Egham Hollowegians Rugby Club

General information

Egham Hollowegians was formed through the merger of the local town team and University Old Boy's side in 2005 to become a single rugby club, and retains this unique partnership into the present day. Representative rugby in Egham started in 1989 when Keith Heal, who is still actively involved in the Club as President, assembled a group of 15 men who played their inaugural game against local rivals Lightwater. The Club recently celebrated 25 years membership of the Rugby Football Union, and remains the only adult team playing rugby in Runnymede.

Based at King's Lane, Englefield Green, we provide opportunities for players of all ages and abilities. The Seniors' section now regularly fields two teams, with upwards of 70 registered members playing competitive matches on Saturday afternoons. The 1st XV competes in Surrey 4, which feeds in to the RFU Pyramid structure, while the 2nd XV playing a mixture of friendly and competitive games in the Thames Valley Invitation League. The two teams train as a single squad on Tuesday evenings at Royal Holloway Sports Centre under the guidance of Head Coach, Mark Pettit.

The Club sits at the heart of the local community, and has over 50 kids involved in its Mini and Junior sections. In addition, a number of students from both Strode's College and Royal Holloway University feed into the Club's development squads, giving them their first taste of Senior Rugby. Many of these have gone on to become intergral to the 1st XV setup, and inject pace and dynamism to our style of play. The Club has run a 'touch rugby' programme over the last three summers, attracting women and newcomers to the sport, and last year a squad of ten entered its first tournament as part of the O2 Touch Tour at Allianz Park, the home of Saracens RFC. For the last ten years, the Club has has hosted an annual sevens tournament, with crowds of upwards of 700 flocking to watch this shortened format of the game.

At the Runnymede Sports Awards, the Club was honoured to be named as Sports Club of the Year, whilst on an individual level, Heather Bennett was announced as the Surrey Country Playing Fields' Young Volunteer of the Year. This success was replicated at the County Sports Awards, where we were named Active Surrey Club of the Year for the first time in our history, beating off competition from Sutton & Epsom RFC.

These successes have come off the back of an off-the-field revolution. In January 2014, a combination of heavy rains and stolen lead flashings caused the Clubhouse roof to collapse. In the face of adversity, and protracted legal disputes, our team of dedicated volunteers were able to put in place a series of repair and renovation works, representing the first major investment in the facility since its acquisition some 20 years previously.