Novocastrians RFC is one of the oldest surviving and still standing rugby clubs in the Northeast of England. Formed in the year 1899 by a band of former pupils at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle Upon Tyne, they recently celebrated their 125th year of existence as they kicked off the 2024/2025 rugby union season in September.
But how does a club that was formed on the whim of a few former students come to be the hub of rugby and social activity that it is today just over a century later?
The rugby club, based in a prime location in the city, has long been popular with schoolchildren of all ages and abilities and it boasts some of the best engagement with the youth of the city than any other club in the area. Historically, the men’s squad have been known to field up to four senior sides in years gone by as well as an occasional ‘vets’ side, whilst the ladies also boast an impressive 2 sides, leading the way in women’s rugby across the region.
But the real magic doesn’t come from the pitch, it comes from the work of the people behind the scenes that keep this seemingly impossible machine always moving.
Despite boasting some impressive alumni that have worked their way through the ranks of the club in recent years, such as the likes of John Elders, an ex-captain of the club and former head coach of England Rugby and Sarah Hunter, a former England rugby captain who led her country to glory at the 2014 world cup. The club still manages to hold an exceptional focus on the community aspect of the game, with volunteers in their dozens hosting weekly fundraising activities ranging from a simple bake sale to make money during match days at the club. To setting up and creating annual firework shows that attract hundreds, if not thousands of spectators from around the city and neighboring areas.
Most recently the club and it’s behind the scenes workers organised a second ‘beer festival’ building on the huge successes of an identical event they put together a year ago from today. After experiencing a wave of hundreds of excited drinkers through the clubhouse doors last year on a warm spring’s day in April, things were bound to only get bigger and better as they prepared themselves for opening day on the 25th of April. The men’s 1st XV who had recently made it into the second round of the national cup were hoping for a home draw on Saturday 26th so that they could ‘aid’ in the consumption of any leftovers, of which there wasn’t any! Unfortunately for the club the fixture was drawn as an away game, but the players returned victorious from their fixture to a round of applause awaiting them at the ever-supportive clubhouse and its staff.
Speaking to Tom Dias the honorary club secretary about the recent successes of the club he said, “It’s been amazing to have the club performing so well across the board in the last few months building up this event, from the 1st team squads on both the Men’s and Women’s teams through to the junior sections it feels like everyone involved with Novocastrians has been thriving recently.” This comes after the Men’s side of the club recorded their best ever finish in modern history finishing second place in their respective league very narrowly missing out on promotion to a strong Sunderland team, a campaign that will live long in the memories of many supporters.
Dias went on to say that, “success on the field brings so much more opportunity to the community, and it means that we are able to attract more people to come down and give rugby a try. We even had a team travelling up from near Nottingham just to enjoy the celebrations!”
The festival itself was, of course, a raging success. Hundreds of players ranging from the ages of 15 all the way through to the veterans of the club took part in some form of rugby throughout the day to the cheers of the crowd watching on from the balcony who thought they would get a head start on the full barrels. Some exceptional entertainment rounded up the crowds into the main bar towards the end of the night with music being supplied by the exceptional Old Man Goat band who kept the party going deep into the night.
But, of course, clubs like these don’t survive purely on big events once a year, they rely on full buy-in from each and every club member to play their part and ensure that there are future legs for the next generation to stand on, not just enjoying the highs but embracing the lowest of lows and overcoming them. Celebrating a diverse and large range of people involved with the club, each with different professions and skills, this means that there is always someone willing to lend a hand when needed.
Currently working as a barrister at Trinity Chambers, Alex Littlefair, specializing in personal injury claims, used to be the captain of the club and looking back at his playing career he noted that it was, ‘One of the best things he has ever done’ and despite being an incredibly high achieving individual working at the top of his game he has always been able to find time for a club that was in turn able to find time for him.
The 43-year-old recently completed a 350-mile bike ride starting from his club, then passing by his place of work by the Newcastle Quayside all the way to Old Colfeians Rugby Club over the course of 3 days from the 10th – 12th of April earlier this year. Speaking to Trinity Chambers before the ride he said, “One of my friends did some research and found out that day 2 is longer than any stage of this year’s Tour de France. However, there are no mountains, and I am not racing. I hope all the training I’ve been doing pays off and the weather is kind. I’m going to be joined by friends and family on the way.
As it currently stands, Alex has raised more than £5,000 for his cause, raising money for a rare genetic disease that sadly took the life of Rycroft Alport Foster, the child of a close friend of Littlefairs, at the age of just 16 months. Had it not been to for the incredible support of the Novocastrians Rugby Club, the monumental effort from Alex may not have been so widely supported, instead a community that helped contribute to more than 100 individual donations showed their ability to come together as a club to help a brilliant cause for one of their own.
Alex was also recently able to be in attendance for another historic day for the club on Saturday the 3rd of May as Novocastrians took on unbeaten league leaders Sunderland away from home in a fixture that many had already written the small side from Newcastle off the books long ago. A win would see the team progress to the semi-finals of the Papa John’s national cup, a feat that no side in the club’s history has ever managed to achieve before, and despite hurls of abuse from the sidelines, despite playing on an alien pitch far from home and despite the odds being forever stacked against them, the tight nit squad bound together by the full support of some energetic travelling supporters pushed their old rivals to the end and came up victorious in a historic victory.
However, despite the highs of progressing forward in the competition, the club was hit with another hurdle to overcome. Despite being drawn as the away side in their last 3 cup fixtures the team was hit with the brutal news that they would be subject to a 7 hour round trip away for the next round, despite the team they would face having played their previous game at home.
With prospects of a bus trip down costing upwards of £2000 it seemed like all those profits raised just weeks earlier by an event that took months to put together would be thrown out the window to help support the players on their journey down south. But a club, still struggling to keep its showers working at times, came together all as one when its members needed it most to provide an unforgettable experience for the players, coaches and supporters combined. Members came together to contribute various amounts of money to fundraise for a bus to take the players to and from their opponents’ clubhouse. Director of rugby Nick Cotterill said, “Thanks to the generosity of our 125 members we now have a bus booked to travel to the semi final”.
One member of the club who has contributed more than any other member can say they have is that of current bar manager Jan. Upon hearing the news, she was delighted and over the moon to be able to contribute to the successes of the club off the pitch by managing the behind-the-scenes action ensuring the bar was always fully stocked. She even went as far to say that, “If we do make it through the semifinal and into a final at Twickenham I will be on my holidays in Tenerife. So, you best believe I will be coming down to watch and support anyways, I will be jumping on a plane straight to Gatwick and then catch the next flight back to resume my holiday and of course all the lads will be welcome to join me!”
Jan, a longstanding and much-loved member of the club will step down at the end of the playing season as she moves towards a well-deserved retirement. As the idea of a retirement party surfaced, members of the 1st team through to the old standing veterans of the club pounced at the opportunity to give her a brilliant sendoff that they believe she thoroughly deserves.
But what does this story actually all boil down to in the end? Well, it’s a story about passion for a sport firstly but secondly and more importantly, it’s a story about how sport can create such a closely knit group of people from varying backgrounds and tie them together in ways that would have never seemed possible. From homegrown players to university students, from those in the navy to those in the office, sports and the clubs that help support them do more than just host games on a weekend, they have the potential to build a community from scratch to support and help them as they navigate life together. And that is what Novocastrians RFC is all about after 125 years of existence.
Photographic Journalism 
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