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ON THIS SITE HISTORY |
HISTORY The Old Mids were formed in 1925 and began their assault on immortality with a glorious 3-0 win. From this point onwards, they endured the crests and troughs typical of any old boys club with a limited playing pool from which to draw new players. The turning point came in the mid-70s when the members took the dramatic decision to go open, although the recruitment of new players was carried out via informal, social means, rather than an extravagant desire to line the pockets of any itinerant player that read the classified ads. The golden era of Mids rugby came in the 1980s, with three successes in the Surrey Cup. The first of these saw John Carey lead the team to a crushing 12-9 victory (after extra time) over Guildford & Godalming on a bleak day in 1985. The next success came a couple of years later, at the expense of the same runners-up. The third win came saw Dorking defeated in another thriller. In the same period, a fourth success was denied when conceding a two score lead to Sutton & Epsom in the dying minutes. With the onset of league rugby, the Mids were placed initially in London 2 South. In the first season, promotion was missed by mere points difference, after a mighty end of season tussle with winners Basingstoke. Amends was made a year later when the league was won with a 100% record, under the captaincy of Carl Wahlers. Life in London 1 proved tougher, but the club survived, with varying degrees of comfort, for 11 years at that level until a league reorganisation at the end of the 1999/2000, saw them return to London 2 South, bloodied but unbowed. In recent seasons, the club has started many players onto the way to the accolades of first class rugby. These include George Chuter (Saracens & Leicester, plus England), Shane Roiser (Wasps), Keiran Roche (Saracens & Barbarians), Kerry Morley (Leeds & Wakefield), Alex Codling (Richmond & Harlequins plus now England), Dave Fitzgerald (Blackheath, including a few years ago when they were doing better in the league) and, going back a bit, Andy Holder, who captained Rosslyn Park when they reached the giddy heights of National Division 1. And let's not forget Steffan Hughes, who has gone on to play for London Broncos and Wales in rugby for people who cannot count up to 15. In addition to the triumphs mentioned above, the club has also won the Surrey County Colts Cup three times and the Combined London Old Boys Cup on four occasions, and can even throw in a Surrey County Sevens triumph for good measure. |
