Rugby across Lancashire and the communities behind the game

Across Blackpool, Preston, Chorley, Blackburn, and Burnley, five different towns share a game that rarely gets top billing on a Saturday. Each carries its own sporting character, shaped by industry and football rivalry, and rugby runs through all of them as a steadier thread, kept going by volunteers long after the bigger crowds move elsewhere.

A Patchwork of Clubs

It's worth checking listings if you're after live rugby fixtures on TV, but you also won’t be disappointed by catching one of Lancashire’s many grassroots clubs. Preston Grasshoppers were founded in 1869, making them one of the oldest rugby clubs in the north of England. 

Blackburn RUFC dates to 1877 and Burnley RUFC to 1926, once known as Calder Vale, while Blackpool RUFC, formed in 1959, recently reassured supporters it had not folded, but Chorley's union club has since stopped fielding teams.

When it comes to rugby league, Lancashire was one of the code’s founding counties, formed in 1895 when northern clubs broke away over pay for missed work. 

Chorley is the clearest local example of league outlasting union, with Chorley Panthers RLFC thriving while the union side no longer appears to be fielding teams. Blackpool is rarer, with both codes surviving side by side.

Grassroots, Juniors and the People Who Keep It Running

None of these clubs function without unpaid effort, and the Fylde Rugby Community Foundation has reached thousands of participants across Blackpool through school programmes, with a focus on girls who might not otherwise try the sport. 

Preston Grasshoppers field juniors every Sunday, and Burnley RUFC's juniors make up a large share of its membership, with women's rugby growing steadily at both clubs.

Challenges

Rugby in each town sits in the shadow of a football club with a far bigger following, with Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn and Burnley all being defined first by football. However, Burnley's case is the sharpest irony, as its football club began life as a rugby team before switching codes in 1882.

Keeping these clubs running comes with real cost, even as Preston Grasshoppers manage a clubhouse over fifty years old alongside rising costs, and Burnley RUFC recently used council funding to replace equipment destroyed by vandals. A Lancashire RFU survey found recruiting and retaining players is among the sport's biggest challenges.

A Game Worth Protecting

What holds rugby together across Lancashire is not a shared code, but a refusal among volunteers to let it disappear. Whatever shirt gets worn on a Sunday, the same instinct ties Blackpool to Burnley and every town between.