School Former Pupils RFC’, the other grammar school in the Lisburn area. To reflect this new allegiance the Clubs name was changed to ‘Lisburn Academicals’.
The ‘Accies’ flourished during the fifties and sixties and included one Raymond Hunter who joined the club for a few years before going on to play Rugby for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. By the early 1970’s the club was open to all, with the removal of the ‘past pupil’ limitation and in 1975 Lisburn RFC moved to its current location at Sprucefield. The opening of the ‘Horace Crawford’ Clubhouse and the availability of our own pitches allowed mini and youth rugby to be played for the first time at the club. So successful was its introduction, the boys played an exhibition match before the Senior game at theofficial opening of the new facility.
As a result of the exhibition match an invitation was received from Skerries RFC (just outside Dublin) to play against their newly formed Mini Rugby section. This invitation sparked, what has now become a tradition of the ‘mini tour’.
For those who have never heard about Horace Crawford he was a familiar face tothe rugby players who met and trained at the Barbour Playing Fields. From thattime Lisburn Rugby Club took pride of place among his wide sporting interests. He was elected Vice-President of the club in the1950′s and followed T.C.C. Adam as President in 1970. The facilities thatwe enjoy at Blaris today are largely the result of his vision and drive over the years. He was reluctant to have the new club house bear his name for he felt that many others deserved this honour more. The modesty was typical of the man but his achievements tell a different story. His death in February 1975 robbed the club of not only a great friend and benefactor but also rugby in general of one of it’smost ardent enthusiasts.
Lisburn Rugby Football Club presently operate 3 Senior teams with the 1st XV currently playing in the Ulster Qualifying League(Section 2). The 2nd XV finished 6th in the Magners Junior League (Section2) while the 3rd XV finished 10th in the Magners Junior League (Section3). The Youth boys section field four teams (U19, U17, U15 & U13). The Mini Rugby section are also in a healthy state boasting over 160 mini rugby players from Under 7 to Maxi (Under 12).
CLICK HERE FOR THE LISBURN RUGBY CLUB WEBSITE
We will be completing a series of these feature on clubs across Ulster which will be on the front page and then move into the club features section of the home page as a resource for anyone wanting to find out about clubs. Each section will have a link to the clubs website and / or facebook page. Thankyou to all the clubs for their support, it is an honour for InTouch to promote all things rugby in Ulster.
