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Home  OC History
History of OC Rugby
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- from Fawcett's book on the history of the game at Cranleigh School
and the Club - see end of article for purchasing details - -
Rugby football replaced the round ball as the major winter sport at Cranleigh in the Lent Term
1916, coached by a young man named L C Gower, who had joined the staff that term.
It was an event which was to have a profound effect on the School's whole future.
Charles Gower, ?the Architect of Cranleigh Rugger' as inscribed
on outdoor spectator benches donated to the School by the OCs at a later date
in his memory, was a tyrant of a coach, but his unceasing keenness and enthusiasm
soon spread to his pupils. "His creed was quite straightforward", said H P
Jacob (?Jake', himself a legendary Oxford and England wing threequarter). "Simple
things well done ? and at speed. The perfect giving and taking of passes, incessant
backing up, and relentless pressure."
Success soon followed
this regime, blossoming hugely after the War, with substantial victories over
all the schools on the circuit ? and beyond, as the fame of Cranleigh rugby spread
through the land. The oval ball was increasingly worshipped to a degree that
would not be acceptable today, but there is little doubt that this prowess did
no harm at all to the School, with fond parents desperate to get their sons
into Cranleigh. The highest score recorded in the oustanding 1920-21 season was
136-nil over KCS Wimbledon, who had not previously lost a match that year (20
goals, 12 tries ? remember, only 3 points for a try then), with some famous names
beginning to emerge. M S Bonaventura and Jacob went on to England caps, while
L S F Leroy, said by Jacob to have been perhaps the most gifted footballer of
them all, went to Canada, where he played for the national side.
1919 ? 1939
The end
of the War also saw the end of the OC Football Club, which gave way to
the OCRFC formed in 1919. After a few years nomadic existence, a ground
was found at Wembley under a 5 years lease from 1923, but this was not
a very satisfactory venue, often waterlogged and in a difficult
location. Then after an extended search, the Thames Ditton ground was
found at last in 1928. The freehold was purchased, after much
negotiation, for ?2500 and the clubhouse built for a like sum, funded
by a transfer from the OC Society Life Membership Fund, an RFU loan
repayable over 15 years, and substantial pledges from individual OCs.
"Success is not in wins and losses, but in the manner of upholding the
spirit and sportsmanship of the game", said the President of the Rugby
Union in formally opening the ground on 24 November 1928 with a match
against Old Blues (won 5-3).
Stanley Couchman leaps against Fettesian - Lorettonians on New Year's Eve 1938. The OCs won 14-3.
The
next
decade
was the epoch of old boys rugby, and the OCRFC was at the forefront of that.
In 1935 the club was able to put out a side made almost entirely of internationals
and county players. In 1929 the OCRFC charged for a season ticket to matches
at TD (OCs were given a free pass) but the strength of the fixture list
warranted that ? opponents included Neath, Maesteg, London Welsh and London Scottish.
In 1931-32 the club reached the semi-finals of the Middlesex Sevens where
they led Harlequins when they lost JE Benyon through injury ? six against seven
was too much of a handicap and they lost in extra time. They again reached the
semis the following season, defeated on that occasion by Wasps.
In this period, the OCRFC got extensive
media coverage and was visited by national selectors. By the mid 1930s
the fixture list included Gloucester, Wasps, Swansea, Sale, Bath and
London Welsh, and in 1935 a grandstand, accommodating 180 persons and
costing ?446 was built. The club also had depth, with four regular
sides turning out each week.
Alan Key, who captained the club,
played for England, Stanley Couchman and FJ Reynolds (who also played
for England) toured South Africa with the British Lions (Cyril Suter
was also picked but was unable to go). C O?N Wallis represented
Ireland, and finally in 1938-39 Bob Carr won his two England caps.
 OC rugby 1937 - 38 season poster
1946 ? 1959
Two half-hearted
attempts were made to raise sides in the early days of the war, but too
many players were in service. At the end of the war, it was clear that
TD was not available for use ? it had been requisitioned by the War
Office and needed ploughing up and relaying. The club restarted in
1945-46, based down the road at Old Paulines, but the world had moved
on and old boys rugby was not nearly the force it was. The OCRFC was no
exception.
The club was back at TD in 1946-47, with the first
post-war match again against the Old Blues, but the pre-war fixture
list soon had to be trimmed to reflect the changing state of play.
The
1950s were a period where the club remained strong, even if standards
were no longer as high. The Cranleighan in 1952-53 noted that it was
hard recruiting players and pondered whether the ?difficulties
hindering an old boys? club in these days are not so great as to make a
revival not on.? The remarkable performance of the School in 1955-56,
when they won 11 in 11, gave the whole club a fillip, and many of that
side went on to play for the OCs.
By the following season, the
club was again looking to strengthen the fixture list, and in 1957-58 a
high-profile match at Moseley seemed doomed when a derailment at
Paddington closed the rail network ? but the team rushed to Croydon
airport and flew to the midlands. The extravagance was rewarded with a
3-3 draw.
In 1958-59, Jeff Clements, who had remained loyal to
the OCRFC, and was captaining them ? despite warnings that it
would hamper his international ambitions ? was rewarded with his
England call-up. Bob Taylor, the OC?s stand-in captain at US Portsmouth
took great delight in apologising to his opposite number for the
skipper?s absence, casually explaining he was ?playing for England this
afternoon?. That period was to prove the last great period in the
club?s history.
1960 - 1979
The 1960s were a period of
slow decline, as the side which had done so well in the previous decade
aged. There were still up to five sides fielded, but the quality was in
decline. In 1964-65, the 1st XV suffered 21 successive defeats. A brief
revival under the charismatic David Bluett in the mid 60s did not last.
In 1967-68 the unthinkable was suggested ? that the club allow non OCs
to play to try to maintain standards. EW Swanton, who had acted as
secretary and unashamed publicist for the club for many years, even
investigated a merge with Old Millhillians ? better to keep the club
strong without going outside old boys ? but the idea never took root.
Almost a decade later a merge with the Old Blues was discussed.
The
struggle to recruit players exclusively from the School was becoming
almost impossible by the mid 1970s, and in 1977-78 the club was
officially declared open (a few non-OCs had been quietly playing for
some time in the lower sides) and David Guest, a non-OC, was elected
Club Captain. But the slow decline continued and it became an
increasing battle to keep the flag flying.
1980 - 1990
That downslide was checked by the appointment of Julian Tompkins in 1983-84,
and the benchmark was set by nine wins in his first 11 matches. The season culminated
in a 6-4 win over Old Blues, and 22 of 34 matches were won. David Bugge
led the charge with 191 points while Henry Corp scored 15 tries. The B XV were
also successful, winning 18 out of 23. But the number of OCs in sides was steadily
falling.
In 1984-85, the season finale against the Old Blues
was also the Merit Table decider and 400 spectators packed the touchlines to watch
a late David Cardwell try secure a 13-7 win. It was the club?s first and only
Merit Table success. All four sides won more matches than they lost.
But
many of the core of that side soon departed, and by 1987-88 the 1st XV
lost 25 of their 30 matches.
1991 onward
The era of the increasing professionalisation of the game and a differing approach
to way it was played meant that rugby clubs all over the country felt the
pinch and many folded. That the OCRFC did not is a credit to those involved
in its running ? and the financial support of Andrew Cronk helped the club through
some tough times. A fire at the club had a positive long-term effect, and a
rebuilt clubhouse meant that the hockey club inherited the prime pitch and grandstand,
and the rugby pitches were moved to the far end of the land.
In
1993-94 the OCs won Surrey Division Two, winning 20 of the 27 matches.
This
is just an introduction to the OCRFC. Those who would like
to read more of the heroic achievements of the Club, with wins over many of the
most famous sides in the land, the International caps won, the sequestration
of the ground as a Civil Defence training centre during WW2, the ups and downs
after the War, through to the present day in Surrey League 1, should purchase a
copy of A History of the Old Cranleighan Rugby Football Club ["Every rugger-minded
OC should buy Mike Fawcett's wonderfully detailed, painstaking, stirring story
of the OCRFC" - E W Swanton. ". . . an essential blueprint for anybody contemplating
a similar history of their club" ? Daily Telegraph].
Copies can be obtained for the discounted price of ?10 (payable to the OC Club) from:
MJP
Fawcett, 98-110 High Street, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3HE.
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