EARLY YEARS OF MIDDLESBROUGH R.U.F.C.

The first recorded match was against Northumberland RFC on 16 Nov. 1872 at Newcastle with the home side winning by four goals and four tries to nil.
The earliest known Derby game was played against Darlington on 15th Feb. 1873 The ground was at Breckon Hill road on Grove Hill, the visitors won by a goal to nil.
What happened between 1873 – 1879 is a mystery, but in 1879 with the first Middlesbrough club apparently no longer in existence, a Middlesbrough Rovers team came to light.