Club History

Wasps RUFC was originally formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London.

The Club gained its name largely due to the fashion of the Victorian period when clubs tended to adopt the names of insects, birds and animals.

As a reasonably well-established Club, Wasps were invited to join the Union and therefore were eligible to be Founder Members. And so they would have been had it not been for a calamitous mix-up that lead to them not being present at the inauguration ceremony.

In true Rugby fashion the team turned up at the wrong pub on the wrong day at the wrong time and so forfeited their right to be called a Founder Member.

In 1923 Wasps moved to their previous home of Sudbury, eventually buying the ground outright.

Prior to the Second World War the Club thrived enjoying perhaps its finest season in 1930/31 when the team was captained by Ronnie Swyer. The season saw Wasps unbeaten, notching up 530 points in the process and conceding only 76.

This particular team was noted for having amongst its ranks perhaps the most famous of all Wasps players, Neville Compton.

Neville joined Wasps in 1925, going on to captain the side for eight years between 1939 and 1947 and became the first Wasps player to represent the Club at Barbarian level.

View current Wasps players (link to external site - opens new window)

Unfortunately Neville was not the first Wasps player to gain an international cap in the post war era, this particular accolade going to Pat Sykes, capped by England against France in Paris on the 29th March 1948.

The Club's 90th Birthday Present in 1956/57 was the rare honour of playing a full International XV at Twickenham, the home of English Rugby.

Wasps celebrated their Centenary Year by gracing the playing fields of Rugby School, where William Webb Ellis originally picked the ball up and ran in 1823, thereby creating the early origins of Rugby Football. The team played two games on the Close against the famous Barbarians and local London rivals Harlequins.

The 1970s were a pretty rough period in terms of the on-field activities of the team until the arrival in 1979 of two world-class players. Mark Taylor (capped 10 times for New Zealand) and Roger Uttley (British Lion, 23 England caps, and England Grand Slam coach) transformed the fortunes of the team producing a veritable flood of international honours in the Eighties.

Both Maurice Colclough and ex-Director of Rugby, Nigel Melville represented the British Lions and England in this period, their talents being supplemented in the formidable form of Geoff Richards (Australia), and England's Nick Stringer and Huw Davies (21 caps).

In the two year period between 1983 and 1985 no less than nine Wasps players represented England - Maurice Colclough, Nick Stringer, Huw Davies, Nigel Melville, Andy Dun, Rob Lozowski, Mark Bailey, Simon Smith and Paul Rendall. Later in the decade, the Club was again represented heavily internationally with Rob Andrew, Kevin Simms, Fran Clough, Jeff Probyn, Dean Ryan, Chris Oti and Steve Bates all playing for England.

England representation reached it's peak in May 1989 when Rob Andrew captained the full international side against Romania, David Pegler captained the England B side against Spain and Steve Pilgrim captained the under 21 team again against Romania. For the record, all the teams won on the day.

Not surprisingly, Wasps were regular visitors to Twickenham in this period. They were John Player Cup (now the Pilkington Cup) finalists in 1986 and 1987, unfortunately losing both matches to Bath in exciting, well-contested battles. The period also saw the advent of the League system (1988) which has since seen Wasps runners-up twice.

The 1990s began in style with Wasps being crowned as English National Champions, before going on to meet French National Champions, Racing Club de France, in the Courage Challenge Cup. In this fore-runner of the current European Cup, Wasps ran out eventual winners 23-13, clinching their only major European honours.

The 1990s have been a phenomenal period for Wasps and Rugby Union in general. The dawning of the professional era has seen Wasps assemble one of the most powerful playing squads in the country. The diversity of the team was demonstrated in 1993 when Wasps added the Middlesex Sevens title to their Honours list.

The modern day Wasps team is a formidable combination of talented youngsters and experienced internationals. Under the leadership of England and British Lion, Lawrence Dallaglio, the squad have triumphed over the challenges of the new professional era. The 96/97 campaign was perhaps the highlight of Wasps long and distinguished history with a series of electrifying performances clinching the first professional League Championship.

The next season saw a Tetley's Bitter Cup final appearance and in 1999 Wasps went one better to win the Cup for the first time in their history to prove once again that the Black and Golds fully deserve their place amongst the elite clubs in England.

This feat was repeated in 2000, when Wasps returned to Twickenham to retain the Tetley Bitter Cup, beating Northampton in front of their delighted fans.

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