Finsbury Park RFC will be celebrating their 10th season as an amateur London rugby club in 2021 with a number of activities both looking backwards at the story so far as well as forwards to their long term development.

North London’s fastest growing rugby club have climbed 10 tables from where they started in 2013 and now boast 2 competitive senior XV sides, with the 1st XV playing in London 3 North West and the 2nd XV in Herts/Middlesex Merit Table South West 4.

FPRFC’s meteoric rise stems from humble beginnings in the now gone The Quays pub on Holloway Road between President Sean Burke and long term club member Stephen Morse. Where the club stands now is testament to their musings over drinks and hard work and passion, along with everyone else who has played for and supported the club in its first decade.

For Sean, who also works locally in the Access To Sport project, the main aim was to provide rugby to the young people in the Finsbury Park, Islington and Haringey areas as it was fairly football-dominated.

Starting the first adult session on a friday night at 8pm 10 years ago and having 10 lads turn up, I couldn't imagine we’d be where we are today. The success of the club comes down to its members. Without their passion and dedication to the club we would never have grown as we have. Rugby brings us together but it's the friendships and support of the club that keeps us coming back.

As part of the celebrations August 7th will see a club fundraising day of games, BBQing, beers very kindly donated by our partners at The Faltering Fullback, and a raffle to help raise money towards the clubs long term development plan. The club will also have an onsite club shop where members will be able to purchase our brand new 10th anniversary club shorts along with some other updated club stash sporting our new logo.

Club Captain Fred Bromley comments,

Many of our friends and family are often surprised at what an integral part of our lives this club is, given its youth and central London location. But the welcoming and supportive environment we've managed to build together underpins all the success we've had on the pitch, as well as making sure club members keep coming back year after year. The Club Day in August will just be the latest expression of that spirit.

Excitingly, the club will also be unveiling a new anniversary team strip where members old and new will be able to pay a small fee for their names to be included in the kit design. The design will be based on Finsbury Park’s first ever club shirt from nearly a decade ago. Replica shirts will be available to purchase in 2022 and all proceeds will go towards the club development plan.

1ST xv captain Evan adds

Having been at Finsbury Park for the last 6 seasons it has been amazing to see how far the club has come in such a short period. When I joined the club we had one team in merit 5. To now have 2 very competitive teams, one of which is in the London leagues is an amazing accomplishment for the club and those players who have represented it.

Coach Gaz Chapman is looking forward to a strong season to commemorate the occasion.

We are all really excited about next season. It's going to be great to get both teams back on the field and playing competitive matches again. There has been a lot of work being put in by everyone throughout the last year and we look forward to seeing it come together on the pitch with the aim of both teams progressing throughout the season and pushing for a promotion.

And Chair Nick Tewson is excited for the longer term future of FPRFC.

It's important that the club celebrates these milestones, but we continue to have an eye on the future. We have big plans for our clubhouse, which is a key piece in the clubs development, as well as continuing to invest in the improvement of our pitch. Hopefully, in 10 years time, we will be celebrating our next milestone with a thriving youth and women's section in addition to our high performing men's teams.

Friends and partners are very welcome to come and join the celebrations at Downhills Park on August 7th from midday.

Pre-season for FPRFC begins on Tuesday July 13th in Finsbury Park. If you’re looking to either find a new local club, get back into the sport, or learn it for the first time then we’d love to hear from you.

For all enquiries please contact info@finsburyparkrfc.co.uk or head over to www.finsburyparkrfc.co.uk