RUGBY TOWN FC

Rugby Town rejoined the United Counties League in 2026 after their three-year spell in the Northern Premier League came to an end with relegation.

Valley Sports’ first competitive game was on 8th September 1956 in Division Three of the Rugby & District League when Dunchurch Lodge were beaten 7-0 at Thornfield.

At the end of the following season the club was promoted to Division Two and two years later, as runners up, to Division One – finishing as runners up in Division One in 1962/63 before a move was then made to the Coventry & North Warwickshire League.

Four seasons were spent in Division Two before promotion came to Division one for the 1967/68 season. That season saw a 12th place finish but, following three previous cup final losses, Valley Sports won their first silverware beating Wolvey Amateurs 2-1 to lift the Rugby Hospital Cup on 1st May 1968.

It became clear at this time that a Rugby Borough Council decision to redevelop Thornfield for Rugby’s new swimming pool and sports centre, made in July 1966, would not include a football pitch in the plans.

At the same time mass withdrawals from the Coventry & North Warwickshire League at the end of the 1968/69 season forced the club to make plans as to what league they were to play in and to continue their search for exclusive use of a new ground if they were to continue the progress achieved over the previous 13 seasons at Thornfield.

An application to join the United Counties League was rejected, at the AGM, by the clubs but UCL Secretary, Ken Bacon, managed to get the decision reversed and the club were admitted to Division Three for the 1969/70 season and with no other ground available the club commenced its new era at council owned Hillmorton Recreation Ground with a 3-0 win against British Timken Duston on 3rd September 1969.

Partly derelict allotment land at Butlin Road was identified for a new ground and the persistence of the club officials persuaded the Rugby Borough Council to approve the granting of a 30 year lease at a meeting on 19 May 1970.

The first season in the United Counties League was a successful one with only five games lost, a fifth place finish and the Divisional Cup won as 16 games were played at Hillmorton that season.

The 1970/71 season saw the name changed to Valley Sports Rugby and entry into a groundshare agreement with the original Rugby Town football club who played in the Southern League at the time, for the use of Oakfield.

A third place finish in Division Three was followed in the 1971/72 season with a runners up place and promotion to Division 1 plus recognition by the Birmingham County FA of the club’s senior status which meant entry into the FA Amateur Cup for 1973/74, it’s very last season.

The demise of the original Rugby Town club in May 1973 meant that the barely ready Butlin Road ground had to be used the following season with the first competitive game there being on 6th October 1973 against Burton Park Wanderers which ended goal-less.

The clubhouse was opened on 19 September 1974 and the semi-final of the Birmingham Senior Amateur Cup was reached which prompted the West Midlands (Regional) League to invite the club into its Premier Division for the 1975/76 season.

The club name was changed to VS Rugby as the club progressed, but life in the higher league proved tough for some seasons alleviated only with wins in the FA Cup against Southern League sides Dunstable Town and Bedworth United.

In 1980/81 the first seated stand was opened on 4 September 1980, but a dire opening to the season saw manager Len Willett sacked and Jimmy Knox appointed manager, taking charge from caretaker manager Les Smith at Bilston on 31 January 1981.

It was a decision that was to transform the fortunes of the club for just over 11 years.

Jimmy had been a successful player and manager at Rugby Town, before a spell as top Non-League manager at AP Leamington.

His reputation enabled him to survive defeats in his first five matches and ten defeats in the first eleven.

The 1981/82 season was a much improved campaign finishing in a creditable 8th spot as Jimmy set about building a new team.

Then came 1982/83! On 30 April 1983 Jimmy Knox led VS Rugby to success at Wembley in the FA Vase Final beating fellow WM(R) League side Halesowen Town 1-0, amazingly just 27 months after then Chairman Mick Vousden had persuaded him to manage his home town club.

A Valley club which had itself reached such a pinnacle at the end of only its 27th season.

The opportunity to join the Southern Football League Midland Division 10 years after opening the Butlin Road ground was taken, however, it was dependant on the club being able to provide floodlights.

This was achieved in record time being used for the first time in an FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round Replay against Heybridge Swifts on 5 October 1983 with a 2-0 victory in front of 622 spectators.

After a gap of 10 years, Rugby again had a representative team at this level.

Under manager Knox, the club moved into the Premier Division after winning the 1986/87 Midland Division Championship, won the Southern League Cup and Birmingham Senior Cup, and had memorable FA Cup encounters with Northampton Town, Leyton Orient, Bristol Rovers and Bristol City taking all but Bristol City to a replay.

Jimmy Knox left Butlin Road in the summer of 1992 with the team 3rd in the Premier Division and the Birmingham Senior Cup again behind the bar. His departure led to a rapid decline in the clubs fortunes.

VS were relegated for the first time in their history, and then put into receivership in 1993.

A group of supporters rescued the club, buying back the VS Rugby name and with the club obtaining the keys to the ground only four days before the first game of the 1993/94 season, manager Ron Bradbury somehow assembled a team.

The makeshift team lost only two of their first 24 games and went on to gain automatic promotion behind newly formed Rushden & Diamonds.

That season also saw another FA Cup 1st Round game against Football League opposition when Brentford attracted 3,006 fans to Butlin Road.

In 1999 the club was again in danger but the remaining directors were joined by former player and local business man Brian Melvin who secured the club’s future and started developments around the ground with a new 500 seater cantilever stand housing dressing rooms underneath was opened in 2003, a refurbished club house bar and an improved playing surface.

The club was renamed Rugby United and had put the club in a position to compete in the Southern League Premier Division following the reorganisation of Non-League football.

After five seasons another name change was made, this time to Rugby Town FC for the 2005/06 season whilst a grant from the Football Foudation was obtained to develop all-weather pitches at Butlin Road. The 3G rubber-crumb full sized pitch plus training pitch was opened in October 2006.

As the facilities continued to be improved a 1,300 capacity covered standing terrace along the whole Allotment End was opened in March 2007.

Further improvements include a new hospitality suite which was opened in November 2014 following the conversion of the original dressing rooms whilst a new public address system was completed in August 2015.

Winning the Midland Floodlit Cup, for the 3rd time, on the 12 May 1999 is the only one to have been won since the 1993/94 season, however, the last five seasons in the Southern League Central Division saw the club finish no lower than 6th and two consecutive runners up finishes in 2012/13 & 2013/14, when manager Dave Stringer, assembled a squad of talented players who were unlucky not to have secured a return back to the Southern League Premier Division.

They broke almost all the previous performance records when in 2012/13 they recorded the highest points tally of 96 and the highest goals for record of 103.

Despite finishing 11 points ahead of fourth placed Biggleswade Town and leading 1-0 in the play-off final they missed promotion when the visitors were awarded a controversial penalty which turned the game.

In the 2013/14 play-off semi-final the team were no match for 5th placed Slough Town at Butlin Road after again finished as runners-up. It was another season when 100 league goals were scored.

Individually David Kolodynski became the club’s all time leading goalscorer at senior level passing Danny Conway.

A sixth place Central Division finish in 2014/15 proved a disappointment and on 1st May 2015 it was announced that Dave Stringer had left his manager’s position by mutual consent.

For the 2015/16 season, Rugby were switched to the Northern Premier League for the first time after 32 years in the Southern League.

A poor start under rookie new manager, Gary Mills, saw him replaced in September by former Valley goalkeeper, Dale Belford whosteadied the team in his first four months in charge, followed by a surge towards the play-offs before finishing 9th in NPL Division One South. The team won three Fair Play Awards for their exemplary disciplinary record during the season including an FA Respect Award.

The 2016/17 season saw new manager James Jepson also leave the club shortly into his tenure with another former player, Gary Moran, taking charge in September.

His first managerial appointment ended with the team finishing 21st in the league and relegation to Step Five for the first time after 34 seasons.

The club were relegated into the Midland Football League Premier Division for the 2017/18 season but also saw the return of Stringer as manager, following two seasons in charge of Chasetown.

After a disappointing mid-table finish, Stringer was replaced by former Stratford Town manager Carl Adams and saw his side fall short of the top two as the club were moved into the United Counties League for the first time since 1975.

Two Covid-19 interrupted seasons followed between 2019-2021 as the club netted a third place season again before the same bronze-place finish came in the 2021/22 campaign as Valley reached the Fifth Round of the FA Vase before bowing out away to North Shields.

The club finally achieved promotion back to the Northern Premier League at the conclusion of the 2022/23 season after finishing runners-up to Coventry Sphinx in the UCL Premier Division South.

Thanks to having a superior points-per-game ratio than their equivalent competitors across the country at Step 5, Rugby earned an automatic promotion instead of facing an inter-step play-off.

At the first season back in Step Four, Rugby had a tough season but an excellent end-of-season run including a final day win at Boldmere St Michaels secured NPL status for another season.
The 2024/25 season proved even tougher with Carl Adams leaving as manager in December but even with former player Ian King coming in, the change of manager was not enough to prevent the club finishing in the relegation zone.

Only a late withdrawal by Hinckley Leicester Road created a space in the NPL Midlands for Rugby to be reprieved allowing new manager Grant Joshua a fresh start in Step Four.

After an encouraging first half of the season, a dismal run of form in the second half of the season resulted in relegation back to the UCL in 2026.

Admission Prices: £10 Adults £5 OAP £5 U18 £2 U12s

Programme: £3

Honours are as follows: 

Southern League Midland/ Central Division

Champions 1986/87

Runners-up 1993/94, 2012/13, 2013/14 

FA Vase

Winners 1982/83 

Southern League Cup

Winners 1989/90 

Birmingham Senior Cup

Winners 1988/89 & 1991/92

Runners-up 1992/93 

Midland Floodlit Cup

Winners 1984/85, 1989/90 & 1998/99

Runners-up 1987/88

United Counties League Premier Division South Runners-up

2022/23