History
The 1997/ 98 season saw a double celebration for our club in that the
new clubhouse was officially opened following the "Great Fire" of
November 1993 .This complimented the fact that the club
entered its 50th year since the founding of Wigan Unionists in 1947.
The last 25 years have, of course, been in the guise of Aspull.
Those members from the Unionist days were also responsible for the
move to Woodshaw Park along with the name change to Aspull
R.F.C. Many of the old Unionists in particular John Leyland, Nick Bennett,
Norman Harrison, George Houghton, Colin & Geoff
Benfold, Alan Storey & Terry Hamilton, to name but a few,
maintained their links with the club for many years and quite a
number of those people are still very active within the current club structure.
Wigan Unionists were formed in 1947 and were the product of the
Wigan Unionist Cricket Club who with the aim of keeping fit during
the winter months decided to form a rugby team. They were based
initially at the New Inn but moved on numerous occasions to
locations in Green Hill (Standish), Ince, & St Paul (Goose Green),
before finally coming to rest at Little Lane in Goose Green.
Changing facilities at that time comprised of a dolly tub (five
men/legs to a tub).
In 1957 facilities had improved and comprised of a wooden hut with
Gas Lighting and gas geyser with four showers heads being proudly
displayed thanks to the resident jack of all trades George Houghton.
The wooden hut was burned down twice apparently by the same man
therefore we have something in common with the feelings of the
Unionist members of the time. However I must add that there is no
connection with the previous arsonist who I believe is still under lock
and key.
I am quite reliably informed that George Houghton was running the
club alone and it was only when Nick Bennett stepped in to take over
as Fixture Secretary and John Leyland took over as Treasurer that the
club began to take shape and George began to see his family again.
A second team was established in 1959 and by 1966 three teams were
operating from Little Lane followed by a fourth team in the 1969/70
season.
George Houghton profession was that of a rent collector and in the
course of his day to day business met a Mr. Ryder from the Aspull
UDC who offered help in locating land for a new club. The ideal
location was to the rear of the Civic Centre that you pass by as you
approach the club but this had been earmarked as the location of a
large Sports Stadium, which as you can see never came to fruition.
The plot of land offered is where we stand today and with the help of
a £6,800 Sports Council Grant and small loans from the Playing Fields
Association & Whitbread Brewery, Aspull RFC was born.
The move to Aspull in 1972 was an exciting time for the club as it
heralded the start of a new era.
The design of the clubhouse was similar in many ways to that of
Littleborough R.F.C. with its concrete panel construction. The work
was completed on a shoestring budget and although the clubhouse
had been finished the Civic Centre was still used in 1976 when we
entertained Newbridge from South Wales in that memorable
confrontation which saw the involvement of RFU H.Q following an
incident in which a Welsh player struck a spectator .The result of this
altercation was the crash barriers you now see around the ground.
We have also had our highs and lows on the field, in particular the
now infamous thrashing by Thomesians from Yorkshire by 60 points
which prompted the quote from stand off of the day Freddie Moss,
"my conscience is clear", and the three encounters with Orrell in the
Lancashire Cup, one of which was in sub-zero temperatures here at
Woodshaw Park.
The victory over Manchester RFC put Aspull on the map in terms of
rugby, but we had to wait until 1984 before we lifted our first trophies
when the senior side took the Lancashire Plate and the Colts picked
up the Lancashire Colts Plate in the same month.
This was followed by our first Sevens success beating Widnes in the
final of the Bowden sevens and heralded the start of a successful
period of Sevens rugby having won the Toe H Sevens Four times and
been losing finalists on Two occasions.
Development of the grounds has been limited due to the fact that the
club stands on council land although we do own the large floodlit
area to the left of the car park and beyond the mini-pitch.
The fire in November 1993 came at the worst possible time which was
the day of a crucial league fixture and we were forced to operate from
the civic centre changing rooms until our changing rooms were
reinstated in January 1994 allowing one team to play at home,
refreshments being taken a nearby pub.
Many of the local sides came to our aid with donations for which we
will always be grateful. There was also a great deal of fund raising
done by the members, which in effect helped the club survive.
Orrell offered their training facilities and Wigan suggested a merger,
but after a great deal of thought we rejected that option.
As a club we had to decide where we wanted to be in the next ten
years and beyond and a number of members felt that we should stay
as we were in terms of size and financially that would have been
more acceptable but with the advent of professionalism and the
ambition within the club we went ahead with the structure you now
see...A ground floor clubhouse with a first floor which can be
utilised commercially all year round for the local community.
Progress has been slow for a number of reasons but the end result
willbe worth the wait and all this without the benefit of lottery
funding.
As with the original club the same faces have seen the project
through, for the benefit of the many and I would like to thank all
those involved in particular Danny Priest, Alan Storey, Ian Bithell,
Graham Bennett, Eric Brooks, Alan Waters, Gary Owen & Malc
Wills who have been here week in week out for the last two years
of building. I would also like to thank the team who entered the
Boglin Valley Endurance Run and 'Ed The Duck' who completed a
Lands to John Groats bike ride to boost funds.
During the four years since the fire we were promoted three times
and reached the final of the Lancashire Trophy, losing to a very
strong Manchester, which speaks volumes for the commitment of
both players and ex player coach Paul Keegan. We were also
honoured with the title of Junior Team of the Year in 1995/96.
The Club's finest moment, however, came on Sunday 3rd May
1998 at Liverpool St.Helens. This saw the Final of the THWAITES
BREWERY LANCASHIRE TROPHY vs. LEIGH. Skipper Mick Yates
led his band of Players to glory with a resounding 23-0
victory over one of our closest and bitter rivals.
The men from Leigh just could not cope with the sheer pace of
Aspull's Game that day and the heat certainly highlighted our
superior fitness.
Coach Paul Keegan finally got his just desserts for almost a decade
of hard work, which transformed the club.
The strength of our club has always been through our Junior
structure and no fewer than ten of the current 1st XV have taken
that route. The junior section is as strong as ever under the
leadership of the individual team coaches who
put in a lot of time and effort with the kids which bodes well for
the future.
Hopefully we will go from strength to strength in the years ahead.
new clubhouse was officially opened following the "Great Fire" of
November 1993 .This complimented the fact that the club
entered its 50th year since the founding of Wigan Unionists in 1947.
The last 25 years have, of course, been in the guise of Aspull.
Those members from the Unionist days were also responsible for the
move to Woodshaw Park along with the name change to Aspull
R.F.C. Many of the old Unionists in particular John Leyland, Nick Bennett,
Norman Harrison, George Houghton, Colin & Geoff
Benfold, Alan Storey & Terry Hamilton, to name but a few,
maintained their links with the club for many years and quite a
number of those people are still very active within the current club structure.
Wigan Unionists were formed in 1947 and were the product of the
Wigan Unionist Cricket Club who with the aim of keeping fit during
the winter months decided to form a rugby team. They were based
initially at the New Inn but moved on numerous occasions to
locations in Green Hill (Standish), Ince, & St Paul (Goose Green),
before finally coming to rest at Little Lane in Goose Green.
Changing facilities at that time comprised of a dolly tub (five
men/legs to a tub).
In 1957 facilities had improved and comprised of a wooden hut with
Gas Lighting and gas geyser with four showers heads being proudly
displayed thanks to the resident jack of all trades George Houghton.
The wooden hut was burned down twice apparently by the same man
therefore we have something in common with the feelings of the
Unionist members of the time. However I must add that there is no
connection with the previous arsonist who I believe is still under lock
and key.
I am quite reliably informed that George Houghton was running the
club alone and it was only when Nick Bennett stepped in to take over
as Fixture Secretary and John Leyland took over as Treasurer that the
club began to take shape and George began to see his family again.
A second team was established in 1959 and by 1966 three teams were
operating from Little Lane followed by a fourth team in the 1969/70
season.
George Houghton profession was that of a rent collector and in the
course of his day to day business met a Mr. Ryder from the Aspull
UDC who offered help in locating land for a new club. The ideal
location was to the rear of the Civic Centre that you pass by as you
approach the club but this had been earmarked as the location of a
large Sports Stadium, which as you can see never came to fruition.
The plot of land offered is where we stand today and with the help of
a £6,800 Sports Council Grant and small loans from the Playing Fields
Association & Whitbread Brewery, Aspull RFC was born.
The move to Aspull in 1972 was an exciting time for the club as it
heralded the start of a new era.
The design of the clubhouse was similar in many ways to that of
Littleborough R.F.C. with its concrete panel construction. The work
was completed on a shoestring budget and although the clubhouse
had been finished the Civic Centre was still used in 1976 when we
entertained Newbridge from South Wales in that memorable
confrontation which saw the involvement of RFU H.Q following an
incident in which a Welsh player struck a spectator .The result of this
altercation was the crash barriers you now see around the ground.
We have also had our highs and lows on the field, in particular the
now infamous thrashing by Thomesians from Yorkshire by 60 points
which prompted the quote from stand off of the day Freddie Moss,
"my conscience is clear", and the three encounters with Orrell in the
Lancashire Cup, one of which was in sub-zero temperatures here at
Woodshaw Park.
The victory over Manchester RFC put Aspull on the map in terms of
rugby, but we had to wait until 1984 before we lifted our first trophies
when the senior side took the Lancashire Plate and the Colts picked
up the Lancashire Colts Plate in the same month.
This was followed by our first Sevens success beating Widnes in the
final of the Bowden sevens and heralded the start of a successful
period of Sevens rugby having won the Toe H Sevens Four times and
been losing finalists on Two occasions.
Development of the grounds has been limited due to the fact that the
club stands on council land although we do own the large floodlit
area to the left of the car park and beyond the mini-pitch.
The fire in November 1993 came at the worst possible time which was
the day of a crucial league fixture and we were forced to operate from
the civic centre changing rooms until our changing rooms were
reinstated in January 1994 allowing one team to play at home,
refreshments being taken a nearby pub.
Many of the local sides came to our aid with donations for which we
will always be grateful. There was also a great deal of fund raising
done by the members, which in effect helped the club survive.
Orrell offered their training facilities and Wigan suggested a merger,
but after a great deal of thought we rejected that option.
As a club we had to decide where we wanted to be in the next ten
years and beyond and a number of members felt that we should stay
as we were in terms of size and financially that would have been
more acceptable but with the advent of professionalism and the
ambition within the club we went ahead with the structure you now
see...A ground floor clubhouse with a first floor which can be
utilised commercially all year round for the local community.
Progress has been slow for a number of reasons but the end result
willbe worth the wait and all this without the benefit of lottery
funding.
As with the original club the same faces have seen the project
through, for the benefit of the many and I would like to thank all
those involved in particular Danny Priest, Alan Storey, Ian Bithell,
Graham Bennett, Eric Brooks, Alan Waters, Gary Owen & Malc
Wills who have been here week in week out for the last two years
of building. I would also like to thank the team who entered the
Boglin Valley Endurance Run and 'Ed The Duck' who completed a
Lands to John Groats bike ride to boost funds.
During the four years since the fire we were promoted three times
and reached the final of the Lancashire Trophy, losing to a very
strong Manchester, which speaks volumes for the commitment of
both players and ex player coach Paul Keegan. We were also
honoured with the title of Junior Team of the Year in 1995/96.
The Club's finest moment, however, came on Sunday 3rd May
1998 at Liverpool St.Helens. This saw the Final of the THWAITES
BREWERY LANCASHIRE TROPHY vs. LEIGH. Skipper Mick Yates
led his band of Players to glory with a resounding 23-0
victory over one of our closest and bitter rivals.
The men from Leigh just could not cope with the sheer pace of
Aspull's Game that day and the heat certainly highlighted our
superior fitness.
Coach Paul Keegan finally got his just desserts for almost a decade
of hard work, which transformed the club.
The strength of our club has always been through our Junior
structure and no fewer than ten of the current 1st XV have taken
that route. The junior section is as strong as ever under the
leadership of the individual team coaches who
put in a lot of time and effort with the kids which bodes well for
the future.
Hopefully we will go from strength to strength in the years ahead.
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