# Halifax Vandals RUFC

Halifax Vandals RUFC is an amateur rugby union club based in Warley Town, Halifax. They currently run two senior sides. The 1st XV plays in Counties 2 Yorkshire while the 2nd XV plays in the AWW/Central/North Merit League.

## History
### Formation

Halifax Vandals was formed in November 1923 when a group of college students met under a lamp post on Francis Street in Halifax to form a rugby club. The name "Vandal" is attributed to a warrior tribe who fought against the Roman Empire in 455 AD and came out victorious.

### Modern History

In the early days, their existence was somewhat nomadic, using the facilities in the village pub, The Maypole Inn, before acquiring the former school house opposite. With the formation of the national league system in 1987 Halifax Vandals was one of the original members of Yorkshire 5, being the first ever winners of the competition being promoted to Yorkshire 4.
In the 2003–04 season they were relegated back to Yorkshire 5 however was promoted back in Yorkshire 4 the following season. Once again in the 2007–08 season the Vandals were champions Yorkshire 5, this caused them to have the joint record for titles for the now defunct Yorkshire 5.
In 2015–16 they became champions of Yorkshire 4, and went onto go back to back becoming champions of Yorkshire 3. However they were relegated from Yorkshire 2 after only one season.

### Rivalries

The Warley-based club have a long-standing rivalry with Old Rishworthians and more recently, with Halifax RUFC. With Halifax RUFC joining the Vandals in Counties 3 Yorkshire for the 2023–24 season now led by former player coach Jamie Bloem the rivalry between the two clubs grows even more.

## Club honours
### 1st XV

* Yorkshire Silver Trophy
** Champions: (1) 1991–92
* Yorkshire 5
** Champions: (3) 1987–88, 2004–05, 2007–08
* Counties 4 Yorkshire
** Champions: (1) 2015–16
** Runners-up: (1) 1991-92
* Counties 3 Yorkshire
** Champions: (1) 2016–17
** Runners-up: (1) 2023-24

## Season summaries

Since 1998–99 season :
| Season | League | Position | W | D | L | Pts | Notes | Captain |
| 1998–99 | Yorkshire 2 | 3rd | 11 | 2 | 5 | 24 | | Tim Helliwell |
| 1999–00 | Yorkshire 2 | 4th | 12 | 0 | 6 | 24 | | Jon Isherwood |
| 2000–01 | Yorkshire 3 | 7th | 9 | 2 | 11 | 20 | | G A Pollard |
| 2001–02 | Yorkshire 3 | 7th | 9 | 0 | 13 | 18 | | Tim Helliwell |
| 2002–03 | Yorkshire 3 | 12th | 1 | 1 | 20 | 2 | Relegated to Yorkshire 4 | Jon Isherwood |
| 2003–04 | Yorkshire 4 | 11th | 6 | 1 | 15 | 13 | Relegated to Yorkshire 5 North West | B Holden |
| 2004–05 | Yorkshire 5 North West | 1st | 11 | 1 | 2 | 23 | Champions, promoted to Yorkshire 4 | Jon Isherwood |
| 2005–06 | Yorkshire 4 | 12th | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 | Relegated to Yorkshire 5 North West | Damian Whiteley |
| 2006–07 | Yorkshire 5 North West | 3rd | 10 | 0 | 6 | 20 | | Rick Duffy |
| 2007–08 | Yorkshire 5A | 1st | 12 | 1 | 1 | 25 | Promoted to Yorkshire 4 | Andy Lyon |
| 2007–08 | Yorkshire 5C | 2nd | 7 | 0 | 1 | 16 | Promoted to Yorkshire 4 | Andy Lyon |
| 2008–09 | Yorkshire 4 | 5th | 13 | 1 | 8 | 27 | Promoted to Yorkshire Division Three | M Lockwood |
| 2009–10 | Yorkshire Division Three | 8th | 7 | 1 | 13 | 15 | | Paul Knapping |
| 2010–11 | Yorkshire Division Three | 12th | 4 | 1 | 17 | 23 | | Andrew Murray |
| 2011–12 | Yorkshire Division Three | 14th | 5 | 0 | 21 | 24 | Relegated to Yorkshire Division Four | Andrew Murray |
| 2012–13 | Yorkshire Division Four | 8th | 9 | 0 | 13 | 42 | | Andrew Murray |
| 2013–14 | Yorkshire Division Four | 5th | 13 | 1 | 8 | 65 | | Paul Jowett |
| 2014–15 | Yorkshire Division Four | 6th | 12 | 1 | 9 | 58 | | Paul Jowett |
| 2015–16 | Yorkshire Division Four | 1st | 19 | 0 | 3 | 90 | Promoted to Yorkshire Division Three | Paul Jowett |
| 2016–17 | Yorkshire Division Three | 1st | 20 | 1 | 5 | 95 | Promoted to Yorkshire Division Two | Paul Jowett |
| 2017–18 | Yorkshire Division Two | 14th | 3 | 1 | 22 | 21 | Relegated to Yorkshire Division Three | Paul Jowett |
| 2018–19 | Yorkshire Division Three | 9th | 9 | 0 | 17 | 45 | | Jamie Richardson |
| 2019–20 | Yorkshire Division Three | 9th | 11 | 1 | 10 | 61 | Play was stopped on the 16/03/20 due to COVID-19 | Tony Curtis |
| 2020–21 | Yorkshire Three | N/A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No games were played due to the Pandemic | Tony Curtis |
| 2021–22 | Yorkshire Three | 6th | 13 | 1 | 12 | 64 | | Paul Jowett |
| 2022–23 | Counties 3 Yorkshire | 6th | 11 | 0 | 11 | 51 | | Ben Burnside |
| 2023–24 | Counties 3 Yorkshire | 2nd | 20 | 0 | 2 | 96 | Promoted to Counties 2 Yorkshire | Dan Mitchell |

## Notable former players
### Internationals

* Chris Davies, former England Sevens international also played for Cambridge University and Saracens,
* / Jamie Bloem, former South Africa Rugby League captain as well as playing internationally for Scotland Rugby League. Bloem joined in 2013 as a player coach.
* Rehan Mansoor, 16 Cap Pakistan international joined Vandals as a player in 2022 and named forwards coach in 2023,