North Midlands Rugby Football Union
The North Midlands Rugby Football Union is a governing body for rugby union in part of The Midlands, England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union for the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and the Greater Birmingham area. History. The North Midlands RFU was founded at a meeting in Birmingham on 14 January 1920. The area had previously been part of the Midland Counties Rugby Union, from which Warwickshire split in 1914, with further changes in 1919 leading to Leicestershire Rugby Union becoming a county on its own and North Midlands  being created for the Birmingham, Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire areas. The majority of the clubs in the union's initial membership came from the Birmingham area. Staffordshire separated from North Midlands in 1964 to become a county on its own. County team. The North Midlands men's county team play in the County Championship, competing in Division 3. Honours Affiliated clubs. There are currently 71 clubs affiliated with the North Midlands RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level, although some of the more prominent second teams have also been listed by the North Midlands RFU  as affiliated clubs. The North Midlands region covers a large area with club sides based in Birmingham and the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire. Occasionally clubs based in other county rugby football unions, such as Staffordshire and Warwickshire, are also members of the North Midlands RFU. This was a result of county boundaries changing in 1974 as a consequence of the Local Government Act 1972. County club competitions. The North Midlands currently runs the following competition for clubs sides based in Birmingham and the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire: