BURY and West Suffolk RFC played their first game in 1925.
Post World War II, players used to gather and practice at Culford School.
But by 1963 the club regularly fielded four teams from its new home at the Haberden in Bury St. Edmunds, replete with its three pitches and small Clubhouse.
BSE went from strength-to-strength until tragedy struck with the loss of 18 members of the Club in a plane crash on a trip to Paris.
Understandably it took Bury St. Edmunds RFC and the town many years to recover.
During the 1970s they rebuilt the playing facilities and raised enough money to build a large new Clubhouse which was further extended in the late 1980s.
A few years earlier Mins rugby was introduced along with youth games, and this brought its rewards when senior league rugby was introduced.
There were many homegrown players in the 1st XV which were promoted to London Three North East in 2001.
And in 2003/04, the club won the Suffolk Cup.
In 2006, with the aid of a grant from the RFU, BSE added a state-of-the-art All Weather Pitch to its facilities, one of only four in the country at the time.
Year of glory in 2007
Another promotion followed in 2007, and for the first time in the club’s history the Colts won a national title by taking the National Plate trophy at Franklins Gardens.
Things got even better in 2013 when Bury St Edmunds climbed to the National Leagues for the first time, winning all 26 matches to take the London One North title.
They won National Three London & South East in 2014/15, first facing newly-promoted Rams in Two South the following year.
Our clubs have since faced off eight times, with the Berkshire boys completing a double first up with a 32-18 success at Old Bath Road before triumphing 31-28 on the road.
Two more triumphs came in 2016/17 – 37-17 away and 25-21 on home turf.
Rams made it five in a row with a 29-17 victory, but lost 27-24 in April 2018.
However, in the title-winning campaign of 2018/19, they completed another double.
Rossiter in lethal form
Jak Rossiter bagged a brace in a 47-21 home triumph, Drew Humberstone, Ben Henderson, Joe Duffelen and Andrew Denham also dotting down along with a penalty try.
Alex Seers landed five conversions.
And Rossiter was also on the scoresheet in a 19-3 away victory, Tom Humberstone and Greg Illingworth also dotting down.
Humberstone slotted a couple of kicks to complete the scoring.
Bury St Edmunds climbed to Level Three for the first time by winning National Two East last term.
They won 20 of their 26 games including their last eight, securing silverware with a rampant 95-28 home success against previous leaders Old Albanian on the last day of the season.
To book tickets and lunches for our first reunion in almost eight years, click here
