The Past
London Media RUFC was formed approximately 20 years ago by a group of lads who worked in the Media industry.
We had played together for a year or so at Osterley Rugby Club, and we decided to form our own club based in central London, and using all of our contacts in the media industry to build a team…who would have believed that after all those years we would now be putting out three teams and we would still be playing!
You will notice that I have been a tad vague as to how long we have been in existence, a lot of drink and other substances have been consumed in the interim, and none of us original founders are exactly sure when it all happened I am afraid!
I do remember that our first ‘official’ match as London Media RUFC resulted in a 4-0 victory against the mighty Feltham RFC. Since then we have led a fairly nomadic existence, involving a number of temporary pitches in South and West London, before landing at our ‘spiritual’ home, Battersea Park.
The Present
The ethos of the club is to have fun, both on and off the pitch, with all monies raised throughout the year going towards subsidising our annual rugby tour.
To date we have played against Cuba, The Cayman Islands, The Durban (SA) Harlequins, Helsinki, Kiev, Lithuania, Estonia, Ghent, Dublin, Ajax Amsterdam and numerous other tours that fade in the memory as any of you who have toured with a rugby club before would be able to empathise with.
Next year we have ambitious plans to organise a tour to South America, with London Media subsidising the tour heavily as usual (this year’s tour to Ghent cost the players £49 each!).
The Future…
As to the future, that will depend entirely on the current crop of players, but with an experienced power base of forwards, and a dynamic group of young ‘pencil necks’ the future looks rosy.
Anyone wishing to join a club that places an emphasis on a players social (drinking) skills as much as there rugby ability, then get in contact and play your part in keeping the social fabric of the club intact, and simultaneously taking the club upwards and onwards through the Surrey Leagues.