Mill Hill
FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG
Mill Hill
RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
North West London’s finest
As I sit down to write this piece my two-day hangover
is just beginning to subside; Saturday just gone saw us
here at Mill Hill RFC celebrate long into the night at our
end of season party. It was a typical rugby-esque soiree,
our chocolate and gold blazers filled the clubhouse,
stories were told, and one or two pints were consumed.
It is a very exciting time to be a part of this club, this
season saw us gain promotion to Herts-Middlesex 1, we
won fourteen out of eighteen matches – all with bonus
points. The club has been steadily improving over the
past couple of seasons and this year, off the back of our
80th anniversary season, we took another step up. Next
season is going to be challenging, but we continue to
look up the table, the goal is the same as always; to play
for each other and to win as many games as possible.
Having given a brief run-down of the season just
gone let’s turn our attention to the history of this great
club. The story at Mill Hill is representative of a number
of local amateur clubs, the heyday of the 70s and 80s,
when five teams would regularly turn out gave way to
the uncertainty of the 2000s, a time when numbers were
low as people’s work and family commitments took
over. Although playing numbers dropped the spirit at
the club never died, I myself am a second-generation
Mill Hill man, I remember being in and around the club
38 Issue 87
from the time I could walk (probably even before) and
I can honestly say that it is down to the passion and
hard work of my dad and his generation that the club
is where it is today. I played my first game for the club
when I was 17 and coincidentally my debut was my
dad’s retirement game, we were a man short and were
well and truly beaten but it is still one of my favourite
games for Mill Hill.
The old boys laid the foundations in decades gone
by, and those that are still directly involved in the club
are a great help and inspiration to us players. However,
it is the younger generation who are now tasked with
continuing to take the club forward. The atmosphere
around the club at the moment is brilliant; we have a
core group of players who have grown and developed
together over a number of years; turned up as 17-year-
old boys and now have families (who are very welcome
down the club, we often have a number of little fans
running up and down the touchline every Saturday).
Our club captain Jack and 1st XV captain Conor both fall
into that bracket of players who joined as teenagers and
their love for the club shines through every week.
Alongside those players who have been at the club
since their teenage years we are now seeing an influx
of new faces from all walks of life and it is safe to say