# Penguin International RFC > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Penguin_International_RFC > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Penguin_International_RFC.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin_International_RFC > Source revision: 1350488347 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) The **Penguin International Rugby Football Club**, usually called **the Penguins**, is an invitational [rugby union](/source/Rugby_union) team based in [Britain](/source/United_Kingdom) but with international players. It was founded in 1959 and has played in 71 countries, claiming to be the most travelled sports club in the world.[1] The motto is *"On court le ballon à la main*" (One runs with the ball in hand).[2] There is also a charity, The Penguin International Rugby Football Trust, registered with the [UK Charity Commission](/source/UK_Charity_Commission) under Charity No 1081047, founded 1999, to promote the training of young people in Rugby throughout the world, and which is active in 17 countries apart from the UK.[3] It has annual matches against the universities of [Oxford](/source/Oxford_University_RFC) and [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge_University_R.U.F.C.). The 1988 one against Oxford was in memory of [Peter Robbins](/source/Peter_Robbins_(rugby_union)), an alumnus.[4] The club plays teams of 7, 10 and 15 players. They first visited Asia with a tour of [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka) in 1979, later doing well in the [Hong Kong Sevens](/source/Hong_Kong_Sevens) and winning the [SCC International Sevens](/source/Singapore_Cricket_Club_International_Rugby_Sevens) in Singapore in 2010.[5] They have won the [COBRA Rugby Tens](/source/COBRA_Rugby_Tens) in [Kuala Lumpur](/source/Kuala_Lumpur) six times.[5] They won the Hong Kong Tens in 2013[6] and 2016.[7] ## Club History Penguin Rugby was founded in 1959 by the late Tony Mason (left for the club house in the sky in 2004) and Alan Wright, both players for Sidcup RFC, who subsequently became Vice Presidents of Sidcup RFC and Kent County RFU. The Penguins are recognised as the premier touring club in the UK, having played in or against teams or coached from no less than 80 countries. Indeed, they are the most travelled rugby club in the world. The principal objective of the Club has been to foster, by coaching and playing, the development, goodwill and camaraderie of Rugby Union worldwide. The Club’s coaching and educational programme is organised by the Penguin International Rugby Coaching Academy, and this work is part-funded by the UK-registered charity the Penguin International Rugby Football Trust. The Club’s committee is drawn from 17 nations, all under the leadership of President Richard Bennett (Rosslyn Park and Kowloon). Eminent past Presidents have included Field Marshall Sir Claude Auchinleck, GCB, CGIE, CSI, DSO, OBE, LLD (Commander-in-Chief of the 8th Army and Indian Army); Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, CBE, DSO, DFC, FRAcS, DL (Britain’s greatest ace fighter in World War II); Sir Robert Lawrence, CBE, ERD; D.H. Harrison, CBE (President, RFU 1966/1967); Air Commodore R.H.G. Weighill, CBE, DFC (Secretary, RFU 1973/1986); Sir Peter Yarranton (President, RFU 1991/1992) and club co-founder Alan Wright. Although starting with XVs, the club has played a lot of 10s and 7s rugby as well. The club's first recorded abbreviated tournament was the Esher 7s in 1960. The club has played in all parts of the world, covering the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia. Over the years the club has competed in many tournaments and has recorded famous wins in the Hong Kong FC Tens, COBRA Tens in Malaysia, Middlesex 7s (the only time Waisale Servi and Eric Rush played together), the Italian 7s, the Stockholm 10s, the Nordic 7s, the Thai RU International 7s, The Grand Prix of Europe 7s, the Mexican RU International 10s, the Royal Kedah International 7s, the Borneo Invitational 10s, the Singapore Cricket Club 7s, and the London 10s. Also, the Club made the semi-finals of the famous Hong Kong 7s twice, losing both times to the All Blacks. The Clubs Coaching Academy was formed in 2003 by Alan Wright and Craig Brown and undertook its first engagement in 2004 in Hong Kong. Since the Academy has travelled and delivering a mix of player development, coach development and general development of the game. The focus has been on children and youth rugby. The club also delivered many World Rugby formal coach and official courses around the world. The club's women’s team (the Rockhoppers) was formed in 2019, but we had to wait until 2022 before they took to the field. The first match was at the Benidorm 7s, and the first-ever Rockhopper point scorer was Emma Hennessy with a try. The Club's veterans team, the King Penguins, was formed in 2009 when the Penguins were lucky enough to play the Houses of Commons and Lords at Twickenham. Since this outing, the King Penguins are frequent tourists and always include a coaching, charity or community element in their itinerary. John Kerr is the current King Penguin President. The international playing membership of the Club has been drawn from no less than 34 countries, and distinguished captains have included Waisale Serevi (Fiji), Bill Calcraft (Australia), Rob Wainwright (Scotland), and Fergus Slattery, one of Ireland’s most notable players. Recent famous players include Beauden Barret (All Blacks), Nehe Milner-Skudder (All Blacks), Owen Farrell (England), Megan Gaffney (Scotland), Joe Webber (All Black 7s), Tim Mikkleson (All Black 7s), Scott Waldrom (All Blacks, All Black 7s), Thomas Waldrom (England), and Jeff Williams (England 7s) and Dan Norton (England 7s).[8] ## Club Fixtures and Tours ### International Tours The Penguins have toured all over the world since 1959, with their first to Denmark, Sweden and Holland.[9] #### 1950-1959 Year Opposition Captain 1959 Denmark, Sweden and Holland Tony Mason #### 1960-1969 Year Opposition Captain 1961 Denmark Tony Mason 1963 France and Switzerland N. Mee 1964 Belgium, Denmark and Sweden Tony Mason 1965 Germany and Belgium Archie Hendrickses 1966 Portugal Joe Armstrong 1967 Malta Tony Mason 1968 Zambia Bill Redwood 1969 Denmark and Germany David Powell #### 1970-1979 Year Opposition Captain 1970 U.S.A. (California) Colin MacFadyean 1972 Zambia Derek Morgan 1973 Rhodesia and South Africa Fergus Slattery 1974 Bermuda Jim Flynn Jersey John Frame Ireland Martyn Davies 1975 Portugal Ally Black 1976 Scotland Ian McLaughlan 1977 U.S.S.R. (Eastern European Inter-Nations Championship) Bob Wilkinson 1978 Bermuda John Frame 1979 Sri Lanka Mickey Quinn Jersey Jacko Page #### 1980-1989 Year Opposition Captain 1980 Argentina Nick Martin 1982 Zambia John Cantrell 1983 Kenya Vince Cannon 1984 Brazil Nick Martin 1985 Jersey David Pickering Scotland - Jed Forest 7s 1986 Bermuda Micky Quinn 1987 Hong Kong 7s Bill Calcraft 1988 Hong Kong 7s Bill Calcraft Wales David Pickering 1989 Kenya Peter Steven #### 1990-1999 Year Opposition Captain 1990 India (including the British Airways Calcutta Cup Centenary) Kevin Rafferty Belgium Bill Calcraft 1991 Italian RU International 7s David Millard 1992 Ireland - Irish RFU Aer Lingus International 7s Colin Laity Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong Peter Cook 1993 Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10s David Pickering Ireland Paul Alston Italian RU International 7s Chris Sheasby Malaysia and Singapore Peter Cook Dubai 7s Phil Pask 1994 Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10s Craig Brown Sweden & Denmark Rob Wainwright Italian RU International 7s Craig Brown 1995 Uruguay Sevens Craig Brown Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10s John Kerr 1996 Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10s Craig Brown 1997 Czech Republic and Hungary Brent Pope Singapore CC 50th International Rugby 7s Tournament Nick Penny 1998 Croatia Richard Kinsey Brazil and Chile Brent Pope Singapore C.C. International Rugby 7s Tournament Craig Brown 1999 Croatia Richard Kinsey Czech Republic and Poland Brian Cusack Thai RU's 1st International 7s Tournament Cameron Pither #### 2000-2009 Year Opposition Captain 2000 People's Republic of China Brian Cusack Malaysia RU-COBRA International 10s Sailosi Nawavu 2001 Germany and Argentina Andre Fox Grand Prix of Europe 7s, Germany Mike Friday Thailand - King's Cup International 7s Tournament Alan Bunting 2002 Portuguese Rugby Federation International 7s Waisale Serevi USA and Canada Mark Denney 2003 Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10s David Gorrie 2004 Hong Kong Craig Degoldi Mexico David Gorrie Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10s Howard Graham 2005 Malta International XVs Gareth Taylor Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10s Howard Graham 2006 Paris Tour Rod Moore Malaysia Tour (HSBC COBRA 10s & Royal Kedah 7s) Uale Mai 2007 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Craig Degoldi Orkney RFC 40th Anniversity XVs Tournament Paul Beal Malaysia Tour (HSBC COBRA 10s and Borneo 10s) Scott Waldrom 2008 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Craig Degoldi Rome 7s Marc Camburn Malaysia Tour (HSBC COBRA 10s and Borneo 10s) Jordan Smiler 2009 Hong Kong Football Club 10s James Afoa HSBC COBRA 10s Tony Penn #### 2010-2019 Year Opposition Captain 2010 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Nick Collins Portugal Marcus Dirollo King Penguins v Australian Parliament (Sydney) Craig Brown Singapore Cricket Club 7s Nafi Tuitavake HSBC COBRA 10s Shane Christie 2011 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Jordan Smiler King Penguins at Kowloon 10s John Kerr Singapore Cricket Club 7s and HSBC COBRA 10s Willie Walker 2012 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Willie Walker Sweden Tour Hugh Hogan King Penguins tour to Sweden Brian Cusack Singapore Cricket Club 7s Karl Bryson HSBC COBRA 10s Chris Smith 2013 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Reece Robinson Rugby Rocks 7s - Edinburgh and Penguin Scottish Dinner Stephen Hamilton King Penguins v Australian Parliament (Sydney) Tony Penn Singapore Cricket Club 7s Daniel Caprice HSBC COBRA 10s Kieron Fonotia 2014 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Willie Walker King Penguins - Rwanda Tony Penn Singapore Cricket Club 7s Harry Bergelin 2015 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Willie Walker Germany Tour Hugh Hogan Singapore Cricket Club 7s Willy Hafu COBRA 10s Kylem O'Donnell 2016 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Kylem O'Donnell Antonio Kiri Kiri King Penguins - France Adam Buchanan-Smith Singapore Cricket Club 7s Gareth Bautz COBRA 10s Sam Christie Orkney Simon Best 2017 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Johan Bardoul Shalom Suniula King Penguins - Malta Ben Breeze 2018 Czech Republic Matt Price Hong Kong Football Club 10s Anthony Kiri Kiri Uruguay and Argentina Lewis Gjaltema King Penguins - Slovakia Neil Young King Penguins vs Boroughmuir Reprobates Iain Sinclair King Penguins at Doddie Weir tournament at Mackie FP RFC Marcus DiRollo Philippines Chris Walker 2019 Hong Kong Football Club 10s Thomas Waldrom Finland Chris Walker King Penguins - Gibraltar Neil Young #### 2020-2029 Year Opposition Captain 2022 Benidorm - Men's Team Ruairi Campbell Benidorm - Women's Team Holly Thorpe 2023 Amsterdam - Men's Team Billy McQueeney Amsterdam - Women's Team Anna Caplice 2024 Lisbon - Men's Team Toby Arnold Lisbon - Women's Team Megan Gaffney Lisbon - King Penguins Bruce Fair Malaysia - COBRA 10s Pele Cowley 2025 Bologna - Men's Team Alex Seers Bologna - Women's Team Malaysia - COBRA 10s Tom Barham ### England Based Matches The Penguins have successfully played all over England since 1960.[10] #### 1960-1969 Year Opposition Captain 1960 Esher Sevens 1967 Twickenham RFC Centenary Match Archie Hendrickses 1967 Belgrano (on tour from Argentina) Archie Hendrickses 1968 Bridgewater & Albion 1969 Bridgewater & Albion #### 1970-1979 Year Opposition Captain 1970 Bridgewater & Albion 1970 Bedford Athletic Archie Hendrickses 1979 Worthing RFC #### 1980-1989 Year Opposition Captain 1980 Lewes RFC 50th Anniversary Match 1981 Kent County Rugby Union Centenary Match Hugh Burry 1983 Sidcup Centenary Game Simon Halliday 1984 Chipstead 25th Anniversity Match Nick Martin 1987 Cambridge University 1988 Oxford University 1988 Cambridge University Volvo International 7s A Woodhouse #### 1990-1999 Year Opposition Captain 1991 Cambridge University 1995 Oxford University Tim Ewington 1997 Oxford University Craig Brown 1998 Cambridge University Crawford Henderson 1998 Oxford University Crawford Henderson 1999 Oxford University Paul Burke 1999 Cambridge University Richard Kinsey 1999 Mosley - 125th Anniversary Match Richard Kinsey 1999 Middlesex Charity Sevens, Twickenham Waisale Serevi #### 2000-2009 Year Opposition Captain 2000 Middlesex Charity Sevens, Twickenham Waisale Serevi Coventry 2001 Oxford University 2002 British Universities Tim O'Brien Oxford University 2003 Oxford University 2004 Cambridge University David Gorrie Oxford University David Gorrie 2005 Oxford University Pat Howard Cambridge University 2006 Cambridge University Oxford University 2007 Oxford University Howard Graham Cambridge University Arthur Brenton Falklands Taskforce Team Howard Graham 2008 Cambridge University Oxford University Sidcup (125th Anniversary Match) Peter Clarke Bedford Athletic (100th Anniversary Match) Jon Phillips 2009 Oxford University Howard Graham Cambridge University Match cancelled - frozen pitch Houses of Lords and Commons RFC (PIRFC 50th anniversay and HL&C RFC 25th annversary) Alan Wright Craig Brown #### 2010-2019 Year Opposition Captain 2010 Cambridge University Howard Graham Oxford University Howard Graham 2011 Oxford University Tom George Cambridge University Graham Barr London 10s Hugh Hogan 2012 Oxford University Will Johnson 2001 Oxford University 2013 Cambridge University Martin Nutt Oxford University Martin Nutt Rugby Rocks 7s - Leeds Tom Mitchell Rugby Rocks 7s - London Mike Ellery 2014 Cambridge University Howard Graham 2015 Cambridge University Steve Pape Oxford University Howard Graham King Penguins at York RFC Ian Warbrick 2016 Cambridge University George Messum Oxford University Richard Matthews 2017 Cambridge University Matt Price Oxford University Ross Swanson 2018 Cambridge University Tom Malaney Oxford University (Match cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances) 2019 Cambridge University Oxford University #### 2020-2029 Year Opposition Captain 2020 Cambridge University Dave O'Brien COVID-19 2022 Cambridge University Oxford University Pocklington 7s 2023 Cambridge University Oxford University Pocklington 7s 2024 Cambridge University Oxford University Pocklington 7s 2025 Cambridge University Oxford University Oscar Larsson / Dave O'Brien Pocklington 7s ## References 1. ["Club History"](http://www.penguinrugby.com/club/history). *www.penguinrugby.com*. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 1. Titley, U. A. (8 September 1967). "Chance to run with the ball". *Kentish Times* 1. ["1081047 Penguin International Rugby Football Trust"](http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithoutPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1081047&SubsidiaryNumber=0). *apps.charitycommission.gov.uk*. Charity Commission. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 1. Hands, David (3 March 1988). "Rugby Union: A vintage display is one to savour". *The Times* 1. ["Penguins To Defend GFI HKFC10s"](http://www.hkfcrugby.com/en/news/club-news/penguins-to-defend-gfi-hkfc10s). *www.hkfcrugby.com*. Hong Kong Football Club. 12 Dec 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 1. "Perfect Tens at Last for Penguins". *The Standard*. 22 March 2013. 1. ["Champions"](http://hongkongtens.com/previous-tens.php). *hongkongtens.com*. Hong Kong Football Club. 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019. 1. ["History"](https://www.penguinrugby.com/club/history) 1. ["Playing | Past Tours and Matches | International Past Tours"](https://www.penguinrugby.com/playing/past-tours-and-matches/international-past-tours) 1. ["Playing | Past Tours and Matches | England Based Matches"](https://www.penguinrugby.com/playing/past-tours-and-matches/uk-past-tours) ## Further reading - Tyson, Dick (20 June 2013). *The History of The Penguin International RFC*. JJG Publishing. ISBN 978-1899163991. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Penguin International RFC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin_International_RFC) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin_International_RFC?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.