London St. George's Rugby Football Club was founded in 1958. From that time until the mid-1980's it remained a small club fielding one men’s side and depending mostly on players from overseas to provide the nucleus of the club. The one exception was a successfully run junior programme that lasted from 1976 through 1979. By 1986, unfortunately the club had fallen from the premier Ontario league and it became obvious that without a junior rugby programme, it would continue to lag behind the rest of the province. At that time the first high school team was started at London Central Secondary School. Since then Boy’s Rugby has expanded to include 12 London and area high schools. Our men’s teams are now predominantly composed of home-grown talent or young men who have come up through junior programmes elsewhere in the country.
In the early 2000s, thanks to the efforts of some assertive St. George’s players and coaches and local high school coaches, Girl’s Rugby made its appearance in London and area schools. Starting at first with “Club” status in the schools, Girl’s Rugby became a sanctioned TVRAA sport in 2007, fielding 7 London teams and a couple in the counties. Girl’s Rugby remains the fastest growing high school sport in the province, and expansion in the London and area schools is likely.
London St. George's has provided coaches, referees, funding, clinics, transportation, awards, and facilities to the London high school conference to promote the growth of the sport. We have successfully run junior teams in the Ontario Summer Leagues at both the Under-17 and Under-19 levels for the past 4 and 6 years respectively. In 2007, a Flag Rugby and Mini programme was successfully launched at the club.
This past year the club fielded two senior men's teams in the ORU, a Junior Men’s side in the NRU, a Championship Senior Women's team (second consecutive year) in the NRU, and an Under 19 Women’s side in the NRU. St. George’s has hosted several tournaments including the 1985 Interbranch Tournament, London Valentine's Tournament (1995-1998), the last Ontario Summer Games, and the largest annual two-day High School Tournament in the province called the London Source for Sports Classic featuring as many as 64 teams. The 2001 Canada Games used the St. George Facility for a very successful and crowd-pleasing tourney. In 2006 the Club played host to the CIS Women’s Rugby Championship Tournament, something it will do again in 2007.
The Club will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2008 and a special Anniversary/Reunion weekend is planned for sometime in the July. An Informal History of London St. George’s RFC is in the works as well. For more information contact Richard Young, Media & Communications Officer (richardyoung51@rogers.com) and continue to check the club website for updates.
London St. George's
