In 1985 Steve Emery asked the landlord of the Richmond Arms on Forest St, Peter Wright, if he knew of anyone else that was interested in or played Rugby in Shepshed

Peter introduced Steve to Ray Short and the plans for a new Rugby club in Shepshed were set in motion. Advertisement for players we placed in the Loughborough Echo, Shepshed Sentinel (a free paper which is now not in print), notices in Hind Leys and college and basically anywhere that would display a poster.

Ray was working at Hind Leys College where the late Brian Saley was Director of Physical Education and Chair of the College Sports Council. Ray mentioned to Brian about their ambitions to create a Rugby club in Shepshed and received great encouragement and enthusiasm from Brian who requested to be at the very first committee meeting.

A meeting was held at the Richmond Arms at which there was a strong turnout of 18-20 players/volunteers and the plans were laid out for all to see. Other meetings were scheduled in quick succession to affiliate the club to Hind Leys College and The Richmond Arms as a clubhouse.

Once these were agreed it was time to formulate the first ever Shepshed RFC committee and was comprised of:

President - Brian Saley
Chairman - Ray Short
Secretary - Steve Emery
Treasurer - Paddy Brooks
Club Captain - Dave Griffiths
Fixture Secretary - Ray Short
Club Coach - Kim Sutcliffe

With the officers in place the fixture ever fixture was arranged away against a Coalville XV. The final result was Coalville 25 - 10 Shepshed a good spirited game enjoyed by players and spectators alike.

The 1985/86 season went by as a blur with regular meetings, more players and affiliation to Leicestershire Rugby Union, Leicestershire Referees Society and the RFU which meant everything was in place ahead of the 1986/87 season.

More players joined, more volunteers stepped forward meaning the club was in a good shape. Unfortunately one of the founding members Steve Emery left the club during the season.

Soon Shepshed was fielding 2 teams with policeman Phil Maunder, taking charge of the 2nd XV as captain. A number of players coming through the club moved onto other clubs to play a better standard of Rugby. Something that whilst it is frustrating to lose players from the club at any point it is also something the club prides itself on being able to provide a platform for these players to build on their own abilities and move higher within the game.

RECENT HISTORY

The club house has changed a number of times throughout the years including The Richmond Arms, The Blue Ball, Shepshed Snooker Club, The Sportsman, The Crown, The Pied Bull, the Bottom Railway and of course our current home the old Youth Centre on the Iveshead School campus (Previously Shepshed High School & Hind Leys College).

In 2011 Shepshed won the LRU County Shield Final vs Anstey held at Coalville Rugby Club

In the 2013/14 season, Shepshed went unbeaten on our way to the LRU Division 4 Title after the arrival of a hot of young, talented players boosted the number of players available as well as the quality.

The 2014/15 was as successful as the last one with another unbeaten league season resulting in the LRU Division 3 title. The only competitive loss of the season coming in the Presidents Cup final against Stoneygate at Market Harborough

The start of the 2015/16 season was marred by the fire at our container in October which destroyed equipment as well as the morale around the club. This was lifted with a number of fundraising initiatives and with out a doubt the highlight of the season was the launch of the new Junior section, The Shepshed Lambs.

Following a huge effort by chairman Nick Farmer and volunteer Lee Ralph the new junior section was launched in March 2016. The overall aim of the section, besides providing access to Rugby to the local children is to secure the long term future of the club with a constant stream of players coming through to the first XV.