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Hemel Stags RLC is a professional rugby league club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. The club have played in Kingstone Press League 1 since the 2013 season. The club has played in a number of leagues over the years, from the London League, MASWARLA, National Conference League and the Alliance League. The dilemma for the club was how to raise standards without the costs of constant trips to the stronger leagues in the North of England. The club also has an active development policy in the town and a number of schools and junior sides supported by the development officer. Rugby league has a long history in Hemel schools with some of them having played it for 20 years. The schools work has produced a fair few talented rugby league players and the likes of Dan Sarginson now play for Super League Club, Wigan and Kieran Dixon for Hull Kingston Rovers. Jack Howieson and Simon Tillyer, played professionally for Championship club, Sheffield Eagles. ==History== ''Hemel Hempstead Amateur Rugby League Football Club'' played their first match on 5 April 1981 against Walthamstow-based McEntee, losing 38–0. Early on, they began as a pub team wearing borrowed jerseys. After a series of friendly fixtures during the summer of 1981 the club was formally constituted and joined the Second Division of the South Amateur Rugby League. The club's original logo featured Henry VIII as local association football team Hemel F.C. are nicknamed 'The Tudors'. During the club's early seasons, success on the field was hard to come by. Nevertheless, the club was determined to prosper and in their fourth season they opened their first social club at Pennine Way in February 1985 – a modest self-build affair. Commercial pressures led to them leaving the London League division two and joining the Midlands and South West Amateur Rugby League Association (MASWARLA) for the 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons. This brought playing success and on the club's return to the London Amateur Rugby League the club became the dominant force in amateur rugby league in the South of England. Hemel were London League champions in 1989–90 and 1990–91 and from there joined the Rugby League Alliance in 1991; the club played the reserve teams of professional clubs. At the same time the club appointed Chris Tate as their first full-time Development Officer with the task of developing junior and youth players in Hemel. The first Stag logo appeared at this time. They spent three seasons in the National Conference League Premier Division between 1993 and 1996. David Ellis coached at the club during the 1993–94 and the 1994–95 seasons. A move to the National Conference League saw the club narrowly miss promotion to the professional ranks in 1993. In 1994, Hemel played London Broncos in the Regal Trophy; they led the Broncos 18–6 at half-time only to succumb in the final 10 minutes. The club's playing depth that day was emphasised when, in the curtain-raiser, their reserves won the Southern Counties Cup against the all-Kiwi South London Warriors. Hemel were the last winners of the Southern Cup in 1996, beating London Colonials at Roslyn Park RFC. They were relegated from the NCL Premier division in 1995–96 finishing bottom, having played 22 won 4 and lost 18. After relegation Hemel resigned, spent a year in the London League then returned to the Rugby League Alliance in 1997. Hemel won the First Division of the Alliance in 1998 under player-coach Jay Turner and would have won promotion to the Super League Alliance but for their lack of a suitable stadium; their plan to build a stadium with National Lottery money having fallen through. The name, ''Hemel Stags'', emerged in the late 90s in place of the cumbersome Hemel Hempstead Amateur Rugby League Football Club. With the Rugby League Alliance being scrapped and their application for the Northern Ford Premiership rejected again because of their lack of a stadium. Stags joined the newly formed Rugby League Conference for the 1999 season. After several years in the Rugby League Conference they entered the newly formed National League 3 in 2003. Although they lost all their games in the first season, they progressed steadily and made the 2006 Grand Final under new coach Troy Perkins; losing to Bramley Buffaloes. 2006 also saw the club enter the Northern Rail Cup, where they met local rivals St Albans Centurions as well as semi-professional outfits London Skolars and Crusaders. They finished in second place in the 2006 league table and qualified through the play-offs for the Grand Final, where they lost to Bramley Buffaloes by 30 points to 8. The arrival of Callum Irving as Community Rugby League Coach in 2006 revitalised junior rugby league in Hemel and subsequently led to the club joining the Gillette National Youth League in 2008. In September 2008, the club obtained planning permission for a small stadium at Pennine Way and in 2010 the first stage was completed with the enclosure of the ground and the opening of an all-weather training pitch and the floodlighting of the main pitch. In February 2012, Hemel were announced as the second side to join an expanded Championship 1 division for the 2013 season. Hemel Stags beat Huddersfield Underbank Rangers 17–10 in the National Conference League Division 3 Grand Final on 29 September 2012. In their first campaign as a professional outfit, Hemel Stags finished fifth in the Kingstone Press Championship 1 claiming a play-off place. After defeating Oxford RLFC 30-26 at their Pennine Way Stadium in the first round, Hemel bowed out of the competition following a 28-44 loss away to London Skolars. The 2014 season has again seen Hemel Stags challenging for a play-off place, and they currently sit in fifth position in the Kingstone Press Championship 1 table. Hemel Stags finished the regular season of the Kingstone Press Championship 1 in the playoffs places for the 2nd time in their first 2 seasons of being a semi-professional rugby league club. They finished in 5th position on 33 points after drawing 22-22 against Oxford at Iffley Road. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hemel Stags」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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