The Penguin International Rugby Football Club, usually called the Penguins, is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain but with international players. It was founded in 1959 and has played in 71 countries, claiming to be the most travelled sports club in the world. The motto is "On court le ballon à la main" (One runs with the ball in hand).
There is also a charity, The Penguin International Rugby Football Trust, registered with the UK Charity Commission under Charity No 1081047, founded 1999, to promote the training of young people in Rugby throughout the world, and which is active in 17 countries apart from the UK.
It has annual matches against the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The 1988 one against Oxford was in memory of Peter Robbins, an alumnus.
The club plays teams of 7, 10 and 15 players. They first visited Asia with a tour of Sri Lanka in 1979, later doing well in the Hong Kong Sevens and winning the SCC International Sevens in Singapore in 2010. They have won the COBRA Rugby Tens in Kuala Lumpur six times. They won the Hong Kong Tens in 2013 and 2016.
Club history Penguin Rugby was founded in 1959 by the late Tony Mason (left for the club house in the sky in 2004) and Alan Wright, both players for Sidcup RFC, who subsequently became Vice Presidents of Sidcup RFC and Kent County RFU.
The Penguins are recognised as the premier touring club in the UK, having played in or against teams or coached from no less than 80 countries. Indeed, they are the most travelled rugby club in the world.
The principal objective of the club has been to foster, by coaching and playing, the development, goodwill and camaraderie of Rugby Union worldwide. The club's coaching and educational programme is organised by the Penguin International Rugby Coaching Academy, and this work is part-funded by the UK-registered charity the Penguin International Rugby Football Trust. The club's committee is drawn from 17 nations, all under the leadership of President Richard Bennett (Rosslyn Park and Kowloon).
Eminent past Presidents have included Field Marshall Sir Claude Auchinleck, GCB, CGIE, CSI, DSO, OBE, LLD (Commander-in-Chief of the 8th Army and Indian Army); Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, CBE, DSO, DFC, FRAcS, DL (Britain's greatest ace fighter in World War II); Sir Robert Lawrence, CBE, ERD; D.H. Harrison, CBE (President, RFU 1966/1967); Air Commodore R.H.G. Weighill, CBE, DFC (Secretary, RFU 1973/1986); Sir Peter Yarranton (President, RFU 1991/1992) and club co-founder Alan Wright.
Although starting with XVs, the club has played a lot of 10s and 7s rugby as well. The club's first recorded abbreviated tournament was the Esher 7s in 1960. The club has played in all parts of the world, covering the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Over the years the club has competed in many tournaments and has recorded famous wins in the Hong Kong FC Tens, COBRA Tens in Malaysia, Middlesex 7s (the only time Waisale Servi and Eric Rush played together), the Italian 7s, the Stockholm 10s, the Nordic 7s, the Thai RU International 7s, The Grand Prix of Europe 7s, the Mexican RU International 10s, the Royal Kedah International 7s, the Borneo Invitational 10s, the Singapore Cricket Club 7s, and the London 10s. Also, the club made the semi-finals of the famous Hong Kong 7s twice, losing both times to the All Blacks.
The Clubs Coaching Academy was formed in 2003 by Alan Wright and Craig Brown and undertook its first engagement in 2004 in Hong Kong. Since the academy has travelled and delivering a mix of player development, coach development and general development of the game. The focus has been on children and youth rugby. The club also delivered many World Rugby formal coach and official courses around the world.
The club's women's team (the Rockhoppers) was formed in 2019, but we had to wait until 2022 before they took to the field. The first match was at the Benidorm 7s, and the first-ever Rockhopper point scorer was Emma Hennessy with a try.
The club's veterans team, the King Penguins, was formed in 2009 when the Penguins were lucky enough to play the Houses of Commons and Lords at Twickenham. Since this outing, the King Penguins are frequent tourists and always include a coaching, charity or community element in their itinerary. John Kerr is the current King Penguin President.
The international playing membership of the club has been drawn from no less than 34 countries, and distinguished captains have included Waisale Serevi (Fiji), Bill Calcraft (Australia), Rob Wainwright (Scotland), and Fergus Slattery, one of Ireland's most notable players. Recent famous players include Beauden Barret (All Blacks), Nehe Milner-Skudder (All Blacks), Owen Farrell (England), Megan Gaffney (Scotland), Joe Webber (All Black 7s), Tim Mikkleson (All Black 7s), Scott Waldrom (All Blacks, All Black 7s), Thomas Waldrom (England), and Jeff Williams (England 7s) and Dan Norton (England 7s).
Club fixtures and tours International tours The Penguins have toured all over the world since 1959, with their first to Denmark, Sweden and Holland.
1950-1959 YearOpposition Captain 1959Denmark, Sweden and HollandTony Mason
1960-1969 YearOpposition Captain 1961DenmarkTony Mason 1963France and SwitzerlandN. Mee 1964Belgium, Denmark and SwedenTony Mason 1965Germany and BelgiumArchie Hendrickses 1966PortugalJoe Armstrong 1967MaltaTony Mason 1968ZambiaBill Redwood 1969Denmark and GermanyDavid Powell
1970-1979 YearOpposition Captain 1970U.S.A. (California)Colin MacFadyean 1972ZambiaDerek Morgan 1973Rhodesia and South AfricaFergus Slattery 1974BermudaJim Flynn JerseyJohn Frame IrelandMartyn Davies 1975PortugalAlly Black 1976ScotlandIan McLaughlan 1977U.S.S.R. (Eastern European Inter-Nations Championship)Bob Wilkinson 1978BermudaJohn Frame 1979Sri LankaMickey Quinn JerseyJacko Page
1980-1989 YearOpposition Captain 1980ArgentinaNick Martin 1982ZambiaJohn Cantrell 1983KenyaVince Cannon 1984BrazilNick Martin 1985JerseyDavid Pickering Scotland - Jed Forest 7s1986BermudaMicky Quinn 1987Hong Kong 7sBill Calcraft 1988Hong Kong 7sBill Calcraft WalesDavid Pickering 1989KenyaPeter Steven
1990-1999 YearOpposition Captain1990India (including the British Airways Calcutta Cup Centenary)Kevin Rafferty BelgiumBill Calcraft 1991Italian RU International 7sDavid Millard 1992Ireland - Irish RFU Aer Lingus International 7sColin Laity Indonesia, Singapore, Hong KongPeter Cook 1993Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10sDavid Pickering IrelandPaul Alston Italian RU International 7sChris Sheasby Malaysia and SingaporePeter Cook Dubai 7sPhil Pask 1994Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10sCraig Brown Sweden & DenmarkRob Wainwright Italian RU International 7sCraig Brown 1995Uruguay SevensCraig Brown Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10sJohn Kerr 1996Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10sCraig Brown 1997Czech Republic and HungaryBrent Pope Singapore CC 50th International Rugby 7s TournamentNick Penny 1998CroatiaRichard Kinsey Brazil and ChileBrent Pope Singapore C.C. International Rugby 7s TournamentCraig Brown 1999CroatiaRichard Kinsey Czech Republic and PolandBrian Cusack Thai RU's 1st International 7s TournamentCameron Pither
2000-2009 YearOpposition Captain2000People's Republic of ChinaBrian Cusack Malaysia RU-COBRA International 10sSailosi Nawavu 2001Germany and ArgentinaAndre Fox Grand Prix of Europe 7s, GermanyMike Friday Thailand - King's Cup International 7s TournamentAlan Bunting 2002Portuguese Rugby Federation International 7sWaisale Serevi USA and CanadaMark Denney 2003Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10sDavid Gorrie 2004Hong KongCraig Degoldi MexicoDavid Gorrie Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10sHoward Graham 2005Malta International XVsGareth Taylor Malaysian RU-COBRA International 10sHoward Graham 2006Paris TourRod Moore Malaysia Tour (HSBC COBRA 10s & Royal Kedah 7s)Uale Mai 2007Hong Kong Football Club 10sCraig Degoldi Orkney RFC 40th Anniversity XVs TournamentPaul Beal Malaysia Tour (HSBC COBRA 10s and Borneo 10s)Scott Waldrom 2008Hong Kong Football Club 10sCraig Degoldi Rome 7sMarc Camburn Malaysia Tour (HSBC COBRA 10s and Borneo 10s)Jordan Smiler 2009Hong Kong Football Club 10sJames Afoa HSBC COBRA 10sTony Penn
2010-2019 YearOpposition Captain2010Hong Kong Football Club 10sNick Collins PortugalMarcus Dirollo King Penguins v Australian Parliament (Sydney)Craig Brown Singapore Cricket Club 7sNafi Tuitavake HSBC COBRA 10sShane Christie 2011Hong Kong Football Club 10sJordan Smiler King Penguins at Kowloon 10sJohn Kerr Singapore Cricket Club 7s and HSBC COBRA 10sWillie Walker 2012Hong Kong Football Club 10sWillie Walker Sweden TourHugh Hogan King Penguins tour to SwedenBrian Cusack Singapore Cricket Club 7sKarl Bryson HSBC COBRA 10sChris Smith 2013Hong Kong Football Club 10sReece Robinson Rugby Rocks 7s - Edinburgh and Penguin Scottish DinnerStephen Hamilton King Penguins v Australian Parliament (Sydney)Tony Penn Singapore Cricket Club 7sDaniel Caprice HSBC COBRA 10sKieron Fonotia 2014Hong Kong Football Club 10sWillie Walker King Penguins - RwandaTony Penn Singapore Cricket Club 7sHarry Bergelin 2015Hong Kong Football Club 10sWillie Walker Germany TourHugh Hogan Singapore Cricket Club 7sWilly Hafu COBRA 10sKylem O'Donnell 2016Hong Kong Football Club 10sKylem O'Donnell Antonio Kiri Kiri King Penguins - FranceAdam Buchanan-Smith Singapore Cricket Club 7sGareth Bautz COBRA 10sSam Christie OrkneySimon Best 2017Hong Kong Football Club 10sJohan Bardoul Shalom Suniula King Penguins - MaltaBen Breeze 2018Czech RepublicMatt Price Hong Kong Football Club 10sAnthony Kiri Kiri Uruguay and ArgentinaLewis Gjaltema King Penguins - SlovakiaNeil Young King Penguins vs Boroughmuir ReprobatesIain Sinclair King Penguins at Doddie Weir tournament at Mackie FP RFCMarcus DiRollo PhilippinesChris Walker 2019Hong Kong Football Club 10sThomas Waldrom FinlandChris Walker King Penguins - GibraltarNeil Young
2020-2029 YearOpposition Captain2022Benidorm - Men's TeamRuairi Campbell Benidorm - Women's TeamHolly Thorpe 2023Amsterdam - Men's TeamBilly McQueeney Amsterdam - Women's TeamAnna Caplice 2024Lisbon - Men's TeamToby Arnold Lisbon - Women's TeamMegan Gaffney Lisbon - King PenguinsBruce Fair Malaysia - COBRA 10sPele Cowley 2025Bologna - Men's Team Alex SeersBologna - Women's TeamMalaysia - COBRA 10sTom Barham
England based matches The Penguins have successfully played all over England since 1960.
1960-1969 YearOpposition Captain 1960Esher Sevens1967Twickenham RFC Centenary MatchArchie Hendrickses 1967Belgrano (on tour from Argentina)Archie Hendrickses 1968Bridgewater & Albion1969Bridgewater & Albion
1970-1979 YearOpposition Captain 1970Bridgewater & Albion1970Bedford AthleticArchie Hendrickses 1979Worthing RFC
1980-1989 YearOpposition Captain 1980Lewes RFC 50th Anniversary Match1981Kent County Rugby Union Centenary Match Hugh Burry 1983Sidcup Centenary Game Simon Halliday 1984Chipstead 25th Anniversity Match Nick Martin 1987Cambridge University 1988Oxford University 1988 Cambridge University Volvo International 7s A Woodhouse
1990-1999 YearOpposition Captain 1991Cambridge University1995Oxford University Tim Ewington 1997Oxford University Craig Brown 1998Cambridge University Crawford Henderson 1998Oxford University Crawford Henderson 1999Oxford University Paul Burke 1999 Cambridge University Richard Kinsey 1999Mosley - 125th Anniversary Match Richard Kinsey 1999 Middlesex Charity Sevens, Twickenham Waisale Serevi
2000-2009