Dings Crusaders RFC

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Dings Crusaders
Full nameDings Crusaders Rugby Football Club
UnionGloucestershire RFU
Founded1897; 127 years ago (1897)
LocationFrenchay, Bristol, England
Ground(s)Shaftesbury Park (Capacity: 2,250 (250 seats))
Captain(s)England Stean Williams
League(s)National League 2 West
2022–232nd
Team kit
Official website
www.pitchero.com/clubs/dingscrusadersrfc/

Dings Crusaders RFC is an English rugby union team based in the Bristol suburb of Frenchay having previously been based in Lockleaze up until 2018. The club was relegated from National Division Two South, the fourth tier of the English rugby union system in 2015, to the South West Premier[1] After two seasons, the team won promotion back to National League 2 South for the 2018–19 season and currently play in National League 2 West

Dings is one of the oldest clubs in Bristol, with its roots in a slum area of Bristol stretching back over 110 years. The club is entirely amateur, as opposed to the semi-professional structure of other clubs. The mantra "we don't play for personal gain" is a poignant line in the club's anthem, being very much a part of the community of Lockleaze it is not uncommon to find that some players in the teams today are third generation Dings players.

Current standings

2023–24 National League 2 West Table
Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1 Dings Crusaders 23 19 1 3 784 362 422 15 3 96
2 Luctonians 23 17 0 6 714 404 310 17 4 89
3 Clifton 23 14 2 7 693 520 173 14 6 80
4 Exeter University 23 14 0 9 732 648 84 15 5 76
5 Hinckley 23 13 2 8 657 632 25 14 2 72
6 Old Redcliffians 23 13 0 10 638 604 34 15 3 70
7 Camborne 23 12 1 10 704 735 -31 17 2 69
8 Redruth 23 10 4 9 529 612 -83 10 2 60
9 Chester 23 11 0 12 619 688 -69 14 1 59
10 Loughborough Students 23 9 0 14 832 781 51 19 2 57
11 Hornets 23 8 2 13 679 665 14 12 8 56
12 Bournville 23 7 0 16 539 676 -137 13 7 48
13 Newport (Salop) 23 4 0 19 438 833 -395 9 4 29
14 Dudley Kingswinford 23 4 0 19 473 871 -398 8 3 27
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are relegation places.
Updated: 23 March 2024

Source: National League 2 West RFU [2]


History

The Dings was a slum area of Bristol located between Barton Hill and Temple Meads. The Shaftesbury Crusade, a Christian mission in the area, encouraged sporting activity in the Dings. In 1897, H W Rudge founded Dings Crusaders as part of the Dings Boys Club. Dings is one of only two remaining members of the original Bristol Combination set up in 1901, the other being Bristol Saracens. In 1948, Jack Steadman instigated a move to Dings current home in Lockleaze. Since league structure was introduced, Dings gained three promotions between 1996 and 2003 to enter the National League for the first time. The club finished in the relegation places at the end of the 2003–04 season, their first in National Division Three South, but were spared demotion by the demise of Wakefield. Since then, the club has consolidated its position within the league.

In 2014 it was announced that the club would be moving from the 1,500 capacity Lockleaze ground to Shaftesbury Park, which is based on Frenchay Park Road in Frenchay, South Gloucestershire.[3] The new ground will be part of a £8 million pound sports facility with a main stand/club house, a gym and two court sports hall, eight changing rooms, two full size floodlight pitches including the main pitch which will have an 4G artificial surface, parking for up to 220 cars and multiple junior pitches.[4] Capacity will include 250 seated and up to 2,000 standing, bring the total figure up to approximately 2,250.

On 17 February 2018 after 10 years in the making, Dings finally played their first game at Shaftesbury Park in front of a crowd of around 1,000, defeating Weston-super-Mare 34–26 in a South West Premier league game.[5]

Honours

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

Current squad

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

Player Position Union
Tim Brockett Prop England England
Ollie Caunt Lock England England
Sam Caven Centre England England
Alastair Crombie Centre England England
Gavin Curry Number 8 England England
Alex Dancer Centre England England
Neil Dipple Fullback England England
Sylvan Edwards Wing England England
Jack Gadd Centre England England
Tim Gear-Evans Centre England England
Ed Hack Flanker England England
Ed Haupt Wing England England
Ollie Hayes Hooker England England
Darren Jefferies Lock England England
Ricky Jones Scrum-half England England
Player Position Union
Gareth Lloyd Lock England England
Josh Lloyd Prop England England
Tom Lukjaniec Fly-half England England
Chas Meddick Prop England England
Pierre Panizzutti Flanker France France
Mitch Quoi Flanker England England
Rob Rees Lock England England
Orlando Stott Fullback France France
Richard Thomas Hooker England England
Jack Tovey Fullback England England
George Watkins Wing England England
Adam Westall Fly-half England England
Dave Wheeler Hooker England England
Stean Williams Flanker England England
Chris Wright-Hider Wing England England
Archie Stapleton Scrum-half England England

Club officials

President : Raymond Bowden

Vice President : Phillip Knowles

General Secretary : Ian Haddrell

Treasurer : Jeff Kemp

Chairman : Steve Lloyd

Chairman of Selectors : Richard Grant

Commercial Manager : Richard Milsom

Membership Secretary : Richard Cecil

Head Coach : Luke Arscott

Director of Rugby : Stean Williams

Club Captain : Steve Plummer

References

  1. ^ "RFU National League 3 South West Rugby Fixtures". South West Sports News. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. ^ "National League 2 West". England Rugby.
  3. ^ "Dings Crusaders RFC to move after selling its site". Western Daily Press. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2015.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Frenchay ground beginning to take shape". Fishponds Voice. 2 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Dings Crusaders kick off with a win!". Ferguson Mann Architects. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Bristol & District Rugby Football Combination". Pitchero. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Dings Crusaders see off Weston in Combination Cup final". Bristol Post. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  8. ^ "RUGBY: Dings' season ends on a high with Combination Cup win". Bristol Post. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Final League Tables 2000-2001". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Final League Tables 2002-2003". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 13 December 2015.

External links