Rugby

Dulwich College has a proud and distinguished rugby tradition dating back to our first fixture against City of London School in 1859, with our famous ‘black and blue’ jersey appearing in 1873.

We believe that participation in rugby helps to develop personal qualities and skills that transcend sport and contributes to boys fulfilling their potential. Rugby encourages and cultivates a boy’s ability to work in a team, his courage, resilience, leadership, respect and discipline, whilst also teaching how to win with humility and lose with grace.

We aim to cultivate the most enjoyable and safest environment possible, where every boy can maximise his personal development. We are committed to ensuring that each team, regardless of level, has excellent provision from an outstanding group of truly knowledgeable staff, allowing every boy to participate at the appropriate level and take pride in representing the College. Each year over four hundred fixtures take place against the top rugby playing schools in the country, challenging our boys with an extremely strong fixture list.

We are also committed to giving the boys the opportunity to join a rugby tour at different stages as they progress through the College. We believe that, in addition to being an excellent way to prepare for a forthcoming season, tours also provide a wonderful environment in which to build relationships and create memories of a lifetime. The first College rugby tour was in 1903 to Ecole Albert le Grand in Paris. Today the destinations of our rugby tours range from Exeter and Jersey to Australia and South America. In 2022 we attended the inaugural Apex2100 rugby camp in Tignes, France hosted and organised by Sir Clive Woodward.

During our long history, the College has produced many outstanding individuals who have continued with their rugby playing careers, playing professional and international rugby. Representative Rugby is fully encouraged and supported and we continually have boys excelling in the Saracens and Harlequins Academy, with whom we have excellent links, as well as County teams, Exiles and LAMB’s sides. As boys progress through the College, our leading players have access to supplementary strength and conditioning sessions, video analysis, personalised programmes and individual player development plans.

Dulwich Rugby has enjoyed an incredible run of success in recent years across the year groups, and is the only school to have won both the NatWest Cup and the Champions Trophy.

However, the real measure of our success lies in the number of boys who, on leaving the College, continue to play in clubs and universities around the country, demonstrating their on-going passion and commitment for the sport.