Nottingham Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently plays in the Champ Rugby, the second tier of the English rugby union system.

The first XV are nicknamed The Archers, in reference to the famous Robin Hood. Now situated in the Lady Bay area of Nottingham, the club was formerly based at Meadow Lane, the home ground of Notts County F.C. They previously played at Ireland Avenue in Beeston until the end of the 2005–06 season.

History

The club was established circa 1877 by Alexander Birkin after returning from Rugby School, where he was introduced to the sport. The Birkin family later purchased the land at Ireland Avenue that would be the home of the club until 2006.

The club's heyday was in the late 1980s with a number of top international players representing the first XV. These included Simon Hodgkinson, Rob Andrew, Gary Rees, Dusty Hare and Brian Moore (also a Lion) representing England and Chris Gray representing Scotland.

The advent of professionalism[citation needed] saw the Green & Whites fall on hard times and the first XV narrowly avoided relegation to the regional divisions in 2002–03. The club has bounced back since then and was promoted into National League One in 2003–04. The club finished a creditable 7th in 2005–06 before leaving Ireland Avenue after 102 years. Alistair Bow was appointed chairman in 2010 after having been a director since 2008.

On 30 July 2010 the club signed an agreement to become part of Notts County PLC.

In early July 2012 it was announced that Martin Haag had become the new director of rugby at the club. Martin Haag appointed Dan Montagu captain on 21 July 2015. He replaced Brent Wilson who retired at the end of 2014–15 season. Since then Ian Costello has been appointed as Head Coach, with Neil Fowkes and Alex O'Dowd rounding out the coaching team.

A change in funding by the RFU ahead of the 2020–21 season forced the club into become only a part-time professional club.

Ground

Founded in 1877, the club originally played in a field behind the White Hart Inn in Lenton. In 1904 the club purchased land in the village of Beeston and were able to have their first permanent ground, initially known as Rylands Road but becoming Ireland Avenue by 1947. By the advent of league rugby in the late 1980s the capacity of Ireland Avenue was 4,990 which included a covered grandstand with 590 seats and space for around 4,400 standing. The club would play at Ireland Avenue for over a century, eventually selling the ground for housing development in 2004.

The club spent a couple of seasons ground sharing at Notts County's home, Meadow Lane between 2004 and 2006. Since 2006 the club have been based at Lady Bay Sports Ground at Lady Bay. Ground capacity at Lady Bay was originally 3,500 but this has risen to 3,700 for the 2024–25 season, when a Lady Bay ground record of 3,690 watched the club's Premiership Rugby Cup game against Leicester Tigers on 22 November 2024.

Honours

  • Midland Counties Senior Cup winners: 1905–06
  • Midland Counties Junior Cup winners: 1907–08
  • Noel Syson Cup (Notts, Lincs & Derby Sevens) winners: 1935, 1936, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1959, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983
  • Middlesex Sevens winners: 1944–45
  • Midland Merit Table champions: 1984–85
  • Selkirk Sevens winners: 1990–91

Current standings

2025–26 Champ Rugby table
PosTeamvtePldWDLPFPAPDTBLBPtsQualification
1Ealing Trailfinders232300998369+629200112Play-off semi-finals
2Bedford Blues231616706530+17618387
3Coventry241509965666+29921687Play-off quarter-finals
4Worcester Warriors231508821522+29918583
5Chinnor231409608569+399570
6Cornish Pirates2312110694576+11814367
7Hartpury231229620578+4211366
8Nottingham2311111548517+3112866
9Ampthill2310013665815−15015459
10Doncaster Knights239311604588+1612458
11Caldy239014528694−16611451
12Richmond236116454725−2715435Relegation play-off
13London Scottish235018434851−4178230
14Cambridge (R)2401234001045−6456412Relegated
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Number of matches drawn
  3. Difference between points for and against
  4. Total number of points for
  5. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  6. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled

Current squad

The Nottingham squad for the 2025–26 season is:

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

PlayerPositionUnion
Player Position Union Arthur Allen Hooker New Zealand New Zealand Ben Brownlie Hooker England England Jack Dickinson Hooker England England Finn Theobald-Thomas Hooker England England Archie van der Flier Prop England England Ale Loman Prop Sweden Sweden Dan Richardson Prop England England Mink Scharink Prop Netherlands Netherlands Aniseko Sio Prop Samoa Samoa Oscar Stott Prop England England Jay Ecclesfield Lock England England Michael Etete Lock England England Tom Manz Lock England England Osian Thomas Lock Wales Wales James Cherry Back row England England Sam Green Back row England England Iestyn Rees Back row Wales Wales Kody Vereti Back row England England Sam Williams Back row England England Jacob Wright Back row England EnglandPlayer Position Union Josh Goodwin Scrum-half England England Will Yarnell Scrum-half England England Evan Mitchell Fly-half England England Gwyn Parks Fly-half Wales Wales Charlie West Fly-half England England Kegan Christian-Goss Centre New Zealand New Zealand Charlie Davies Centre England England Michael Green Centre England England Wilf McCarthy Centre England England Levi Roper Centre England England Harry Graham Wing England England Sam Mercer Wing England England Luke Rokomoce Wing England England David Williams Wing England England Jack Stapley Fullback United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
Arthur AllenHookerNew Zealand New Zealand
Ben BrownlieHookerEngland England
Jack DickinsonHookerEngland England
Finn Theobald-ThomasHookerEngland England
Archie van der FlierPropEngland England
Ale LomanPropSweden Sweden
Dan RichardsonPropEngland England
Mink ScharinkPropNetherlands Netherlands
Aniseko SioPropSamoa Samoa
Oscar StottPropEngland England
Jay EcclesfieldLockEngland England
Michael EteteLockEngland England
Tom ManzLockEngland England
Osian ThomasLockWales Wales
James CherryBack rowEngland England
Sam GreenBack rowEngland England
Iestyn ReesBack rowWales Wales
Kody VeretiBack rowEngland England
Sam WilliamsBack rowEngland England
Jacob WrightBack rowEngland England
PlayerPositionUnion
Josh GoodwinScrum-halfEngland England
Will YarnellScrum-halfEngland England
Evan MitchellFly-halfEngland England
Gwyn ParksFly-halfWales Wales
Charlie WestFly-halfEngland England
Kegan Christian-GossCentreNew Zealand New Zealand
Charlie DaviesCentreEngland England
Michael GreenCentreEngland England
Wilf McCarthyCentreEngland England
Levi RoperCentreEngland England
Harry GrahamWingEngland England
Sam MercerWingEngland England
Luke RokomoceWingEngland England
David WilliamsWingEngland England
Jack StapleyFullbackUnited Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates

Notable former players

British & Irish Lions

The following Nottingham players have been selected for the Lions tours while at the club:

Rugby World Cup

The following are players which have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup while playing for Nottingham:

TournamentPlayers selectedEngland playersOther national team players
19872Brian Moore, Gary Rees
19913Gary Rees, Simon HodgkinsonChris Gray Scotland
20114James Arlidge Japan, Sione Kalamafoni Tonga, Tim Usasz United States, Filipo Levi Samoa
20191Shane O'Leary Canada

Other notable former players

The following players have played for Nottingham and have been capped by their national side.

Notes

External links