They decided to play rugby in winter and that was the birth of Rosslyn Park RFC.
They played at several venues and the turning point came in 1890 when fixtures were arranged with Oxford University, London Scottish, Blackheath and Richmond.
The following year Harlequins and London Welsh came on the list.
Before the Great War the club proved a true ambassador of the game by playing the first games of rugby seen in Prague, Budapest and Vienna.
History-makers in Scotland
In record-breaking 1926-7 and 1949-50 seasons, only seven games were lost and in the latter campaign Park were the first club to bring the Melrose Sevens title south of the border.
The club moved to Roehampton in 1957 and went from strength to strength, losing the 1976 and 1977 John Player Cup finals to Bedford and Gosforth.
Rosslyn Park were placed in Division Two when leagues were introduced in 1987-8 and were champions, one point clear of Liverpool St Helens.
Two of their greatest players were Prince Obelensky and the late Andy Ripley who had 24 England caps and was a British Lion in the 1970s.
Park survived in the top flight for three seasons before finishing bottom with one point.
Then despite eighth position in Division Two, a re-organisation of the leagues meant an immediate drop to Division Three in 1992-3.
Park won their way back to the third tier in 2010 when they beat Loughborough Students 43-21 in a National Two play-off.
A rivalry born before pandemic
Our clubs met for the first time in the league in the 2019/20 season, and Rams edged an epic clash 27-20 at Old Bath Road before the coronavirus pandemic stopped hostilities being renewed with both sides still in the title race.
Further success arrived in the following two seasons, with 24-21 (home) and 17-13 victories (away) in 2021/22, before a superb 29-21 triumph on the road and 43-10 win at Old Bath Road.
Rams made it six on the spin with a 31-20 home triumph in September 2023, then pulling off an incredible fightback to snatch a final-play 21-17 success at The Rock later in the season.
However, they fell to a first defeat to Park back last December, the Londoners racing into a 19-0 lead as Arthur Ellis opened the scoring before Joe Luca Smith bagged a brace inside 13 minutes, Josh Bragman with two conversions.
Fraser Honey was on target after Morgan MacRae got Rams on the board, only for Tom Stanton to dot down.
A converted Zach Clow try made it a 10-point game at the interval, and the visitors hit the front thanks to further scores from Andrew Lamb and Ben Atkins, plus the boot of Honey, before Bragman’s penalty proved decisive.
McRae hat-trick helps Robbie sign off in style
Rams responded in the final home game of the season, though, Robbie Stapley’s legendary career ending with a 49-40 triumph.
James McRae gave the hosts a sixth-minute lead, Honey with the extras, only for Park to level through Matt Woodward and Bragman.
Rams moved 21-7 up through converted tries from Tomek Pozniak and Dan Swain, the visitors halving the gap before the break as Bragman added to a Ewan Fenley effort.
Honey maintained his perfect record with the boot after McRae doubled up, Charlie Walker then over for a Rosslyn seven-pointer.
McRae completed his hat-trick as Honey made it 35-28, only for the deficit to again be cut as Bragman landed following a Jasper Cameron score.
Swain’s second, again converted, restored the 14-point lead, but Bragman went over and then added to Walker’s second for 42-40.
But in a thrilling finish, Mikey Duda dotted down before Honey made the game safe.
