The Early Roots of Rugby in Wolverton
Rugby in our community began long before Milton Keynes existed. The origins of today’s Milton Keynes Rugby Club can be traced back to Wolverton Rugby Club, founded in the mid-1870s. The club thrived until the outbreak of the First World War, after which rugby in the area fell silent for several decades.
That changed on 22 January 1958, when a group of committed locals gathered in the Scout Hall in Wolverton to reform the club, hiring the hall for just 7/6d (37½p). From that moment, Wolverton Rugby Club was reborn. Shirts were borrowed and dyed black, three fixtures were arranged to finish the season, and the spirit of grassroots rugby returned to the town.
The following years saw the club grow quickly. A pitch and posts at Wolverton Recreation Ground were supplied by the council, while changing and bathing facilities came courtesy of the Railway Works Baths. Post-match teas were held at the Craufurd Arms, which doubled as the club’s headquarters. As fundraising increased, the Vice-Presidents donated the now-familiar black shirts with white collars, helping the squad take the field with pride and for the first time, a full team without drafting in coach drivers or spectators to make up the numbers!
Becoming Milton Keynes RUFC
In 1965, the club made a major leap forward. A plot known as Hodges Furze, behind Windsor Street in Wolverton, was leased from the Radcliffe Trustees. With financial support from Marston’s Brewery, the land was transformed into playable pitches. A second-hand hut was converted into changing rooms, baths, toilets and, essentially, a bar giving the club its first true home. The new grounds were officially opened on 27 March 1968 by England international Jeff Butterfield, invited by Club President W. H. Weston.
But big change was coming. As Milton Keynes began evolving from village to planned new city, the club looked to the future. In 1974, Wolverton Rugby Club formally became Milton Keynes Rugby Union Football Club, reflecting the growing community it aimed to serve.
A new ground in Greenleys followed, along with a clubhouse once again funded in part by Marston’s Brewery and boosted by an unforgettable fundraising effort: a sponsored run to Twickenham Stadium, where club members presented the match ball for the 1973 All Blacks game, a moment proudly captured on national television and etched into club folklore.
Today, MKRUFC stands as one of the city’s longest-established sporting institutions. From its humble beginnings in Wolverton to its role at the heart of a thriving modern community, the club has been built on grit, generosity, and the unwavering belief that rugby brings people together.
And while much has changed over the decades, the values remain exactly the same:
Teamwork. Respect. Inclusion. Enjoyment. Sportsmanship.
Welcome to Milton Keynes Rugby Union Football Club, where history inspires the future.
