HISTORY

Totton Grammar School opened in 1955, and five years later produced the first batch of school leavers and ex-pupils. So, in 1960/61, Head of P.E. Ivor Roach organised an Old Boys versus School 1st XV game, intending this to be an annual event. Twelve months later, after the second match, which took place during the 1961/2 season, the lads decided to keep the team together, and so OLD TOTTONIANS RFC came into being. With less than half of that season left, some fixtures were hastily arranged against anyone who was prepared to play us, for example the Vets and/or Colts sides of Esso Fawley, Follands Aircraft and Havant. There were only 13 regularly available players, average age eighteen, so the shortfall was usually made up from lads who were still attending the Grammar School.

Hampshire County Council had originally decided that the newly-built school in Water Lane was to be called Calmore Grammar School, and it was only after considerable pressure from the school's first headmaster, Douglas Stevens, that the name was changed to Totton Grammar School to strengthen its local community standing. Had it not been for his intervention, we most likely would not now be known as Tottonian RFC, but Calmorians RFC!

Following an inaugural Annual General Meeting at the end of that first part-season, a committee was formed and an application was submitted for affiliation with the Hampshire RFU. The committee consisted of Ray Hill (Chairman), Bill Barnes (Honorary Secretary), Chris Watton (Treasurer), Chris Noble (Match & Fixtures Secretary), Tony Pointer (Captain), Tony Kemish (Vice captain) and Mick Hopper (Committee member). Our Club President was Douglas Stevens, the school's incumbent headmaster. We were essentially a closed Club, but I did write into our first constitution a clause which allowed for "a maximum of four Associate Members who were not ex-pupils of Totton Grammar School". Our committee meetings were held every Monday evening at "The Village Bells" in Eling, which included team selection. Monday was chosen because it gave me time to send out postcards with match details to all the players — very few of us had the luxury of a telephone in those days. There was no training, our only tactic was knowing each other's skills and weaknesses. We affiliated to the Hampshire RFU in that 1961/62 season and made our first attendance at the HRFU AGM at the Polygon Hotel prior to the 1962/63 season. I was constantly on my feet responding to other Clubs' open dates, during the fixture's clinic, held at the end of the official proceedings. An error in the Hampshire handbook, still to be corrected, currently lists the Club as first affiliating in 1965 (this was, in fact, the year of affiliation of the now defunct Totton Rugby Club, which was part of the Testwood Youth Club set up).

Four seasons into our life we became an open Club, dropped the word "Old" from our title and became TOTTONIANS RFC. This gave us the potential to attract more members and from 1966/67 allowed us to field a regular 2nd XV. Our official title changed to Tottonians RFC Ltd when we became a limited company in 1996.

In November 1968, we moved into our first “home”, a council-owned pavilion in Calmore, affectionately called “The Shed”, which we shared with the local cricket club. Up until then, we had our after-match nosh and booze at a variety of local public houses — The Old Farmhouse, The Red Lion, The Anchor, Mortimer‘s Tavern (as it was called then) and The Testwood Hotel. A couple of years on, Calmore Cricket Club moved into their new premises and we were granted sole occupancy of the pavilion, where we resided for almost thirty years.
After years of searching for a suitable plot on which to build our own facilities, we eventually moved into our current Clubhouse on land which was previously one of the Totton Grammar School (now Totton College) hockey pitches in Water Lane, during the summer of 1996. Playing on the same turf that we had always used for our home games, we had finally established ourselves back at our origins. For the first time, we had the luxury of our sporting activities and our social activities being at the same location.

Meanwhile, in 1965/66, based at Testwood Secondary School, a team started turning out in blue shirts each week under the name of Totton Youth Club, which changed its name to TOTTON RFC in 1967/68. The Club was in part formed by frustrated Grammar School Old Boys who could not get a game with the now over-subscribed Tottonians which included Gerry Harvey, Dennis Spencer and Steve White amongst others. Totton started fielding an occasional 2nd XV in 1968-69.

With such a small caption area and with Trojans always our competition for the more ambitious players, both local Clubs were soon struggling to honour their 2nd XV fixtures and resorted to fielding a combined 2nd XV. Inevitably, in 1969 -70 Totton RFC merged into the established Tottonians RFC set-up, with Alan Henbest being elected Club Captain for the new set-up. This enabled us to start turning out a regular Third XV each week. Following his untimely death in a car accident on 30th August 1970, Al was replaced as Club Captain for the 1970 - 71 season by Freddie Miller.
In the 1975 -76 season a Colts Team was introduced.
In 1980, the Mini Section was formed, with a handful of lads of mixed ages training together on Sundays, coached by a group of parent-members that comprised Tony Thomas, Graham Kemp, Chris Matthews and Ken Johnston.

At the end of the 1982 season, as part of the Club's twenty-first anniversary celebrations, Dave Chiverton organised a
match between a Tottonians' representative side and a team of past players.

As a result of that game, in April 1983, a Veterans' Team was formed, which initially played casual fixtures.

In the 2000/2001 Season, Tottonians started fielding a Women's Team, colloquially called “The Totties” and this season an Under 15 Girls' Team was started..

With the introduction of League-based rugby, the 1980's and 1990's saw us competing at County level in Hampshire One and included a spell in Hampshire Two. We gained promotion to LONDON 3 SW from Hampshire 1 in 1999. As a consequence of the RFU's restructuring of the leagues, effective for the start of 2000/2001, we missed the cut and were placed in the new LONDON 4 SW division (National Level 8). We ended the 2002/2003 season as League Champions, having played 18, won 15, lost 3. As a result, 2003/2004 saw us competing in LONDON 3 SW (National Level 7), which was also the season in which we won the Hampshire Worthington Bowl.

The 2006/7 season was the most successful in our League history, when we finished in third place (played 22, won 17, lost 5) just one point behind the runners-up. We also had an excellent run in the EDF National Senior Vase, going out in the quarter finals at Stroud, just one game away from a Twickenham final. 2007/8 was also a good season for us, again finishing third in the League (played 22, won 15, drew 1, lost 6).

Since 2009 we have been turning out a 5th XV which we call our Casual XV, playing friendly fixtures most weeks.

Due to more re-structuring of the Leagues prior to the start of 2009/10, although still at National Level Seven, the division was renamed LONDON 2 SW and 2011/12 marks the ninth season that the 1st XV have competed at this level.
The 2nd XV won the Hampshire Senior Merit Table in 2009/10 and play in the SOLENT SECOND TEAM LEAGUE against other clubs whose First Teams play at Levels 5, 6 and 7.
Our 3rd XV compete in Hampshire Merit One.
In 2010/11, in its second season of league-based rugby, our 4th XV (primarily consisting of Vets' players) were promoted from Hampshire Merit Three to Hampshire Merit Two, having collected the Champion's Trophy the previous season. This year, they were again League Champions, but due to our Third Team competing in the table above, they were denied promotion.

Bill Barnes
Hon Sec 1961 - 64
Hon Member 1968-2011
Vice President 2011 -

Page last modified at 10:21 on 30 January 2012