The Beginning
Christmas 1990 fuelled by far too many strong continental Lagers, a motley crew in the Bricklayers, Shoreditch laid down a challenge to the rest of the boozer.

How about a game of rugby on the last day before Christmas? It was a pretty disparate bunch. sans any sort of strip, who turned up at Hackney Marshes for the first game, with the only try being scored by Heroin Addict George, alas no longer with us.

The first games...
The game was considered such a success that 90% of the players never returned, but a few diehards wanted more and after a couple of months a fixture was arranged for the team now called Old Streetonians against UCS Old Boys.

Kaptain Kango kicked a penalty to put us 3 points up, after that it all went wrong. Undismayed the team managed more fixtures, but Kango's precious 3 points were all the team scored for the whole of the first season.

Subsequent seasons
Undeterred the team trained hard for the second season and almost exactly 12 months after the first fateful match scored their first victory with a 12-11 win against Guys Hospital 4th. Ben Lovechild, who stills plays, scored the winning try.

The team now began to win a few more games and eventually applied to play in the league, a move which initially had a very cool response from the RFU. After much procrastination  Street were allowed to join the Herts and Middlesex League, and recorded their first win in the league against Old Totts in 1995.

The high point every season for the club is the Denise Vinyl Cup, named after the Bar Maid in the Bricklayers who was very keen on rubberwear.

Where are we now?
 London 3 North West League Champions 2009/10
This season Old Street celebrates twenty years of rugby in Shoreditch
The club now runs 4 adult teams, our first XV  play in London 2 North East level 7 having gained promotion for the third successive season , 2nd XV compete in the Middlesex Merit table division 3 and the 3rd XV now play in division 4 of the Merit table,  we also run a fourth side for the occasional friendly fixture too. Old Street now has links with City University offering training facilities for their team as well as social rugby for all students who wish to return to the game. We also have a thriving youth section the Shoreditch Sharks providing the opportunity to local children to learn and develop rugby skills within a predominantly football orientated area.

The club employs a professional administrator to oversee the organisation needed to run an ever growing rugby club and a physio to look after players both on and off the pitch.

Home matches are played on three fantastic pitches on Hackney Marshes close to the Olympic Park with  all new facilities for the start of this season 2010/11.
Training takes place twice weekly under floodlights on the fabulous new all weather astro surface in Haggerston Park, see the training page for details.

Another highlight of the season are the club tours each year, Belgium being the hosts for a successful 2001 tour where almost everyone scored, and Paris in 2003 where a game was won. On the  2007 tour  to Germany and Austria Old Street won both their games. In 2008 we held our first ever Vets tour to Gernika near Bilboa and then toured Portugal winning both fixtures. In 2009 the lads travelled to Dresden winning both their games convincingly and  took part in the Livorno 10's. This season will end with a return trip to Gernika in the Basque region and San Sebastion.
During the summer months we participate in sevens competitions and Touch rugby tournaments.

So if this sounds  like your sort of club come along and give us ago.

Dave Bailey, ex Saracens, Rosslyn Park and Livorno (Italy) is our current Head coach and is assisted by Michael Nielsen