Haringey Rhinos RFC, North London’s premier rugby club, was formed in the early 60’s mainly from London Welsh RFC players who wanted to play Sunday rugby with the “Daffodils XV”. With a shared love of rugby, beer and post-match singing their home, the Bird in Hand pub in Crouch End soon became the essential social venue for rugby in London. Such a recipe naturally brewed into the desire for Saturday rugby and very soon after that we gained RFU and Middlesex CRFU accreditation.
1963 saw the Hornsey Hornets set forth through sweat, blood and mud, the club colours of green with scarlet and white hoops, taken from the old Hornsey Borough coat of arms, rather appropriately matching the Welsh national flag.
Government boundary changes in 1965 saw the club move from Hornsey to Haringey, to keep in with the changes the club renamed itself to “Haringey RFC”. The club emblem of the Rhino is derived from an interpretation of the outline map of the borough, sideways on with the head in the west.
50 years on the club is going from strength to strength, putting out a first XV in London North West, second XV in the Middlesex Merit, a growing third XV, a full Vets fixtures list and a developing youth structure.