The Union was formed at a meeting held at Gloucester in September, 1878. At that meeting, the clubs represented were Clifton RFC, Gloucester RFC, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester RFC, Rockleage, Stroud, and Cheltenham White Cross. The Union was formed mainly due to the efforts of J. D. Miller, J. H. Dunn, and J. F. Brown. all of whom were amongst the Union's first officers. For many years, the playing strength depended almost entirely on the Clifton and Gloucester Clubs. In the first five seasons the Union side only lost two of seventeen fixtures in Inter-County matches.[1] The RFU recognised its success by electing in 1880 J. D. Miller to represent the West of England on the central executive. Ironically, the representative side then went through a period in which they had a very poor record. From 1883 to 1889 the team played only 10 times and of these 6 were lost, 3 drawn, and only 1 won. It was noted that the fortunes of the county side mirrored the success of the Gloucester City club side. When the Gloucester City side revived in the early 1890s, so to did the County, and in the seasons 1889-90, 1890–91, 1891–92, Gloucestershire lost two matches only.[1]
In the first year of the County Championship (1890–91) Gloucestershire were the winners in the South-Western group, but when they entered the second phase, they were crushed by Lancashire.[1]
Formed by Clifton RFC, Gloucester RFC, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester RFC, Rockleage, Stroud, and Cheltenham White Cross, by 1891, the Union consisted of ten clubs, viz.,
Gloucester, Clifton, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, Bristol, Cheltenham, Lydney, Sharpness, Dursley, Stroud, and Gordon Wanderers (Gloucester).[1] In its early days, only Gloucester City was rated as a first class side, and this was deemed the county's weakness. Since then, the fortunes of the constituent clubs has varied enormously.
Today there are 74 clubs affiliated with the Gloucestershire RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. Geographically, most clubs in the RFU are from Gloucestershire or Bristol, although several teams are based in bordering counties such as Somerset. In turn clubs are affiliated with one of the five combinations – Bristol, Cheltenham, Forest of Dean, North Gloucestershire and Stroud – that make up the Gloucestershire RFU.
Gloucester 1 – league for Gloucestershire sides at tier 9
Gloucester 2 North – regional league for Gloucestershire sides at tier 10
Gloucester 2 South – regional league for Gloucestershire sides at tier 11
Discontinued leagues:
Gloucester 3 - tier 11/12 league that ran between 1987–2017
Gloucester 4 - tier 12/13 league that ran between 1987–1996
Cups
Although in the past there has been a cup covering the whole of the county, Gloucestershire currently has competitions for each of the five affiliated bodies that make up the Gloucestershire RFU.[4] These are as follows:
^Despite being based in Bristol, 7 Bamboos are not members of the Bristol Combination.
^Despite being the premier club in Gloucester and Kingsholm hosting combination finals, Gloucester Rugby are not members of the North Gloucestershire Combination.
^Administratively, Hartpury College is located in the Forest of Dean but they are not part of any combination.
^Old Bristolians are joint members of both the Gloucestershire RFU and Somerset RFU.
^Despite being based in Bristol, United Bristol Hospitals are not members of the Bristol Combination.
^Despite being based in Cheltenham, University of Gloucestershire are not members of the Cheltenham Combination.
^Despite being based in Bristol, University of the West of England are not members of the Bristol Combination.
References
^ abcdefghijklmFrancis Marshall, Football; the Rugby union game, page 484-488, London
