Dudley Kingswinford Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union football club based in Kingswinford in the West Midlands. The club currently participate in the fifth tier of English club rugby, Regional 1 Midlands, following their relegation from National League 2 West in 2023–24. The club run seven senior sides, a ladies team and a full range of junior sides.[1]
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| Full name | Dudley Kingswinford Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | North Midlands RFU | |
| Founded | 1920 | |
| Location | Kingswinford, England | |
| Ground(s) | Heathbrook (Capacity: 2,260 (260 seats)) | |
| Chairman | Jonathan Knowles | |
| President | Ken Crane | |
| Captain(s) | Ben Rhodes | |
| League(s) | National League 2 West | |
| 2023–24 | 14th (relegated to Regional 1 Midlands) | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| dkrugby | ||
Early history
editThe club was founded in May 1920. Known in its early years as the Bean Football Club, the name Dudley Kingswinford was adopted in 1927. After playing at several grounds the club moved to its current premises in 1962.[2]
Ground
editDudley Kingswinford play home games at Heathbrook, located on the western outskirts of Wall Heath, Kingswinford. The ground is most accessible by car with the nearest train station being Stourbridge Town railway station, over 5 miles away. The ground has four full size pitches (1st XV, 2nd XV, 3rd XV and training), along with five pitches for youth rugby (under-9 to under-13).[3]
The ground capacity for the 1st XV pitch is approximately 2,260, with 260 seated in the main stand and an estimated 2,000 standing pitch side including on the grass banks and by the club-house.[4]
Current standings
editDudley Kingswinford were demoted from National League 2 North at the end of the 2013–14 season and played in National League 3 Midlands from 2014–15. Following a further relegation they play in Midlands 1 West and in the 2016–17 season they finished 4th overall. They were promoted back to Midlands Premier at the end of the 2019–20 season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dings Crusaders (C) | 26 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 1007 | 382 | +625 | 18 | 3 | 111 | Promoted |
| 2 | Luctonians | 26 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 859 | 443 | +416 | 20 | 4 | 104 | |
| 3 | Clifton | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 802 | 610 | +192 | 17 | 8 | 89 | |
| 4 | Old Redcliffians | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 769 | 659 | +110 | 18 | 3 | 85 | |
| 5 | Exeter University | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 816 | 778 | +38 | 16 | 5 | 81 | |
| 6 | Camborne | 26 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 796 | 904 | −108 | 19 | 3 | 76 | |
| 7 | Hinckley | 26 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 730 | 732 | −2 | 15 | 4 | 75 | |
| 8 | Loughborough Students | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 972 | 839 | +133 | 22 | 2 | 72 | |
| 9 | Redruth | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 598 | 743 | −145 | 12 | 2 | 66 | |
| 10 | Bournville | 26 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 647 | 765 | −118 | 15 | 7 | 62 | |
| 11 | Chester | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 696 | 814 | −118 | 15 | 1 | 60 | |
| 12 | Hornets | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 713 | 806 | −93 | 13 | 9 | 58 | |
| 13 | Newport (Salop) (R) | 26 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 515 | 935 | −420 | 11 | 4 | 39 | Relegated |
| 14 | Dudley Kingswinford (R) | 26 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 511 | 1021 | −510 | 8 | 3 | 27 |
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
- Number of matches won
- Difference between points for and against
- Total number of points for
- Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
- Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated
Honours
edit1st team:
- Staffordshire Cup winners (2): 1967, 1969
- North Midlands Cup winners (5): 1977, 1979, 1989, 2000, 2012
- NPI Cup finalists: 1999
- Midlands Division 1 champions: 1999–00
- Midlands Division 1 West champions (2): 2010–11, 2019–20[6]
- National League 3 (north v midlands) promotion play-off winner: 2011–12
- Regional 1 Midlands winners: 2022–23
2nd team (Dudley Wasps):
- Midlands 6 West (South-West) champions: 2006–07
- North Midlands Vase winners: 2011[8]
References
edit- ^ Club website
- ^ Club website history page
- ^ "DK Ground Plan". Dudley Kingswinford RFC. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ "The Famous DK Bank" (PDF). Dudley Kingswinford RFC. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ "National League 2 West". England Rugby.
- ^ "Dudley Kingswinford finish with a 100 per cent record « Express & Star". www.expressandstar.com. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ http://files.pitchero.com/clubs/7657/dudleyk'fordB.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "NM VASE PREVIOUS WINNERS". North Midlands RFU. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
