{{Short description|South African rugby union club, based in Cape Town}} {{For|the Scottish rugby union team|Hamilton RFC}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox rugby team | teamname = Hamilton RFC | image = [[File:Hamilton RFC logo.svg|150px]] | union = Western Province Rugby Football Union | fullname = Hamilton Rugby Football Club | nickname = Hammies | location = [[Sea Point]], [[Cape Town]], [[South Africa]] | countryflag = South Africa | founded = {{start date and age|1875}} | disbanded = | ground = | capacity = | president = David Kagan | rugby director = | coach = Niekkie Viljoen | captain = Louis Nel | league = WP Super League A | season = | position = 2<ref>{{cite web|title=2013 logs – Super League A|url=http://www.wpadmin.co.za/wpclubrugbyscores2013/z2013_Logslist.asp?cmd=search&t=z2013_Logs&z_League=%3D&x_League=1&z_Group=%3D&x_Group=1|publisher=Western Province Club Rugby|access-date=3 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109000528/http://www.wpadmin.co.za/wpclubrugbyscores2013/z2013_Logslist.asp?cmd=search&t=z2013_Logs&z_League=%3D&x_League=1&z_Group=%3D&x_Group=1|archive-date=9 January 2014}}</ref> | url = http://www.hamiltonsrfc.co.za/ }} '''Hamilton Rugby Football Club''' was founded in March 1875 in [[Cape Town]], and states that it is the oldest [[rugby union]] club in [[South Africa]]. Hamilton RFC played in the first official match at [[Newlands Stadium]] on 31 May 1890.
== Origins == The club's inception occurred when a Mr. W. Nightingale called together a meeting of football enthusiasts at the offices of Messrs. Hamilton Ross & Co.<ref>Hamilton Ross (1774-1853) was a wealthy Irish merchant who had married a Dutch South African, served in the British Army, and helped found the Cape Town Turf Club as well as the Cape of Good Hope Bank (1826) in Cape Town.</ref> The meeting took the name of their club from a Hamilton Football Club (est. 1868) in [[Scotland]] of which Nightingale had been a member. The club merged with Sea Point Rugby Football Club in 1910 and in 1914 adopted its current jersey colours of three wide bands of red, black and yellow.<ref name=hammies>{{cite web|title=Hamilton RFC – History of the club|url=http://www.hamiltonsrfc.co.za/club/|work=hamiltonsrfc.co.za|publisher=Hamilton RFC|accessdate=4 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108010929/http://www.hamiltonsrfc.co.za/club/|archive-date=8 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Club honours == * '''2023''': Hamiltons was selected to represent South Africa in the Amateur Rugby World Cup in France. Hamiltons won the inaugural competition beating Cobs and Cogs from Chile <ref>{{Cite web |title=chile – Mondial Rugby Amateur |url=https://www.mondialrugbyamateur.com/en/chile/ |access-date=2024-08-26 |language=en-GB}}</ref> in the Final.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results – Mondial Rugby Amateur |url=https://www.mondialrugbyamateur.com/en/results/ |access-date=2024-08-26 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * '''2013''': Hamiltons qualified to participate in the 2014 national club competition, the [[Gold Cup (rugby union)|SARU Community Cup]], by ending at the top of non-university sides in the 2013 edition of Western Province's Super League A.<ref>{{cite news|last=Moses|first=Liam|title=Hammies eye Community Cup triumph|url=http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/2013/11/28/14/Lmcommunity_29_0_56147298.html|access-date=4 January 2014|newspaper=Die Burger|date=28 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104212611/http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/2013/11/28/14/Lmcommunity_29_0_56147298.html|archive-date=4 January 2014}}</ref> * '''1883–2011''': Hamilton RFC won WP's Grand Challenge Cup 15 times, in 2009, 1936, 1929, 1927, 1908, 1906, 1900, 1898, 1895, 1890, 1889, 1887, 1886, 1885 and 1883.<ref>{{cite web|title=WP Grand Challenge|url=http://www.matiesrugby.co.za/Grand-Challenge|work=MatiesRugby.co.za|publisher=Maties Rugby|accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> * '''2010''': Hamilton RFC's sevens team won the 120th international [[Melrose Sevens]] competition in [[Scotland]], and were runners up in 2011 to [[Melrose RFC]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Bjornestad|first=Chris|title=Exclusive Interview with Hamilton Rugby Club Head Coach, Anton Moolman|url=http://www.blogspotrugby.com/exclusive-interview-with-hamilton-rugby-club-head-coach-anton-moolman/|work=Blogspotrugby.com|publisher=Blogspot Rugby|access-date=6 January 2014|date=4 May 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903193226/http://www.blogspotrugby.com/exclusive-interview-with-hamilton-rugby-club-head-coach-anton-moolman/|archive-date=3 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Former Winners|url=http://www.melrose7s.com/index.php?page=former-winners|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426193231/http://www.melrose7s.com/index.php?page=former-winners|url-status=usurped|archive-date=26 April 2010|work=Melrose7s.com|publisher=Melrose 7s|accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> * '''2009''': Hamiltons won WP's Super League A and went on to beat [[Pretoria University|Pukke]] 36–34 at [[Loftus Versfeld Stadium]] to claim the [[South African Airways|SAA]] national club championships.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Clubs: SAA Club Champs Draw Announced|url=http://rugbymatters.co.za/index.php/2010/08/30/national-clubs-saa-club-champs-draw-announced/|work=RugbyMatters.co.za|publisher=Rugby Matters|access-date=6 January 2014|date=30 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106164137/http://rugbymatters.co.za/index.php/2010/08/30/national-clubs-saa-club-champs-draw-announced/|archive-date=6 January 2014}}</ref> * '''2009–14''': Hamiltons hosted the inaugural Cape Town Tens rugby tournament, "the biggest ten-a-side tournament in world rugby", and will do so again for the 6th time in February 2014. The event was launched by former Springboks [[Robbie Fleck]] and [[Bob Skinstad]] in 2009, and organizers anticipated "more than 2,000 players and 12,000 spectators" to participate.<ref>{{cite web|title=Big boost for Cape Town Tens|url=http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Big-boost-for-Cape-Town-Tens-20131218|work=Sport24.co.za|publisher=Sport 24|accessdate=4 January 2014|date=18 December 2013}}</ref>
== Notable members == {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} * [[Robert Loftus Owen Versfeld|Loftus Versfeld]] – played for Hamiltons "for five or six years"; won the inaugural Western Province Grand Challenge Cup with Hamilton RFC (1883); founder member, [[Eastern Province Elephants|Eastern Province Rugby Union]]; won Eastern Province Grand Challenge Cup with Union RFC (1888); founder, Pretoria Rugby Club; won Transvaal Grand Challenge Cup with Pretoria RFC (1889); played for a Country XV against [[Bill Maclagan|W.E. McLagan]]'s touring British side (1891); founder member, Pretoria Rugby Subunion (1908) which in 1938 became [[Blue Bulls|Northern Transvaal]]; established Pretoria rugby headquarters at [[Loftus Versfeld Stadium|Eastern Sports Grounds]]; introduced grass playing fields to the [[Transvaal Province|Transvaal]]<ref>{{cite journal|last=Coetzee|first=N.A.|title=Herdenking van Loftus Versfeld op 20 Junie 1992|journal=Pretoriana – Journal of the Old Pretoria Society|date=March 1993|volume=102–105|pages=35–46|url=http://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/16010/002_p021-040.pdf?sequence=3|accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> * W.V. ('Billy') Simkins – first president of Hamiltons; first referee to supervise a match at [[Newlands Stadium]] (31 May 1890); chairperson of the South African Rugby Board; chairperson of the Western Province Rugby Union; chairperson of the Western Province Cricket Union.<ref>{{cite news|title=Spelers het self geblaas [Players themselves refereed]|url=http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/1990/05/29/6/2.html|access-date=5 January 2014|newspaper=Die Burger|date=29 May 1990|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105063008/http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/1990/05/29/6/2.html|archive-date=5 January 2014}}</ref> * [[Bennie Osler]], captain of Hamiltons (1927–1928 & 1930), Springbok (17 tests, 46 points); captain on tour to British Isles & Ireland (1931–32); joint record-holder, most consecutive test appearances at flyhalf (17).<ref name="SARU Player Profile Bennie Ostler">{{SA Rugby Player Profile | id=46585 | name=Bennie Ostler | date=4 June 2016}}</ref> {{div col end}}
===Springboks=== Several players represented {{nrut|South Africa}} while members of Hamiltons but did not necessarily make their debut for South Africa as such. The following players made their test debut for the [[Springboks]] while being members of Hamiltons.<ref>{{Cite book|title=W. P. Annual/Jaarboek 1983|last=Baumgarten|first=Cecil|publisher=C Baumgarten|year=1983|location=Mowbray, Cape Town|pages=20}}</ref> {| |valign="top"| {| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%; border-collapse:collapse;" |- style="background:#C1D8FF;" !# !Name !Year |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" | 1. || [[Ben Duff]]||1891 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |2. || [[Oupa Versfeld]]||1891 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |3. || [[Hasie Versfeld]]||1891 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |4. || [[Charlie Brown (rugby union, born 1878)|Charlie Brown]]||1903 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |5. || [[Tommy Hobson]]||1903 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |6. || [[Tommy Hepburn]]||1903 |} |width="50"| |valign="top"| {| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%; border-collapse:collapse;" |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |7. || [[Alec Reid (rugby union)|Alec Reid]]||1903 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |8. || [[Joe Anderson (rugby union)|Joe Anderson]]||1903 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |9. || [[Arthur Burmeister]]||1906 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" | 10. || [[Jackie Tindall]]||1924 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |11. || [[SP van Wyk]]||1928 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |12. || [[Gerry Brand]]|| 1928 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |13. || [[Jan Pickard]]||1953 |} |width="50"| |valign="top"| {| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%; border-collapse:collapse;" |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |14. || [[Roy Dryburgh]]||1955 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |15. || [[Wang Wyness]]||1962 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |16. || [[Tiny Naudé]]||1963 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |17. || [[Kobus Burger]]||1989 |- style="background:#F5FAFF;" |18. || [[Toks van der Linde]]||1995 |} |}
== See also == * [[:Category:Hamilton RFC, Sea Point players|Hamilton RFC, Sea Point players]]
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|https://hamiltonrfc.co.za/}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton RFC, Sea Point}} [[Category:Rugby clubs established in 1875]] [[Category:Sports clubs and teams in Cape Town]] [[Category:Western Province Super League]] [[Category:Gold Cup (rugby union)]] [[Category:Rugby union teams in South Africa]] [[Category:1875 establishments in South Africa]]