It’s always great to get copies of pictures of teams that have played netrugby (or rugby netball as it was then) through the years. Thanks to Peter Frith who dug up this picture from 60 years ago of the hugely successful Alpha team. Looking at old press clippings, it’s clear that Alpha dominated the leagues for many years. But what happened to them? Surely there must be some grandsons of these players who fancy re-starting the Alpha team? If so, they should visit our main netrugby website to sign up to play!
Well, the 2009 netrugby season drew to a close last week. And what a great one it was. Seven teams competed in the league, playing each other twice each. It was as competetive as ever, with lots of close-run games, but eventually Taverners took the league title, with Battersea Ironsides getting the runners up spot. The Wold Cup was a huge success, with additional teams – the Welsh Wizards and Warlingham RFC – competing with more experienced teams. A particular highlight was the fine performance from Satyrs in the group stages against Taverners – they nearly did it! But, Taverners ended up being worthy winners of the cup too, beating Concord in the final.
Big thanks to all those players involved in trhe league and cup, especially the refs, captains and committee members that made it all possible. I’m afraid I’m a bit short on photos of the season, so apologies for using a pic of the runners up team (Battersea) as it’s the only one I have. The 2010 season kicks off in May, so do get in touch via the main netrugby website if you want to get involved or enter a team – newcomers always welcome.
Last week netrugby’s chairman, Liam Walker conducted an interview for BBC Radio Five Live, where he explained the rules and history of the game, outlined our aim to get more people involved in the sport, and shamelessly flirted with the presenter (despite his wife siting in the car waiting for him). Great commitment to the cause Liam. You can listen to the interview below.
At the end of last season, Sky’s Total Rugby came down to Clapham Common to film a game of netrugby being played. Here’s the film they made, showing a game between Taverners and Concord.
Those were the days…when rugby netball (now netrugby) had four leagues all competing. This 1985 clipping from the south london press shows the league positions. Nice to see there was a time when Taverners didn’t dominate the league. Also shows how little things have changed for my own team – the Battersea Ironsides. The reporter says “The Irons must learn to move the ball more quickly if they are ever to take their rightful place in Division 1.” Well we did get there in the end, but only by default, and we still don’t pass the ball quickly enough!
New Zealand are considering starting a netrugby team. Or at least they were in 1936. Another really interesting press cutting from the vaults of history. You can read the full article here.
The 2009 netrugby league kicked off last night. As you may have seen from our twitter page, Satyrs got off to a winning start, beating Battersea Ironsides 2-1 and Spartans 1s beat Spartans 2s 6-2.
A couple of years ago I was kindly handed some very old photos of netrugby or rugby netball as it was then called, including this picture of one of the first sides. There is some debate about when the league itself actually began – most records say 1909, but this is dated 1906, which suggests that it is older than that.
What we do know is that the sport has its origins around the time of The Boer War which was fought between 1899 to 1902. Stories passed down through generations of players talk about troops returning from the war being stationed on Clapham Common and causing havoc – wrecking the local public houses and so on. So the game of rugby netball was invented to keep them occupied. It took off, became very popular and has been played every year since then.
The game of rugby netball was rebranded as Netrugby in 2009.
The Rugby Netball League was established in 1909 and is now played at Clapham Common during the summer mostly by rugby players, under the new name Netrugby.
Being able to pass in any direction and no offside laws encourage fast movement of the ball around the pitch, but full contact tackling around the net can make goals hard to come by against a well organised defence.
It is a fast-moving exciting game played on weekday evenings during May, June and July. The season finishes off with a World Cup competition, usually in July or August.
The days vary depending on which teams are playing but the main nights are Tuesday and Wednesdays. The games kickoff at 7.30pm consisting of two 30 mins periods.
To learn more or to register your interest to play visit www.rugbynetball.com or email info@rugbynetball.com.
Welcome to the official blog of the exciting sport, netrugby.
It may sound like a wind up – a sport that combines the shooting and passing skills of netball with the physicality and contact of rugby – but I can assure you it’s not. Netrugby (formerly known as rugby netball) has been played for over 100 years in and around London in the UK, at its peak attracting top club players from the likes of Richmond, Harlequins and Wasps. There was even an Endland v Ireland International staged in the 1930s, which attracted crowds of tens of thousands.
Today, the sport is still played during the summer months on Clapham Common in South London. Unfortunately, the numbers playing the game declined, after rugby went professional and the top players were restricted by their new club contracts from indulging in sports outside the competetive league fixtures.
But we’re still going and the league has eight teams that compete every year in the league and in the world cup (we can officially call it that as Clapham Common is the only place in the world it’s played).
This blog is part of a wider effort to raise awareness of the game as we look to attract more players and teams into the sport. It will feature news about the current season, background o the sport itself and some interesting snippets from the netrugby archives. You can also see further information about the game elsewhere on the web – at our YouTube channel, Facebook group, Twitter page, and our full website.
We hope you enjoy reading about netrugby and if you ever fancy a game, visit the netrugby website and get in touch – we’d love to see you down. Just remember, ‘no skirts!’
Doh - ironsides squad of 196 lost 2-1 to grumpy satyrs. Spartans 1s beat spartans 2s 6-2. Great first night though - bring on next week... 6 months ago
Listen out for netrugby feature on bbc radio five live tonight at 5.20pm. Our chairman, liam walker, being interviewed live! 6 months ago
