Midlands Hurricanes

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Midlands Hurricanes
Midlands Hurricanes logo.png
Club information
Full nameMidlands Hurricanes Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)The Hurricanes
ColoursMelbourne colours.svg Purple
Founded1998; 24 years ago (1998) (as Coventry Bears)
Current details
Ground(s)
CEOIreland Alan Robinson
ChairmanMike Lomas
CoachRichard Squires
ManagerDarren Morson
CompetitionLeague 1
2021 season8th
Rugby football current event.png

The Midlands Hurricanes are a semi-professional rugby league club jointly based in Birmingham and Coventry, West Midlands, England. They were founded as the Coventry Bears in 1998 and entered the third tier of the British rugby league system, currently known as League 1, in 2015. The club rebranded itself as the Midlands Hurricanes in 2022.

History[]

1998–2014: Foundation and Amateur years[]

The club were formed as Coventry Bears in 1998 by a group of university students led by Alan Robinson. They made an approach to Keith Fairbrother, the Coventry rugby union club's Chairman and one time rugby league player, with a plan to form a team to play from Coundon Road Stadium.

The club were admitted into the Rugby League Conference for the 2000 season and were unbeaten by any club within their division. They then won their quarter-final against Manchester Knights before being narrowly defeated by only one point in the semi-finals at Super League club Warrington Wolves’ Wilderspool Stadium. Further success followed in 2001 with the Bears reaching the at Webb Ellis Road, Rugby, only to lose out by a very narrow margin in a match against . The following season Coventry won the Rugby League Conference Grand Final in September 2002 when they beat Hemel Stags at Cheltenham. Following on from this success the club applied for, and won, elevation to the newly formed National League Three.

The Bears reached the in 2004, winning comfortably. The following season Coventry Bears RLFC experienced difficulties and chose to resign from the National League to take time to rebuild and regroup. 2006 saw the return of the Bears as a Rugby League Conference Midlands Premier side, and the club finished the season in second place. They went on to beat Leicester Phoenix in the qualifying semi-final to set up a Midlands Grand Final with Nottingham Outlaws, which ended in defeat.

Coventry defeated Nottingham Outlaws in 2007 to win the Midlands Premier and also won the , The Bears went on to finish as runners-up to St Albans Centurions losing 28–20 in the final of the Harry Jepson Trophy. In 2008, the Bears finished as runners up in the Midlands Premier to Nottingham. In 2010, Coventry linked up with Super League side Wigan Warriors.[1]

2015–2021: League 1[]

The Bears were accepted into the semi-professional ranks of League 1 for the 2015 season,[2] and entered their newly formed reserve side into the Conference League South in the same season. They finished their first semi-professional season in 12th place. Coventry finished their final season as the Bears in the 2021 League 1 season in 8th place.[3]

2022–present: Rebrand to Midlands Hurricanes[]

On 3 November 2021 the club announced a major rebranding in an effort to attract a wider support base from the English midlands region. The club will be known as the Midlands Hurricanes for the 2022 RFL League 1 season onwards.[4] As part of the re-branding the club relocated from Butts Park Arena to the Portway Stadium - home of rugby union team Birmingham & Solihull Bees for 2022. The club intends to move to the Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr in 2023.[5]

Reserves and development[]

Coventry Bears logo

The club will still use the Coventry Bears branding for its reserves and development squad which will play in the amateur Midlands Rugby League.

Coventry Bears' junior teams take part in the Midlands Junior League.

Stadiums[]

1998–2004: Coundon Road[]

The Bears moved into Coundon Road shortly after their formation in 1998. The ground had been owned and operated by sister rugby union club . They stayed there for six years until the ground was sold and demolished in 2004. Both clubs moved out to the newly built Butts Park Arena at the other side of Coventry.

2004–2021: Butts Park Arena[]

The Main Stand of the Butts Park Arena

The stadium was built in 2004 and currently has one stand, the East Stand, which has a capacity of 3,000 and includes a number of conference and banqueting facilities. The West Stand which was a temporary structure holding 1,000 was removed at the end of the 2005–06 season on grounds of health and safety.

2021 squad[]

Coventry Bears 2021 Squad
First team squad Coaching staff
  • 1 England FB
  • 2 England WG
  • 3 England Liam Welham CE, SR
  • 4 Jamaica CE
  • 6 England SO
  • 7 England SH
  • 8 England PR, LF
  • 9 England HK
  • 11 England SR
  • 12 England SR, LF
  • 15 England PR
  • 18 England CE
  • 19 Republic of Ireland PR
  • 21 Ghana FB, WG
  • 22 England PR
  • 23 England LF
  • Scotland Dave Scott FB, WG
  • England HB
  • England FB
  • England HK, LF
  • England SR, LF
  • England SO, HK
  • England HK, LF
  • England PR
  • England PR
  • England SR, PR

Head coach


Assistant coach



Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice captain(s)

Updated: 3 March 2021
Source(s): 2021 Squad

2022 transfers[]

Gains

Player Club Contract Date
England Dave Scott Batley Bulldogs 1 Year September 2020
England Huddersfield Giants 2 Years September 2020
England Castleford Tigers 1 Year October 2020
England North Wales Crusaders 2 Years October 2020
England Batley Bulldogs 1 Year October 2020
England Newcastle Thunder 2 Years October 2020
England Unattached 1 Year October 2020
England Saddleworth Rangers 1 Year October 2020
England London Broncos 1 Year November 2020
England Hull FC 1 Year November 2020
England 2 Years November 2020
England Keighley Cougars 1 Year November 2020
England Newcastle Thunder 1 Year November 2020
England Newcastle Thunder 1 Year January 2021
England Ben Pointer Newtown Jets 1 Year February 2021
England Bradford Bulls Season Loan April 2021

Losses

Player Club Contract Date
England Brad Clavering Dewsbury Rams 1 Year October 2020
England Released October 2020
England Released October 2020
England Released October 2020
England Released October 2020
England Ben Gray Released October 2020
Scotland Released October 2020
England Released October 2020
England Released October 2020
England Released October 2020
England Cameron Stewart Released October 2020
England Released October 2020
England Released October 2020
England Reece Williams Released October 2020

Seasons[]

Season League Challenge Cup
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Play-offs
2000: Played in RLC Western Division
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
? ? ? 8th 1st
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
7th 2nd 1st 2nd 1st
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
7th 3rd ? ? ?

[a]

Did not participate
2001–2002: Played in RLC Midlands Division
2003–2005: Played in RLC National Division
2006–2009: Played in RLC Midlands Premier
2010–2012: Played in RLC National Division
2013–2014: Played in Conference League South
2015 Championship 1 22 5 17 0 430 755 10 12th Did not qualify R3
2016 League 1 14 4 1 9 289 460 9 11th Third in Shield R3
League 1 15 2 0 13 287 615 4 14th Sixth in Shield R3
League 1 26 7 0 19 406 1058 14 11th Did not qualify R5
2019 League 1 20 4 0 16 365 829 8 9th Did not qualify R3
League 1 League abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom R4
League 1 17 6 0 11 405 532 12 8th Did not qualify Did not participate

Honours[]

League

  • National League Three:
Winners (1): 2004
  • RFL Midlands Division One:
Winners (1): 2013
  • RLC Midlands Premier:
Winners (3): 2007, 2009, 2010
  • RLC Midlands Division:
Winners (2): 2001, 2002
  • RLC Western Division:
Winners (1): 2000

Cups

  • Harry Jepson Trophy:
Winners (1): 2002

Nines

  • Midlands 9s:
Winners (1): 2007, 2009, 2013
  • Kilkenny 9s
Winners (1): 2007

Women

  • RLC Women's Plate:
Winners (1): 2010
  • RLC Women's South Division:
Winners (1): 2011

Notes[]

  1. ^ Promotions and relegation are not based of league positions in the Rugby League Conference but by application to the RFL.

References[]

  1. ^ "History". Coventry Bears Rugby Club. Archived from the original on 28 April 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Coventry Bears: Rugby league side step up to Championship One". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  3. ^ "An up and down season for Hunslet RLFC". www.southleedslife.com. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  4. ^ "From Coventry Bears to Midlands Hurricanes: Third-tier semi-pro rugby league side rebrand". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  5. ^ Ibbetson, Stephen (11 November 2021). "Midlands Hurricanes home ground for 2022 revealed". TotalRL.com | Rugby League Express | Rugby League World. Retrieved 11 November 2021.

External links[]

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