Wharfedale RUFC were founded in 1923 as Upper Wharfedale RUFC and play their rugby in the Yorkshire Dales village of Threshfield, very close to Grassington. Very little is known of their early years as their website seems to concentrate on the last 30-odd years or so.
The introduction of league rugby in 1987 was great news for this ambitious village club. It had been striving to improve its fixture list for some years, an objective which gained momentum when it became one of the first clubs to install floodlights; the introduction of leagues brought genuine competition, the chance for little clubs to measure their strength against big clubs, an opportunity which Wharfedalegrasped with both hands.
Beginning at Level Seven, Wharfedale finished divisional champions in their first-ever league campaign, to gain the first of the four promotions (with no relegations) which took it to the Level Three status. In the course of those league campaigns, the club has at various times recorded victories over Worcester, Leeds, Rotherham, London Welsh, Plymouth Albion and Nottingham; in its first season in NationalDivision One its opponents included such iconic clubs as Blackheath, Richmond, Rosslyn Park, Coventry and Fylde.
The dream ended in season 2015-16 when the club were relegated to into National Division Two after twenty years at the higher level. In the three seasons since then Wharfedalehave finished 10th, 13th and 8th. At the present time they are 12th in the table with six wins and one draw from their fourteen games, just one place and one point below ourselves.
Honours:
North East Division One champions 1987-88
North Division One champions 1989-90, 1993-94
Courage League Division Five North champions 1995-96
Yorkshire Cup winners 2010, 2013, 2014
Hull RUFC and Wharfedale RUFC have never met in league rugby prior to this season but we have played one friendly game and four Yorkshire Cup games against them as follows:
2001-12 Friendly fixture – Hull 17 – Wharfedale 2ndXV 6
2007-08 Yorks Cup round 2 – Wharfedale 34 – Hull 12
2009-10 “ “ SF – Wharfedale 26 – Hull 7
2011-12 “ “ Final – Hull 20 – Wharfedale 10 – played at York RUFC
2016-17 “ “ QF – Hull 50 – WharfedaleXV 29 – played at Bishop Burton College.
It will be a real pleasure to be playing Wharfedale RUFC on level terms this coming Saturday.
HULL RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 