Clifton Rugby

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Clifton RFC
Full nameClifton Rugby Football Club
UnionGloucestershire RFU
NicknameLavender And Blacks
Founded1872; 153 years ago (1872)
LocationCribbs Causeway, Bristol,BS10 7TB England
GroundStation Road (Capacity: 2,500 (400 seats)[1])
ChairmanAftab Hamid
PresidentJohn Raine
Director of RugbyMatt Salter
CoachLuke Cozens
CaptainMitchell Spencer
LeagueNational League 1
2024–25Champions (promoted from National League 2 West)
Team kit
Official website
www.cliftonrugby.co.uk

Clifton Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club founded in Clifton, Bristol. Over the years the club's home games have been played in a variety of locations in northern Bristol, though never in Clifton itself; since 1976 they have been based at the southern end of Cribbs Causeway. Clifton RFC currently play in National League 1 in the third tier of the English rugby union system following their promotion from the 2024–25 National League 2 West.

History

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The first ever photograph of a Clifton RFC team (1873)

Clifton RFC is Bristol's oldest club, and one of the oldest in the world.[2] Clifton Rugby Club was formed on 27 September 1872 at the Kings Arms on Blackboy Hill in Clifton, Bristol. The pub still stands, although it was rebuilt in 1902, and refurbished in the late 1990s. Clifton is the 32nd oldest club in the United Kingdom, the 21st oldest in England, the 2nd oldest in the South West (Bath Rugby older by seven years) and the oldest in Bristol.[3] In 1909 a combined Bristol and Clifton RFC team, captained by Percy Down, lost to Australia 11–3.

Clifton's Cribbs Causeway ground also hosted the Bristol Packers American football team in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[4]

Honours

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[5][6][7][8][9][10]

League table

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2025–26 National League 1 table
Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Rotherham Titans 12 10 0 2 456 283 +173 9 1 50 Promotion place
2 Rosslyn Park 12 9 0 3 437 262 +175 11 2 49 Promotion Play-off
3 Plymouth Albion 12 9 0 3 456 258 +198 10 0 46
4 Sale FC 12 8 0 4 373 265 +108 10 3 45
5 Blackheath 12 8 0 4 373 242 +131 8 3 43
6 Rams 12 7 0 5 345 296 +49 7 2 37
7 Tonbridge Juddians 12 6 0 6 356 307 +49 9 3 36
8 Sedgley Park 12 6 0 6 272 393 −121 5 1 30
9 Bishop's Stortford 12 5 0 7 321 422 −101 8 2 30
10 Clifton 12 5 0 7 301 374 −73 6 3 29
11 Leeds Tykes 12 4 0 8 244 401 −157 3 1 20
12 Birmingham Moseley 12 3 0 9 299 338 −39 5 3 20 Relegation place
13 Dings Crusaders 12 2 0 10 288 483 −195 7 3 18
14 Leicester Lions 12 2 0 10 274 471 −197 6 1 15
Updated to match(es) played on 6 December 2025. Source: National League Rugby [11]
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Number of matches drawn
  3. Difference between points for and against
  4. Total number of points for
  5. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  6. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled

Current squad

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Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Jake Buckley Prop England England
Ricardo Cano Prop England England
Bertran Cole-Fontayn Prop England England
Oliver Seagrove Prop England England
Louis White Prop England England
Thomas Anderson Hooker England England
George Davey Hooker England England
Thomas Hatch Hooker England England
Henry Harper Second row England England
Daniel Hodge Second row England England
Toby Hutchinson Second row England England
Daniel Owen Second row England England
Shay Sainsbury Second row England England
Jay Evans Back row England England
Niall Gibbons Back row England England
Jake Holcombe Back row England England
Christopher McCann Back row England England
Freddie Myatt Back row England England
Bradley Talbot Back row England England
Player Position Union
Mitchell Spencer (c) Scrum-half England England
Luke Cozens Fly-half England England
Ollie Milner Fly-half England England
Thomas Quinlan Fly-half England England
Marcus Nel Centre Zimbabwe Zimbabwe
William Owen Centre England England
Matthew Smith Centre England England
Zakaria Hamid Wing England England
Alexander Kilbane Wing Ireland Ireland
Luke Daniels Fullback South Africa South Africa
Alexander Howman Fullback England England

Notable former players

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Internationals

The Clifton RFC team for the 1874–75 season


British & Irish Lions

References

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  1. ^ "Bristol's Clifton Rugby Club announces ambitious expansion plans". South West Business. 28 April 2014.
  2. ^ "Clifton Rugby Club – Information at club website". cliftonrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Clifton Rugby Football Club History". cliftonrfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Bristol Packers". Britball Now. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Clifton RFC History 1970-1980". cliftonrfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Clifton RFC History 1980-1990". cliftonrfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Clifton RFC History 1990-2000". cliftonrfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Clifton RFC History 2000-2010". cliftonrfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Clifton beat Dings to lift Combination Cup | Bristol Post". bristolpost.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  10. ^ "History - Combination Cup - Winners". bristolcombination.pitchero.com. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  11. ^ "National League 1". NCA Rugby.
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