Based

        The Vulcan rugby club is situated in a small historic town called Newton-le-Willows. The town can be found in between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in the North-west of England.

Back to Top

Formed & Works Ties

        Vulcan R.U.F.C. was formed in 1956 and in this era the teams at Vulcan were made up from workers at the Ruston Diesels foundry based in the Vulcan village, so hence the name of the club. In 1956 the foundry employed over 1000 people from towns like Warrington, St. Helens, Leigh and Wigan; all of which are great rugby towns. With this the Vulcan club had a large selection of talent to choose from to fill it's 6 senior and colts sides. What started as just a works team has slowly built itself up over the years, but as the foundry has been bought and sold a number of times over the years, the ties between the foundry and the club have become severed. Now the foundry; which is owned by Mann; only has a couple of employee's that play for the club.

Back to Top

Success

        Over the past 40 t0 50 years the club has enjoyed quite a few high points and have broke a few records along the way. One of the records that will probably never be surpassed is one from the 'unbeaten' 1964-1965 season, when the first team played 33 fixtures and won all 33 of the fixtures, scoring 898 points along the way and only conceding 125. Some other high points for the club has come when they have beaten the professional likes of Orrell and Waterloo in friendly fixtures.

        One of the most memorable season's of recent time was when the league system was first introduced in 1986 and in that season the Vulcan club were North-west league champions and to cap that they became the only club in the local area to win the Lancashire Plate, beating Bolton R.U.F.C.; who were two divisions higher at the time; 14 points to 10 in a thrilling final at the Broughton Park ground.

        The Vulcan veterans team have also had it's fair share of success winning the Aspull over 30's competition many times, the most recent of which they beat Orrell 9-3 in the final. To add to all this the club has also been league champions in the 1989-1990 season and the 1992-1993 season.

Back to Top

Famous Players

        The Vulcan club has seen many rugby league and rugby union international players grace it's pitches, but the most memorable of which has to be Steve Hampson, the ex-Wigan and Great Britain full back. Steve was a great servant to the Vulcan club from his first game in 1978 to being signed professional with Wigan by Alex Murphy in 1983. His attitude and dedication to the game of rugby at both codes set an example to everyone at the club. The Vulcan club has also seen a number of it's players turn out for many professional rugby league and union teams in the domestic game.

Back to Top

Decline

        All the way up to the late 1980's the Vulcan club ran a regular five senior sides, a colt's teams and an under-sixteen's side, but unfortunately like many sporting sides in the area and nation-wide, Vulcan has been in steady decline and now only turn's out two open age teams every week. This decline is partially due to the players work commitments, but largely due to the lack of enthusiasm by young people toward the game.

        With the club losing mand a fine player to work, injury or retirement the club has gone from being a major force in the North-west rugby union club scene, to playing in the South Lancashire-Cheshire leagues. Also with the sale of the sports ground at Vulcan, the club has had to look for a new home.

Back to Top

Future

        The future of the Vulcan club looks extremely bright as the club has a number of newly recruited young players, and when combined with the wealth of experience at the club they will form a formidable first team next season. Also the club has recently re-started an the under-nineteen's side, which has alrady got one league title to their credit. This side will hopefully provide the club with more players in the years to come. The Vulcan club is currently ground sharing with Newton-le-Willows, but hopefully in the near future the Vulcan club may have some new sports facilities to play out of.

Back to Top