Between 1987 and 2022 fourteen South Yorkshire rugby union clubs went out of existence. Some of those clubs appeared to be well established and were able to organise multiple teams while others just managed to field one team and, as result, were often unable to cope with the loss of a few key players.
Rossington Hornets was one of the fourteen clubs.
Rossington Hornets was an unusual rugby union club in that it managed to become established in a village that had always been seen as a rugby league stronghold. Rugby league had been played in Rossington since the late 1920s. The Rossington Hornets amateur rugby league club had periods of success and then disappeared for a few years only to re-appear a few years later. In the 1960s and early 1970s Rossington Hornets was successful in the local cup competitions and a number of the club's best players signed for the town’s professional club.
Since its formation in 1927 Rossington Hornets amateur rugby league club had played its home games at Rossington Miners Welfare ground, an impressive facility that also hosted cricket and soccer.
The temporary closure of Rossington Main Colliery in the mid-1990s plus the subsequent scaling down of operations that led to a shrinking workforce, will have had an impact on all the sports clubs using the Welfare Ground, but perhaps the rugby league club was the hardest hit. Given the rugby league tradition in the village it must have been a surprise when in 2005; a newly formed rugby union club took over the facilities at Rossington Miners Welfare ground that the amateur rugby league club had used.
The Rossington Hornets rugby union club played in the lower Yorkshire divisions and apart from the early years struggled to win many games. The team was made up initially of former rugby league players augmented by a number of young players brought to the club by their first coach. Unfortunately, Rossington’s lack of success meant that good players often moved to more established clubs in Doncaster. In its last two seasons Rossington struggled both to raise a team and win games. The club folded in 2017 having finished bottom of Yorkshire Six.
