On October 18th 1922 the school played against Sandhurst Old Soldiers. The then school magazine reported : “Three weeks after first starting Rugger we played our opening match. The form displayed was most promising, and the XV were very keen. Allies at fullback and P. Robinson played especially well. The first half was very well contested, but our opponents scored two tries. In the second half Hayes and Townley very nearly scored for us. The Sandhurst team then scored four tries, one of which was converted with a very fine kick”.

From humble beginnings, rugby has gone from strength to strength over the course of the last century and remains an important part of the culture of life at The Oratory.  Amongst our alumni are Old Oratorians who have gone on to international honours , coached at extremely high level, and to play the game socially.

For generations of pupils, the rugby playing fields have provided an opportunity to learn about teamwork, resilience, solidarity,  develop friendship and to understand the unique ethos of The Oratory. Amongst our current pupils, we have multiple boys attached to professional clubs, have successfully introduced girls’ rugby for the first time and have an increasing number of pupils playing the game.

As part of our centenary plans, we are hosting fixtures with the London Oratory at Grasshoppers RFC in London on Wednesday 19th October 2022. This is the closest match day to the first ever fixture one hundred years ago. After the success of 2021 and thanks to the generosity of the Oratory School Society, we can partner again with NextGen, the leading streamer of school rugby in the UK, to stream the Senior Colt A XV, 2nd XV and 1st XV fixtures. The fixture will be available to stream and a link will be posted on the Oratory Community website 24 hours before the game.

The Yearling A XV and Junior Colts A XV will also play beforehand. Each side will play one after the other on the state of the art artificial pitch at Grasshoppers RFC.

As Old Oratorians, you are warmly invited to attend the day, particularly the 1st XV fixture at 7.30pm. The match will take place at:

Grasshoppers RFC

Soon Lane

Osterley 

Isleworth

TW7 5PN

We look forward to seeing as many of you there and invite you to watch the highlights of last year's game at the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2QzKpuWZJg