Helsinki RC

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Helsinki Rugby Club
Hrc-logoteksti-150ppi.png
Full nameHelsinki Rugby Club
UnionFinnish Rugby Federation
Nickname(s)Big Guns (Men 1st)
Ladies (Women)
Blue Tigers (Men 2nd)
Founded1999
LocationHelsinki, Finland
Ground(s)Myllypuron Liikuntapuisto
ChairmanFrance Emmanuel Courbin
Coach(es)England Jake Pratley (men)
Finland Mikko Aalto (women)
Finland Mikko Moilanen (7s)
Captain(s)Italy Leonardo Fierro (men)
Finland Ulla Tuomainen (women)
League(s)Finnish Championship League
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.helsinkirugby.fi/en

Helsinki Rugby Club (colloquially known as HRC) is a Finnish rugby club based in Helsinki. They currently play in the Finnish Championship League, competing with both men and women teams in XV's and 7's.

Teams, club logo and colors[]

HRC comprises three different teams:

  • men's 1st team, nicknamed Big Guns (XV) and Mini Guns (7s);
  • women's team, nicknamed Ladies (XV and 7s);
  • men's development team, nicknamed Blue Tigers (XV) and Tiger Cubs (7s).

Since 2021, HRC has also launched a youth programme and started the U17 beginners' team, to develop future rugby players and help contributing to the growth of the rugby movement in Finland.

The club logo shows the nationalities involved in the formation of the club: Finnish, English, French, South African and Australian. The club colors, blue and white, are taken from the finnish flag.

Club history[]

The inspiration to form Helsinki Rugby Club came during some rugby discussions over a few pints in in Helsinki between some rugby friends in 1999. In the club’s first season, HRC played one game, which was narrowly lost to a representative team from Sweden. In 2000, the club was granted its first official home ground in Myllypuro by the Helsinki City Council. The club also claimed its first victory as a team representing British Navy ship HMS Sheffield was defeated. The club also took part in the Stockholm 10`s Tournament for the first time and organized its own Baltic Plate Tournament.

Finnish National Championship was launched in 2002 and HRC claimed the title, which was followed by another championship win in 2003. Some HRC players were selected to play in Norway vs. Finland international match in 2002.

In 2004, the club had its first tour abroad, in Riga, Latvia. In the same year, Finland played its first home international game, which was hosted and organized by HRC. In 2006, HRC women's team participated to the inaugural Women’s Finnish Championship. In 2008, Baltic Plate Tournament was transformed into Midnight Rugby Tournament and took its position as an annual mid-June rugby party in Helsinki. In 2009, the club celebrated its 10 year anniversary in the British Embassy.

The inaugural men’s 7’s championship was launched in 2010 and HRC took the first ever title. Both in 2010 and 2011 HRC men advanced to the semi-finals in the XV’s Championship, only to suffer last-minute losses in both games. In 2011, men’s 7’s team was invited to Moscow for European 7’s Champions Trophy. In 2012, HRC Ladies re-enter the women’s championship after few years hiatus. In 2013, the club organized the Finnish Championship finals in Helsinki, attracting the (then) highest-ever amount of spectators at a Finnish rugby game.

After an eleven-year drought, men claimed the XV’s championship in 2014. At the same time, HRC Ladies advanced to the finals first time in their history, finishing in the runner-up position. A year later, in 2015, the tables turned as Ladies celebrated their first ever XV’s title, while men narrowly lost the title in the final. Men’s 7’s team won the 7’s championship title and HRC men’s 2nd team won the Division 1.

HRC’s finest hour was truly in 2016, when the club accomplished its first and only double-double: both men and women retrieved both the 7’s and XV’s championships. Men’s 7’s team got a taste of European top level rugby as they participated to European 7’s Champions Trophy in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

2017 was another successful year, as both men and women reclaimed the 7’s titles and finished in the runner-up position in their respective championships. The club also participated in traditional Ghent Easter 7’s tournament and finished in men and women’s competitions second and third, respectively.

Recent years (2020-Present)[]

2020[]

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, HRC had a particularly successful season in 2020, achieving a solid roster depth for both Big Guns and Blue Tigers. The short-schedule season saw the Big Guns, led by returning coach , go undefeated throughout the regular season: after a draw with OTS Porvoo for 24-24 in the season opener, HRC went on to defeat Jyväskylä (59-10), Turku Eagles (17-14), Kuopio (79-0), Warriors (27-14) and Kalev (47-0). In the championship final, held in Otaniemi, HRC defeated Warriors for 40-29, winning their fifth national title. HRC number eight also won the Player of the Year award.

Blue Tigers, under first-time coach , had a positive year, tying with at the top of the division at the end of the regular season. In the Division 1 final matchup, Pori defeated HRC for 23-5.

Ladies started the 2020 season under coach seeking to defend their 2019 title, but after an opening win against Jyväskylä (7-12) they suffered losses against title contenders Tampere (5-46) and Turku Swans (10-24). HRC reached the third place in the regular season thanks to following wins against Warriors (7-31) and Kuopio (26-0), but the run for the title stopped in the semifinal against Turku Swans (7-13).

2021[]

In 2021, the rugby season was once again threatened by the harsh restrictions that were in place in Finland in the first part of the year, which prevented the club members from training until just nine weeks before the beginning of the (once again shortened) season. As a partial consequence, all three teams suffered a shortage of roster depth which only aggravated as the season progressed and injuries occurred.

Despite strong wins against Porvoo (45-8), Kuopio (111-0) and Turku (38-14), Big Guns lost the city derby against Warriors (7-27) and had to go through semifinals for a shot at the title. After coming out victorious in a fought match against Porvoo (20-10), Big Guns retained their sixth championship win in a nervewrecking final in Tampere against Warriors, after a late penalty kick from wing sealed the score 15-12 for HRC. Also, Jake Pratley won the Coach of the Year award.

Blue Tigers, plagued by injuries, could not repeat the positive year they had in 2020, concluding the regular season in Division 1 last place and being relegated to Division 2 for the next season.

Ladies entered the 2021 season as a strong title contender, defeating Jyväskylä (36-0), Warriors (50-0) and Turku Swans (32-5) and showing to be able to compete against reigning champions Tampere (5-10). Despite a large win in the semifinal against Turku Swans (41-10), Ladies came up short in the fight for the title due to a heartbreaking loss in the final rematch against Tampere (7-18). HRC utility back won the Player of the Year award.

Both in 2020 and 2021, the Finnish 7's championship was not held due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

Honours[]

External links[]

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