Men's rugby · 2026-27
History
Promoted to BUCS Super Rugby, BUCS Vase winners, and four promotions in a row for the Saturday XV.
Recent record
The story so far
- April 2026 Beat Newcastle 29-25 in the promotion play-off to reach BUCS Super Rugby, scoring three tries in the second half.
- 25 March 2026 Won the BUCS Men's Vase at BUCS Big Wednesday, held at Loughborough on 24 and 25 March 2026.
- 28 January 2026 Beat Cardiff Met 2s to take the Premier South 1 title and a play-off place.
- 2025-26 Lost one of fourteen league fixtures across the Premier South campaign.
- 2026-27 First new men's team in BUCS Super Rugby since Nottingham's promotion in 2022-23.
- 17 May 2025 The Saturday XV won the Papa Johns Men's Counties 1 Championship final at Twickenham, beating Stamford 45-15.
- Last four seasons The first XV have won the BUCS Vase in three of the last four years.
- Four seasons running The Saturday XV have been promoted four years in a row and now play in Regional 1 South Central, one promotion below the National Leagues.
1798 to 1891
Borough Road beginnings
Brunel's rugby heritage reaches back to Borough Road College, one of the university's predecessor institutions. The college began in Joseph Lancaster's school, founded in Southwark in 1798, and became known for teacher education and for sport.
The move to Isleworth in 1889 marked an important stage in that development. Under Principal P A Barnett, games became a regular part of college life. Rugby was recorded in the October 1891 edition of the college newspaper, The B.'s, which reported that the association football and rugby teams had started well. The club later took the nickname “The Bees”.
1900 to 1914
An emerging rugby tradition
At the turn of the twentieth century Borough Road drew players and teachers with strong rugby backgrounds. Scotland international and former captain Allen Ramsey Smith joined the college as a tutor in 1900, bringing experience as both a player and a coach.
Rhys Gabe attended Borough Road between 1900 and 1902 and made his Wales debut against Ireland in 1901. He toured with the British Isles team in 1904, an early link between the college and international rugby.
Inter-college sport grew over the same period. Borough Road played St Mary's, St Mark's, Westminster and St John's, and honours caps recognised achievement in the college's leading teams.
1914 to 1959
War and recovery
The First World War disrupted college life and put considerable pressure on Borough Road. Rugby continued through the inter-war years, with fixtures that included matches against Saracens in the early 1920s.
After the Second World War, sport and physical education expanded under George Little and James Biddle, whose association with the college ran from student to lecturer to head of department. In 1959 Borough Road became a specialist institution for training physical education teachers.
1976 to 2004
From Borough Road to Brunel
Borough Road merged with Maria Grey College and Chiswick Polytechnic in 1976 to form the West London Institute of Higher Education. The institute became part of Brunel University in 1995, bringing its sporting traditions with it.
The men's programme had national and European success in the early 2000s, with BUSA championship titles in 2001 and 2003 and a European universities title in 2004.
2018 to now
The modern programme
The partnership with Ealing Trailfinders opened a new chapter. The men won promotion to BUCS Premier after an unbeaten league campaign in 2019-20, and both first teams now play in BUCS Super Rugby, connecting the Borough Road tradition to a modern professional pathway.
British and Irish Lions