Liverpool St Helens F.C.

the English rugby union team

Liverpool St Helens Football Club is an English rugby union team formed from the merger of Liverpool Football Club and St. Helens RUFC. The institution is not to be confused with either Liverpool F. C. (playing association football) or St. Helens (playing rugby league).

The club's first match took place in 1857 when old boys from Rugby school challenged local boys to a game under their school rules. Liverpool Football Club were then formed, the oldest open rugby club in the world. In 1871, the club provided four of the England team that played Scotland in the first rugby international. On 5 February 1877 another Liverpool player, Edward Kewley, was captain of England when they played Ireland in what was the first 15 a side international. In 1914 the club had three international captains in the first XV, Ronnie Poulton Palmer (England), F. H. Turner (Scotland) and R. A. Lloyd (Ireland). Other internationals to play for Liverpool include Fran Cotton, Maurice Colclough, Mike Slemen and Kevin Simms. St Helens RUFC was founded in 1919 as St Helens Old Boys, the original membership being predominantly made up of former pupils of Cowley School. Internationals who played for the club include Alan 'Ned' Ashcroft, John Horton, Nigel Heslop and the current club President Ray French. Liverpool and St Helens merged in 1986 and played at Moss Lane which had been the St Helens club's ground. In the early years of the merger the club had two seasons in National Division One split by one season in Division Two. During this time internationals Dewi Morris and Simon Mason played for Liverpool St Helens. But afterwards it sank to Division Four and spent virtually the whole of the 1990s coming to terms with the professional era.