History

Ophir Rugby Football Club, when founded, commenced playing competitive rugby in the 1921/22 season. Ophir is one of the older junior clubs in the Ulster Branch and it was the brainchild of a number of rugby enthusiasts who lived in or near Ophir Gardens, off the Cavehill Road in North Belfast. Among the founder members were the sons and daughters of families who resided in the area, the Armstrong and the Hall families to name but two. In the early years, the club also fielded a soccer, cricket and a ladies hockey team (who won the McConnell Shield). The Armstrong family maintained the various team kits, which were washed in large boilers in the garage of their Taunton Avenue home.

Legend records that Ophir was a fabulously wealthy but mysterious Kingdom whose location has been and remains a complete mystery. Why such an exotic name should be given to a Belfast street, never mind a rugby club is equally puzzling.

Ophir's first home ground was at Lowwood on the sea side of Shore Road, Belfast. The Club then moved to pitches at an area known as Cherry's Farm, which is now part of an industrial estate on the Mallusk Road in Newtownabbey. If it was a dairy farm one can only imagine the conditions in which the teams played! The club even constructed showers fired by a boiler of sorts which had to be lit well before a game. Academy RFC (formerly B.R.A.F.P) also made use of this facility as they played their matches in an adjacent field.

For a few years at the beginning of World War 2, dances were held by Ophir every Saturday evening at Cavehill tennis Club pavilion, which was located off the Antrim Road. The dances some years later were held at nearby Salisbury Bowling Club. It is amazing the number of people who still have very fond memories of these social events. As the dances were a huge financial success, it was said that Ophir was by far the richest club in Northern Ireland and played the poorest rugby!

The financial prosperity enabled Ophir to arrange top class dinners at quality restaurants, usually Robinson and Cleavers and to invite well known personalities such as the commentators Peter West and Jack Wemys as well as the British Lions Captain, Sammy Walker. These visitors must have been influenced by Ophir's reputation for generosity - unmatched by their playing success. Had there been professional players in those times, our naked trophy cabinet would have been well filled.

In these early years of Ophir’s existence most players were ex Belfast Royal Academy pupils as B.R.A.F.P. club had not yet been formed. Many well known personalities turned out for Ophir including the legendary Irish international Jack Kyle, whose brother Eric also played for Ophir.

The club's next move in the early 1960s was to Belfast City Council pitches, off the Whitewell Road and then in the early 1970s, the Club relocated to its present site, adjacent to the Cottonmount Arms in the hamlet of Mallusk. The grounds are unofficially named "Magowan Park" in affectionate memory of the brothers, Harry and Billy Magowan who played and refereed for Ophir many times during the fifties and sixties.

Throughout its existence, Ophir has travelled on many tours, mainly to Scotland, England and the Isle of Man. Like most touring clubs there were many stories to be told, embellished over the years, but far too rude for a family website!

A stalwart of the Club, Harold Jacobs, recently received an award from Newtownabbey Borough Council for his services to sport, having refereed for 39 years. In fact Harold is the oldest and longest serving active referee within the Referee's Society of the Ulster Branch. He was also Club Secretary for 14 years and served twice as Club President, like the old adage “When you join Ophir it’s like getting a puppy for Christmas – a commitment for life!”

Rugby success did not come easily to the Club. With only ever a maximum of three teams, their major claim to fame is winning the McCrea Cup in 1939 and valiantly defending it (?) until Adolf decided to retire early and permanently.

The Ophir teams of the seventies and eighties were frankly not very successful, but they did fulfil all their fixtures and kept the Club on its feet. At one stage, and reduced to a single XV, the future did indeed look extremely bleak. But a strong and determined General Committee bore the Club through those bleak years and ensured its survival.

And then in the nineties, an influx of younger members reinvigorated and inspired Ophir to its best playing performances in living memory. The creation of the Kukri Qualifying League put all Clubs' First Fifteens on to an equal footing and was an inspired strategy developed by the Ulster Branch. After gaining promotion from the former Section 5, the League was revamped to four sections and Ophir has maintained a steady presence in the new Section 3, with a best finishing position of third in 2002/03. And to cap it all, the Club made a second competitive appearance at Ravenhill (in 65 years!!) narrowly losing the 2006 Gordon West Cup Final to Ballymoney.

And for the future? Ophir now continues playing with two senior teams plus two enthusiastic and thriving junior teams at Under 18 and Under 16 level. Ophir this season has been fortunate to obtain the services of Stuart Hooks as club coach. Recently during a midweek afternoon training session for the junior sides 45 boys turned up for coaching by our Gavin Robinson and his assistants. These boys come from four schools within Ophir’s catchment area, and play regular fixtures. The under 18s recently undertook a successful tour to the South West of England. This is the future for Ophir's playing strength and the membership is looking forward to a sound recruitment base and a programme of continuous improvement on the field of play.

Ophir has been running a very successful seven-a-side tournament now for 33 years at the beginning of each season, with teams competing for the Will Totten Memorial Trophy. This is the most important event in the Club’s calendar year. Ophir very much appreciates the support it gets from the competing clubs and spectators. For the event, the club strives to obtain sponsorship from local businesses, in order to help sustain the club financially. Indeed the club is indebted to all these sponsors especially Newtownabbey Borough Council, Biffa and Whitemountain for the support and encouragement they have demonstrated over the years and particularly to MCW Properties, the club's main sponsor.