Halifax Vandals RUFC

Halifax Vandals
Full nameHalifax Vandals Rugby Union Football Club
UnionYorkshire RFU
Nickname(s)Vandals, Van
Founded1923; 102 years ago (1923)
LocationWarley Town, Halifax, England
RegionWest Yorkshire
Ground(s)Mount Doom[1]
ChairmanNeil Crossley
Coach(es)James Wainright
Captain(s)Danny Mitchell (1st XV)
Ben Simms (2nd XV)
League(s)Counties 2 Yorkshire (1st XV)
AWW/Central/North Merit (2nd XV)
2023–242nd (promoted)
Official website
www.halifaxvandals.co.uk

Halifax Vandals RUFC is an amateur rugby union club based in Warley Town, Halifax. They currently run two senior sides. The 1st XV plays in Counties 2 Yorkshire while the 2nd XV plays in the AWW/Central/North Merit League.[2][3][4]

History

Formation

Halifax Vandals was formed in November 1923 when a group of college students met under a lamp post on Francis Street in Halifax to form a rugby club. The name "Vandal" is attributed to a warrior tribe who fought against the Roman Empire in 455 AD and came out victorious.[5]

Modern History

In the early days, their existence was somewhat nomadic, using the facilities in the village pub, The Maypole Inn, before acquiring the former school house opposite. With the formation of the national league system in 1987 Halifax Vandals was one of the original members of Yorkshire 5, being the first ever winners of the competition being promoted to Yorkshire 4.

In the 2003–04 season they were relegated back to Yorkshire 5 however was promoted back in Yorkshire 4 the following season. Once again in the 2007–08 season the Vandals were champions Yorkshire 5, this caused them to have the joint record for titles for the now defunct Yorkshire 5.

In 2015–16 they became champions of Yorkshire 4, and went onto go back to back becoming champions of Yorkshire 3. However they were relegated from Yorkshire 2 after only one season.

Rivalries

The Warley-based club have a long-standing rivalry with Old Rishworthians and more recently, with Halifax RUFC. With Halifax RUFC joining the Vandals in Counties 3 Yorkshire for the 2023–24 season now led by former player coach Jamie Bloem the rivalry between the two clubs grows even more.

Club honours

1st XV

Season summaries

Since 1998–99 season
Season League Position W D L Pts Notes Captain
1998–99 Yorkshire 2 3rd 11 2 5 24 Tim Helliwell
1999–00 Yorkshire 2 4th 12 0 6 24 Jon Isherwood
2000–01 Yorkshire 3 7th 9 2 11 20 G A Pollard
2001–02 Yorkshire 3 7th 9 0 13 18 Tim Helliwell
2002–03 Yorkshire 3 12th 1 1 20 2 Relegated to Yorkshire 4 Jon Isherwood
2003–04 Yorkshire 4 11th 6 1 15 13 Relegated to Yorkshire 5 North West B Holden
2004–05 Yorkshire 5 North West 1st 11 1 2 23 Champions, promoted to Yorkshire 4 Jon Isherwood
2005–06 Yorkshire 4 12th 1 0 21 2 Relegated to Yorkshire 5 North West Damian Whiteley
2006–07 Yorkshire 5 North West 3rd 10 0 6 20 Rick Duffy
2007–08 Yorkshire 5A 1st 12 1 1 25 Promoted to Yorkshire 4 Andy Lyon
Yorkshire 5C 2nd 7 0 1 16
2008–09 Yorkshire 4 5th 13 1 8 27 Promoted to Yorkshire Division Three M Lockwood
2009–10 Yorkshire Division Three 8th 7 1 13 15 Paul Knapping
2010–11 Yorkshire Division Three 12th 4 1 17 23 Andrew Murray
2011–12 Yorkshire Division Three 14th 5 0 21 24 Relegated to Yorkshire Division Four
2012–13 Yorkshire Division Four 8th 9 0 13 42
2013–14 Yorkshire Division Four 5th 13 1 8 65 Paul Jowett
2014–15 Yorkshire Division Four 6th 12 1 9 58
2015–16 Yorkshire Division Four 1st 19 0 3 90 Promoted to Yorkshire Division Three
2016–17 Yorkshire Division Three 1st 20 1 5 95 Promoted to Yorkshire Division Two
2017–18 Yorkshire Division Two 14th 3 1 22 21 Relegated to Yorkshire Division Three
2018–19 Yorkshire Division Three 9th 9 0 17 45 Jamie Richardson
2019–20 Yorkshire Division Three 9th 11 1 10 61 Play was stopped on the 16/03/20 due to COVID-19 Tony Curtis
2020–21 Yorkshire Three N/A 0 0 0 0 No games were played due to the Pandemic
2021–22 Yorkshire Three 6th 13 1 12 64 Paul Jowett
2022–23 Counties 3 Yorkshire 6th 11 0 11 51 Ben Burnside
2023–24 Counties 3 Yorkshire 2nd 20 0 2 96 Promoted to Counties 2 Yorkshire Dan Mitchell

Notable former players

Internationals

References

  1. ^ "Second Xv Secure Victory at Vandals".
  2. ^ "RFU". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Halifax Vandals RUFC 2nd XV". www.halifaxvandals.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Yorkshire RFU - AWW/Central/North Merit Table - AWW/Central/North Merit Table Table". yorkshirerfu.pitchero.com. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  5. ^ Davies, Chris. "Halifax Vandals Centenary Year Newsletter – Edition 4 September 2023". Halifax Vandals.
  6. ^ "England squad for Hong Kong". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Former sevens star Davis lands presidency at Halifax Vandals". Halifax Courier. Retrieved 2 September 2023 – via PressReader.
  8. ^ "Chris Davis – Halifax Vandals RUFC 1st XV". www.halifaxvandals.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Jamie Bloem – Halifax Vandals RUFC 1st XV". www.halifaxvandals.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Rugby: Squad finalised for Asian Championship". The Express Tribune. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  11. ^ "RFU". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 31 December 2023.