Luctonians - a club where people want to stay
Luctonians RFC is a club that’s certain of its identity, a club where players come, stay and at least half the First XV is home grown.
With four regular men’s teams, a women’s team, Colts and a tremendous minis and juniors section, the club provides rugby weekly to over 600 rugby players, based in the Herefordshire village of Kingsland, about four miles from Leominster.
With few leisure pursuits nearby, the club is a real asset to the community, with members and players travelling from miles around.
Alex Smith is both their Operations Director and Director of Rugby and says: “People travel to us and are invested in us.
“We’re very much a member run club and while it’s great to win matches, which we try to do a lot, for us focusing on great coaching and the environment we create for players comes first and operates all the way through. That’s what makes playing at Luctonians so enjoyable.”
Taking rugby into local schools
The club began as Old Luctonians in a field behind a local pub, moving to their current Mortimer Park home and creating a hub with playing fields, changing rooms and clubhouse.
They bought more land for pitches to keep up with expansion, particularly of the mini and junior section.
In 2003, as England Men won the Rugby World Cup, they launched a project, currently called the Avara Foods Community Coaching Programme, to take rugby into North Herefordshire schools and beyond, with a full-time coach introducing thousands of youngsters to rugby union.
As a part of that, they host an annual Tag Rugby Fest and in 2008 set an official Guinness World record for the largest schools tournament of its kind.
“The coaching programme benefits schools by increasing their pupils’ coaching quality and increasing numbers involved in physical activity, and the club benefits from the increased numbers joining our mini and junior rugby ranks,” says Alex.
The club’s pre-match lunches are legendary, selling out before every home game and their grandstand, completed in 2013, gives some 250 supporters a great location from which to watch home games. In the 2017-18 season, Luctonians received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award for volunteer organisations.
A winning formula
Together with the fantastic social side, Luctonians have been enjoying tremendous playing success. In 2022/23, during their 75th year of action, the First XV achieved the club’s highest ever league finish with fourth place in National League 2 West, before rising to second last season in the same division, setting various club records along the way.
The Second XV is a story in itself. They have just won 50 consecutive league fixtures and in 2022/23 secured 22 bonus-point wins out of 22 games and a league title to go with it.
They dropped a single bonus point last season on their way to another title and are top of Counties 1 Midlands West (South) this season and hoping for promotion, while the Third XV retained their position at Level 8 last season with a 5th placed finish.
In 2022/23 Lucs put out a women’s contact side for the first time in over two decades, as the Vixens played regularly in the Allianz Inner Warrior Series, before last season they entered the RFU leagues for the first time, finishing the season with a creditable top-half position.
With their coaching and volunteering catching up with burgeoning numbers, they now have nearly 50 senior women players and over 100 women and girls rugby players overall, numbers which continue to grow.
Developing professional players & coaches
And the quality of their coaching has seen them celebrate a large number of players and coaches going on to greater honors. They’ve seen former mini and junior player, Jonny Hill, selected for England and the British & Irish Lions, Tom Pearson being called up by England and Lark Atkin-Davies blazing a trail with England Women.
John Kelly (Newcastle Falcons), Archie Benson (Northampton Saints) and Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby) are all also former Lucs senior or junior players, now forging their way in the Premiership, while Matt Ferguson (Northampton Saints Scrum Coach) and Scott Bemand (Ireland Women’s Head Coach) are both former youth players at the club who are now coaching at the highest levels.
Alex says: “What we want to be is sustainable and enjoyable and that’s embedded in the whole club culture.
“We’re locally made, locally grown, with a huge focus on inclusivity and with normally over half the 1st XV being former minis and juniors.
“I think Luctonians’ strength is in knowing what we want to be and continuing to strive to be better year-on-year."
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