History

History


Old Tiffinian’s RFC was founded in 1924 by old boys of Tiffin School in Kingston, Surrey. At this time the club played in Home Park, Kingston.

Brigadier J.J. Harper MBE, the long-standing Headmaster of the School, was prominent in the early years of the Club and played many seasons for Old Tiffinian’s.

The Club probably saw it’s best-ever season in 1938, when it was unbeaten and the fixture list included the likes of Wasps and Saracens.
In the early ‘50s the Club moved to it’s current ground – Grists – which was purchased by the Old Tiffinian’s Association in 1949.

The 1960s proved to be a particularly successful period; Tiffs never lost more than seven matches in any one season during the decade. This era was highlighted in the 1961-62 season when the club opened it’s new pavilion. In a special celebratory match Old Tiffinians beat a full-strength Surrey XV which was captained by David Perry, the England Captain at that time. The Surrey team also contained two other current internationals. As a direct result of their performances in this match, the two Old Tiffinians locks – Ken Ebenezer and Brian Booking – were selected for Surrey. Ken later went on to play for Richmond FC and had three England trials.

Other Old Tiffinian’s who have gone on to greater things include John Cox, the Harlequins winger, who had three England trials in the early ‘70s; Neil Bennet, who gained nine England Caps at fly-half whilst playing for Bedford and London Welsh; Paddy Hinton, who, in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, won two Cambridge University Blues, took part in two England trials and was capped for England U25 against Fiji. Paddy also won a County Championship Medal with Surrey (whom he eventually Captained for three seasons) and he also appeared in two John Player Cup Finals whilst playing for Rosslyn Park. The latest in the list is Rob Henderson – who went on to play for London Irish, Wasps, Munster and Toulon. Rob played at centre for Ireland and was picked for the British Lions in 2001.

In the mid-’80s Old Tiffinian’s was very strong, both in numbers and playing strength. Competition within the six XVs was at a peak and this was reflected in good performances in the Surrey Cup – reaching the semi-final stage on a number of occasions. During this very successful period a number of players were selected to represent CLOB and Surrey – amongst them Ian Dopson, Chris Mason, Robert Spittle, Duncan Fennemore and Ian Lindsay, who travelled with CLOB on the 1990 tour to California.

The Club went through a rebuilding stage in the late 1990s and 2000s, encouraging more young members to join the Club.

More latterly, the 2013-14 season has seen the Club celebrate it’s most successful league campaign ever. Old Tiffinian’s won Surrey 1 with the most points (79) ever scored in the competition. During the season the Club won 17 of its 18 matches and scored 609 points against 244. This meant that in the 2014-15 season Old Tiffinian’s entered the London Leagues – a feat never before achieved by the Club- finishing in a more than respectable 5th place.

2015/2016 sees the club running two sides with the 1sts continuing in London SW 3, whilst the 2nd team battle against the creme de la creme of Surrey Conference 1