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CRFC – Our History Timeline
1926 - Chichester City Rugby Football Club was founded. Based on enthusiasm from supporters of the Chichester School Rugby team at Langley House, West Street, the school chaplain, the Rev R G T Gillman, called a meeting to discuss the formation of a senior rugby team in Chichester. The Dolphin & Anchor was used as the clubhouse and bar. Under the chairmanship of Lt-Col Coates the club flourished. The team included Jack Clemens, Russell Hillsden, Tiny Humphries, Cecil Herniman and Jack Treger. First season opponents included Portsmouth Casuals, Fareham & US Portsmouth. Home games were played at Lavant, Chichester Police Station, College Lane and Somerstown.
1928 - Club reorganised as Chichester & Bognor Rugby Football Club to encourage expansion.
1934 - The club amalgamates with the West Sussex County Officers Club and is renamed as Chichester Rugby Club.
1939 - Chichester City Council acquired the land that forms Oaklands Park for £11,000. At this time, it comprised of residential buildings, a farmyard and farm land. In the early part of the Second World War a massive water reservoir was built which could be used to provide water to fight fires in the event of a blitz. It had been built to the dimensions of an Olympic sized swimming pool. Hay-making was also a prominent sight in this area throughout the duration of the war. After the war the park was opened up for sporting use. The first club to be offered facilities at the park was Chichester RFC
1939-1945 – WWII halts rugby.
1946 - Home ground established at Oaklands Park.
1947 - Post-war rugby starts to accelerate with an excellent playing record of 15 wins from 18 games in our first season.
1949 - A second XV is formed, winning 19 of their 29 games played.
1963 - A prefabricated clubhouse opens at the bottom of Oaklands Park.
1970 - A new clubhouse costing £13,000, designed by Peter Harrison, is opened by Sir Chris Chataway. The old clubhouse moves across the Park to the Archery Club - it is still in use today.
1975 - The Club’s Mini & Junior rugby section is founded by Ken Hopkins.
1976 - The clubhouse is extended, at a cost of £16,000, to accommodate the growing player base. 1977 - A golden jubilee dinner is held at the Dolphin & Anchor.
1985 – John Breach scores 49 tries for 1st XV – a club record. Scores 35 and 25 in following two seasons. 49 tries in one season remains a club record.
1987 – CRFC celebrate our 60th anniversary dinner at the. Dolphin & Anchor.
1987 - Leagues start and Chichester are placed in Sussex Division 1.
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CRFC – Our History Timeline
1990 - Chi are promoted to London South East 3 after winning Sussex 1.
1994 - Women’s rugby starts at Chichester.
2001 - 1s play in the national cup competition for the first time against Sutton and Epsom
2001 - CRFC are relegated to Sussex 1.
2002 – CRFC win Sussex 1 and led by their inspirational captain Ben Polhill, reach the final of the Sussex Cup, losing narrowly to Worthing.
2002 - Youth and mini rugby continues to be a major success at all age levels. The 1s are promoted to London South East 4.
2002 - A 75th anniversary May Ball is staged in a marquee at Oaklands Park.
2003 – Danny Gray (CRFC 89-95) awarded first professional contract at Bristol RFC.
2003 - The Sussex Cup final sees Chichester lose an enthralling cup final to Haywards Heath after extra time by 39-32. Haywards Heath were in a much higher league at the time and were shellshocked by the Chi performance.
2003 - 1s win London SE4 and are promoted to SE3
2003 – CRFC awarded the RFU Seal of Approval.
2003 – 1s loose narrowly to Hayward’s Heath, who are promoted to the national leagues the following week!
2004 - A new balcony at the clubhouse is opened by the Mayor of Chichester, while the number of mini and junior players exceeds 250 for the first time.
2006 – Danny Gray (CRFC 89-95) tours New Zealand, Dubai, San Diego and Scotland with England 7s.
2007 - Numbers in the mini and junior section exceeds 300 and the club’s 80th Anniversary and 30th anniversary of the youth section is celebrated at Oaklands Park.
2008 - The holy trinity of Paul Colley, Mike Kent and Richard Isaac start building the next dynasty with an average 1st XV team age of 23, one of the youngest in living memory.
2009 – Charlie Mathews and Kieran Lowe (both CRFC 1999-2008) attend England U18 trials in a very cold January. All pitches were a foot deep in snow and ice so the trials were held on an all-weather facility used by Moseley RFC in Birmingham, no larger than a 5 a side pitch. Charlie selected for the England A U18 team.
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CRFC – Our History Timeline
2009 – Charlie Mathews plays an U18 six nations in Feb and then tours S Africa in July. Scored his first try on debut at Kingston Park against Scotland.
2009 - Kieran Low (CRFC 1999-2008) joins London Irish RFC and goes on to play 70+ first team games before leaving in 2015.
2009 - CRFC captained by Moses Kasujja win the Sussex Cup for the first time, beating Hove at Pulborough 22-19, and do the ‘double’ by winning London SW3. There were some great scenes at Oaklands Park in their last home game, this season when the 1s beat Guernsey 40-21.
2011 – 1s win the Sussex Cup for the second time against East Grinstead with what many believe was the strongest ever Chi 1st XV to take the field
2012 - Rob Lawrence takes over as Head Coach
2013 - Receive the Whole Club Seal of Approval from the RFU.
2013 – Kieran Low (CRFC 1999-2008) capped by Scotland and makes test debut against Australia
2014 – Chichester are promoted to National League 3 in the London South-East Division, the highest level in the club’s history. Beat Essex team Eton Manor in playoff front of a huge crowd. Victory by 25-16 came with the Blues led again by Polhill – the very last game for Moses Kasujja, who had run out first on the pitch to great applause.
2014 - Kieran Low (CRFC 1999-2008) tours with Scotland to America, Canada and Argentina; starts at No8 in the win against Argentina. He plays for Scotland in the win against Tonga in the autumn internationals.
2014 - The legacy development begins to ensure rugby is provided the next 90 years. The first XV finish in mid-table in their first season at National League. The second XV win the Sussex Bowl, beating Hove 25-0 in the final.
2014 – Charlie Matthews (CRFC 1999-2009) plays for England Saxons against old Chi teammate Kieran Low (CRFC 1999-2009) who was playing from Scotland B at Glasgow Warriors ground. The match was drawn 16-16.
2015 - 1s enjoyed first season in National three south, which, comprised 14 teams from nine counties, stretching from Suffolk to Guernsey. It meant tough games every week against many semi- professionals and involved long-distance travelling to away games. In their first season in National three they achieved seventh place, beating teams like London Irish Amateur and Bury St Edmunds at home and Tonbridge Juddians and Westcombe Park away.
2015 - The second XV retain the Sussex Bowl, beating Brighton 34-24. The club narrowly fail to get in the Guinness Book of World Records with their ‘Longest Pass’ attempt falling just short.
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CRFC – Our History Timeline
2015 - Chichester Pretorians take on the Royal Navy at Burnaby Road and run them close in a titanic battle
2015 - Kieran Low (CRFC 1999-2008) has one season at Glasgow Warriors before joining Saracens in 2016. Plays against UK Armed Forces for Saracen Storm before retiring from professional rugby at the end of the season.
2016 – Jess Breach (CRFC 05-12) joins Harlequins Women, scoring many tries through her first 2 seasons in the new Women’s Premiership.
2016 - A 90th anniversary match is played against Portsmouth at Oaklands Park.
2016 – Chichester in Nat 3. Injuries took a heavy toll but they were tenth in their second season and took the scalps of Bracknell, Guernsey and Wimbledon among others.
2017 – Jess Breach (CRFC 05-12) scores 6 tries for England v Canada. Injured for the 2nd Test, she scores another 5 tries in the 3rd Test and was player of the match at Twickenham.
2017 - Chi relegated from Nat 3. They had beaten strong opponents like Dorking, Shelford, Hertford and Westcombe Park and, in their best away display, they hammered Guildford 27-6.
2017 - Ben Polhill, Ben Robson, Ed Bowden, Ross Millar, and Tom Belcher capped for Sussex in the county championship final at Twickenham. 2018 – The Oaklands Pavilion, home of Chichester officially opened by England Roses’, Jess Breach.
2020 – The Covid-19 Pandemic halts rugby at Oaklands for the entire season. The first full year without competitive rugby since 1947
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