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By 1971 life had become more heterogeneous and the club scraped together the wherewithal to buy 22 acres of ground and by their own efforts three pitches and a clubhouse were built. With all the energy released by the change of venue and an ever-growing membership, it rapidly established itself as a
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Abbey currently play four senior teams as well as a colts and a vets team. The first team and second team train together as a squad on
Tuesdays and Thursday nights and the third team and fourth team train together as a development squad on Thursdays. All the senior teams, apart from the colts, play
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League rugby saw Abbey start in South West 1 East with a declared policy of amateurism aiming to cultivate rugby within the community; membership has thrived and leading it to adopt the name
Reading Abbey; the club is proud that its finances are sound and the 22 acres are owned outright without any
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Every Sunday the club is taken over by the mini and junior rugby. Mini's rugby is from under-5s to under-12s. They play in their age groups, mainly working on their core rugby skills and playing in semi-competitive friendly matches against other clubs. The juniors, who are under-13s to under-17s,
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Reading Abbey was born in the early 1950s as a youth side meeting the playing demand of boys who went to non-rugby playing schools. As a consequence when they wanted adult rugby they were uncomfortable with the established hierarchy at the two clubs in town. So in 1956 they formed Abbey RFC and
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Women's and girls' rugby is a growing force at Abbey. Each Sunday Abbey hosts a girls only training session for girls from 8 to 11 with an open door policy where any age girl can come and not be turned away. The women's team play as Abbey Nuns and train Monday and
Wednesday night. Having been
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borrowings. Its playing fortunes have been equally stable for, bar a couple of years in one level below and one level above, Abbey has remained a constant dynamic force at the same level at which it entered the leagues.
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promoted after their first season in a league, the Nuns now compete in Women's
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Despite winning the 2016-17 Berks/Bucks & Oxon 4 South
Reading Abbey IV were not promoted as Reading Abbey III were in the division above.
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and the
Berkshire Cup, the thirds play in the Thames Valley Invitational League Division A and the colts play in the
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leading club in the area for adult and youth rugby, three of whom have represented
England at various youth levels.
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played in the Town's public park moving from pub to pub for changing and post match refreshments.
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their matches on
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club. Although the club is named after, and historically connected with, the
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Women's
National Challenge (NC) South East West 2 champions: 2014–15
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train on
Wednesday evenings and play matches on Sundays.
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390:Berkshire Women's Festival Plate Champions: 2016
282:and just over the boundary into the county of
16:English rugby union club, based in Oxfordshire
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1625:Timeline of rugby union on UK television
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1275:Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland
1270:Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland
1265:Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland
409:Berkshire Development Cup winners 2019
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440:Abbey first team on the RFU website
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44:Reading Abbey Rugby Football Club
1688:Rugby union clubs in Oxfordshire
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314:and the OBB Colts Division one.
308:Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier A
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1683:Rugby clubs established in 1956
845:Premiership Rugby Sevens Series
312:English Colts Club Knockout Cup
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1456:Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier
509:Rugby Football Union for Women
396:West County 7s Champions: 2016
375:Berks/Bucks & Oxon 4 South
362:Berks/Bucks & Oxon 4 South
343:Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier
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1678:Rugby union teams in England
774:European Rugby Challenge Cup
769:European Rugby Champions Cup
435:Reading Abbey R.F.C. website
1693:Sport in Reading, Berkshire
74:; 68 years ago
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1620:English rugby union system
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1481:Dorset & Wilts 2 South
1476:Dorset & Wilts 2 North
1471:Dorset & Wilts 1 South
1466:Dorset & Wilts 1 North
988:Counties 1 Herts/Middlesex
606:International competitions
406:Berkshire Cup winners 2019
393:Bristol 7s Champions: 2016
337:South West Division 2 East
1521:Discontinued competitions
1346:Counties 1 Southern South
1341:Counties 1 Southern North
1084:Regional 2 North Midlands
943:London 3 Eastern Counties
749:Premiership Women's Rugby
567:British & Irish Lions
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135:Counties 1 Southern North
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1654:51.4928417°N 0.9621361°W
1351:Counties 1 Western North
1094:Regional 2 East Midlands
1089:Regional 2 West Midlands
1023:Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex
888:Regional 2 South Central
878:Regional 1 South Central
640:Sevens Grand Prix Series
1543:National League 2 South
1538:Divisional Championship
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1319:South West competitions
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1104:Midlands 2 West (South)
1099:Midlands 2 West (North)
820:National League 2 North
349:Southern Counties North
1659:51.4928417; -0.9621361
864:London and South East
825:National League 2 West
815:National League 2 East
713:London and SE Division
630:Rugby World Cup Sevens
489:Rugby union in England
306:, second team play in
1574:International players
1533:Cornwall/Devon League
1386:Counties 3 Devon West
1381:Counties 3 Devon East
1336:Regional 2 South West
1326:Regional 1 South West
1215:Regional 2 North West
1210:Regional 2 North East
1200:Regional 1 North West
1195:Regional 1 North East
1188:Northern competitions
893:Regional 2 South East
873:Regional 1 South East
783:National competitions
762:European competitions
684:Competition divisions
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1305:Counties 4 Yorkshire
1300:Counties 3 Yorkshire
1295:Counties 2 Yorkshire
1290:Counties 1 Yorkshire
1072:Midland competitions
830:RFU Intermediate Cup
733:United Hospitals Cup
504:Rugby Football Union
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1495:County competitions
1366:Counties 3 Cornwall
1361:Counties 2 Cornwall
1285:Northumberland Cups
1169:North Midlands Cups
1164:Leicestershire Cups
1079:Regional 1 Midlands
938:London 3 South West
933:London 3 South East
928:London 3 North West
923:London 2 South West
918:London 2 South East
913:London 2 North West
908:London 2 North East
850:Women's Premiership
728:South West Division
671:World Series Sevens
635:Sevens World Series
572:England Counties XV
513:merged into the RFU
264:Reading Abbey R.F.C
116:Sam Wallis Robinson
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1406:Gloucester 2 North
1396:Gloucester Premier
1255:Counties 1 Cumbria
1174:Staffordshire Cups
998:Hertfordshire Cups
963:Eastern Counties 3
958:Eastern Counties 2
953:Eastern Counties 1
645:Commonwealth Games
445:Abbey Nuns website
377:champions: 2016-17
364:champions: 2015–16
351:champions: 2015–16
345:champions: 2014–15
339:champions: 2004–05
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1599:Ella-Mobbs Trophy
1594:Millennium Trophy
1558:South West 1 East
1331:Regional 2 Severn
1179:Warwickshire Cups
1053:Counties 2 Sussex
1043:Counties 5 Surrey
1038:Counties 4 Surrey
1033:Counties 3 Surrey
1028:Counties 2 Surrey
993:Herts/Middlesex 2
973:Hampshire Premier
898:Regional 2 Thames
883:Regional 2 Anglia
810:National League 1
790:Premiership Rugby
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1567:Related articles
1553:RFU Knockout Cup
1461:Oxfordshire Cups
1446:Somerset 3 South
1441:Somerset 3 North
1436:Somerset 2 South
1431:Somerset 2 North
1421:Somerset Premier
1376:Counties 2 Devon
1240:Lancs/Cheshire 2
1235:Lancs/Cheshire 1
1205:Regional 2 North
805:Championship Cup
800:RFU Championship
723:Midland Division
708:National Leagues
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1604:Hillary Shield
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948:London 3 Essex
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1642:51°29′34.23″N
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1584:Churchill Cup
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1548:North Premier
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1451:Somerset Cups
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1371:Cornwall Cups
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1245:Cheshire Cups
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53:Berkshire RFU
51:
47:
43:
37:
33:
28:
25:Reading Abbey
19:
1645:0°57′43.69″W
1635:
1589:Calcutta Cup
1401:Gloucester 1
1260:Cumbria Cups
1230:North 2 West
1225:North 1 West
1220:North 1 East
866:competitions
703:Championship
512:
417:
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399:
381:
380:
368:
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263:
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224:
124:Gordon Wylie
18:
1657: /
1280:Durham Cups
1063:Sussex Cups
1048:Surrey Cups
978:Hampshire 1
855:Premier 15s
698:Premiership
666:Six Nations
625:Six Nations
382:Abbey Nuns:
284:Oxfordshire
268:rugby union
97:Emmer Green
60:Nickname(s)
1672:Categories
1512:Division 3
1507:Division 2
1502:Division 1
1426:Somerset 1
1391:Devon Cups
21:Rugby team
1018:Kent Cups
661:World Cup
620:World Cup
542:England A
356:3rd team:
331:1st team:
272:Berkshire
130:League(s)
121:President
105:Berkshire
88:Ground(s)
40:Full name
1058:Sussex 1
369:4th team
274:town of
113:Chairman
93:Rosehill
968:Essex 1
742:Women's
654:Women's
588:Women's
581:Women's
537:England
326:Honours
280:Peppard
276:Reading
141:2022–23
108:RG4 8XA
101:Reading
77: (
69:Founded
1013:Kent 2
1008:Kent 1
1613:Other
1579:Clubs
691:Men's
613:Men's
530:Men's
401:U13s:
255:.club
225:Team
64:Abbey
49:Union
562:U-18
557:U-20
552:U-21
253:.rfu
79:1956
72:1956
593:7's
547:7's
227:kit
144:9th
1674::
286:.
515:)
511:(
473:e
466:t
459:v
81:)
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