Jacksonville Rugby Football Club
| Full name | Jacksonville Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Florida Rugby Union | |
| Founded | 1972 | |
| Ground(s) | Wurn Park , Jacksonville | |
| President | Mike Lucic | |
| Coach(es) | Ryan Cox
Patrick Murphy Donald Alexander Michael Connolly | |
| League(s) | USA Rugby Division III | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
Jacksonville Rugby Football Club (Jacksonville RFC) are a men's rugby union team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They are members of the Florida Rugby Union, the organizational body for rugby in the state of Florida, and currently play in USA Rugby Division III. The club was founded in 1972.
History
Jacksonville RFC was founded in 1972.[1] The original roster largely consisted of former college rugby players and a handful of locals.[2] Among their biggest events in the early years was playing in front of 50,000 spectators as part of the events surrounding the 1989 Gator Bowl.[1] After years of sporadic success, the team established itself in the 1990s under a string of British coaches, winning the 1996 state championship and going to the national championship.[2][3] More recently they have made the Florida Cup finals, won the Florida matrix, and played in the National Final 8.[2] In 2008 they won the USA Rugby South Division II Championship, and played in the national Final 16, ultimately finishing sixth in the country out of the 1,300 Division II teams.[4]
The team currently plays its home matches at Bob Hayes Park in Jacksonville.
The club has been involved with a variety of other rugby teams including assisting founding Jacksonville Women's Rugby Club, Jacksonville Youth Rugby Club, and players have played with the Jacksonville Axemen.
References
- ^ a b Mark Woods (October 22, 2003). "Love of game bonds rugby individualists". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c "About Jacksonville RFC". jaxrugby.com. 2007. Archived from the original on December 30, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ Ben Watkins (October 24, 1998). "Rugby club in market for funds, field and players". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ Brian Kosoy (May 31, 2008). "Rugby report:". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved December 14, 2010.