The RFU Championship

Newcastle Falcons

Photo: RFU Archive

The Newcastle Falcons story dates back to 1877, when a group of old boys from Durham School met in a private house in Gosforth to discuss the formation of a new rugby club in the area. From there, the Gosforth Football Club was born, with its first game taking place in November of that year. Maintaining its links with Durham School, Gosforth played in the school's colours of green and white hoops, right through until the 1990s.

The club had a host of homes right up until the middle of the 20th century, and in the early years had to play wherever and whenever they could - with grounds at various stages including Ashburton Meadows, South Northumberland Cricket Ground and Regent Road.

An amazing fundraising effort eventually saw a total of £10,000 gathered to help the club's efforts to purchase a ground of its own, and in 1951 they bought land which eventually become their home.

The ground officially opened in 1955 after much work, and the club became more ambitious, with the likes of Scotland and Lions wing Arthur Smith and Ireland and Lions prop Ray McLoughlin playing for them. Gosforth increasingly dominated local rugby, and their stature on the national scene was also growing at a pace.

The club spent a season playing at Percy Park RFC while work was completed on Kingston Park, and in 1990 they moved into their new home, also under a new name - Newcastle Gosforth.

The 1996/7 season saw the first under the current name of Newcastle Falcons, and the club also changed its home colours to black and white. That year saw the team rise through the second tier of English club rugby and clinch promotion to the Premiership, where they remained for six years before suffering relegation to the RFU Championship in 2012-13.