The club originated out of the second staging of a Totton Grammar School XV v Ex-Pupils XV in 1961/62 after the players decided to form their own club, hence OLD TOTTONIANS RFC were formed playing their matches at the Grammar School.
Competition heightened for the small pool of local players in 1965/66 with the formation of Totton Youth Club RFC, based at Testwood School. To counter this and in the hope of attracting more players and members, the ‘Old’ was dropped and TOTTONIANS RFC became an open club in 1966/67. Totton Youth Club in turn changed their name to TOTTON RFC in 1967/68.
Although both clubs enjoyed periods where they’d field a 2nd XV, with such a limited area to draw upon, plus the more established Trojans always on the prowl for the more ambitious players, both local clubs struggled to honour fixtures so resorted to fielding a combined 2nd XV. This led to talks and, ultimately, a merger in 1969/70 which resulted, essentially, in the club we have today. While continuing to play at the, now renamed, Totton College, clubhouse facilities had been procured the previous season at King George V Playing Fields in Calmore, ‘The Shed’ as it was affectionately known would continue to be our home for a further 26 years. An immediate benefit was the ability to turn out a 3rd XV for the remainder of the season.
Tapping into the college rugby team brought about the introduction of the Colts Team in 1975/76.
In 1980 the Mini Section was formed under the tutelage of Club President, Ken Johnston and senior players Tony Thomas, Graham Kemp and Chris Matthews. Those little acorns have grown into the burgeoning Youth Section we have today with around 300 players being guided by 30 RFU qualified coaches.
As part of our 21st anniversary celebrations at the end of the 1982/83 season, a match was organised between a current representative XV and a team of former players, from which the Veterans Team was formed.
With the introduction of league rugby in 1987/88, we were initially placed in Hampshire 1 but were to struggle in the early years before being relegated in 1992/93. Thankfully we were to bounce back as Hampshire 2 Champions the following season.
Having long since outgrown our quaint little ‘Shed’, we were finally to build a fantastic new Clubhouse for the start of the 1996/97 season, ironically in the College grounds where we’d always played.
In 1998/99 we were promoted to London 3SW however restructuring meant, in spite of finishing mid table we were, effectively, relegated to newly introduced London 4SW at the end of 1999/2000.
The Ladies Team was formed in 2000/01. Colloquially known as ‘The Totties’, they won the RFUW NC South-East West 3 in 2007/08 and subsequently, owing to a shortage of players, teamed up with Ellingham & Ringwood Ladies to compete in RFUW NC South-East South 2 before operating solely under their banner since the end of 2015/16.
In 2002/2003 we were League Champions, earning promotion to London 3SW (National Level 7).
In 2003/04 we won the Hampshire Worthington Bowl, beating Guernsey 22-17 at our Water Lane home in the final.
2006/07 season produced a successful league campaign, finishing in 3rd place (played 22, won 17, lost 5) just one point behind the runners-up while enjoying an excellent run in the EDF National Senior Vase, going out in the quarter-finals at Stroud, our best performance in a national cup competition to date.
A further re-structuring prior to the 2009/10 season saw our league renamed, though still Level 7, London 2SW. After twelve consecutive seasons competing at this level, always finishing in the top half of the league, we finally won the league in 2014/15 after winning all but one match (away to Old Alleynians). Our first season in London 1 South saw us finish 7th and, by finishing above Havant, the honour of being highest ranked Hampshire club. The following two successful campaigns saw finishes of 4th and 7th until a variety of difficulties resulted in our relegation at the end of the 2018/19 season.
Ironically, the season also saw us win the Hampshire Cup for the first time, achieved with a memorable first win at a storm-ravaged Havant on their new 4G pitch.
Now back in London 2 South West, we continued to struggle at the start of 2019/20 before rallying to secure safety before the season was prematurely curtailed by the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Thankfully back playing again, enthusiasm and confidence is now coursing through the collective veins under the guidance of a highly experienced coaching team which led them to winning London 2 South-West with 16 wins from 18 games – but that league restructuring meant that Totts found themselves in the new Regional 2 Tribute South Central league for the 2022/23 campaign.
Two more successful years saw the 1st XV finish 2nd and 3rd in successive years and 2024/25 season is a third season at this level while the 2nd XV are competing in Counties 3 Hampshire alongside many clubs we used to play at first team level. They’ve recently won Solent 1 in 2015/16 and 2017/18 and the 3rd XV are currently in Hampshire Premiership South.
Our Vets XV won the Hampshire South-West League in 2015/16, Solent 4 in 2016/17 and Solent Waterfall 2 last season after topping Solent 3 in the first half of the season and, for the first time in their history, lifted the John Sneezum Hampshire Veterans Cup in scintillating fashion, beating six-time winners Havant 31-21 on a glorious day at Water Lane.
