H.A.C – or The Honourable Artillery Company to give them their full name – were formed as a rugby club in 1896. The Company as a broader entity has an illustrious history, having received a royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1537 to help defend the realm and currently run a number of different sports clubs and societies.

Whilst most home games are now played at Chiswick RFC, a small number take place at their city base, playing on a pitch in the Artillery Garden. This is often considered as the most picturesque ground to play at in London; the first recorded cricket match also took place here between London and Surrey in 1730.

H.A.C RFC in their current form have experienced recent success in the leagues, rising to the heights of a fifth place finish in London 1 North for the 2018-19 season before a level transfer to London 1 South in the COVID affected 2019-20 campaign, where they were relegated back down to London 2 North West. However, they went up as champions in 2021/22, losing just one game all season and passing the 1,000 point mark. A relatively successful year in Regional 2 Anglia followed, finishing second, before once again making a level transfer in 2023/24 into Regional 2 Thames, where they are currently in second place.

This follows a steady rise through the league structure in the past decade or so, with three consecutive promotions between 2009 and 2012 providing the catalyst, losing just three games in that period and winning the RFU Junior Vase against Edwardians at Twickenham in 2011 by 37-6. You can read a short report via Rugby World from that match here:

H.A.C 37-6 Edwardians

Their record win was an 114-8 thrashing of Old Millhillians in 2010 in Herts/Middlesex 2, their record winning margin 113-3 against Hayes in Herts/Middlesex 3 in 2006. H.A.C’s record loss came against Hammersmith & Fulham in 2002 by 94-5, again in Herts/Middlesex 2.

There is now a fairly well established rivalry between H.A.C and Old Priorians dating back to 2009, where both sides went up from Herts/Middlesex 2. Each only lost only one game that season, those defeats coming against each other, H.A.C champions by virtue of a superior points difference.

To date, there have been ten encounters between the two, most of these very close run with no more than one score separating on four occasions. H.A.C have a record of seven wins to OPRFC's three, though OPs have a better average full time scoreline of 20-18.

The Twisters hold the record winning margin, having recorded a 42-3 victory in 2014 in London 2 North West. The most recent fixture was a 25-20 win for H.A.C in March 2022.

For more information on the club please visit their website :

HAC Rugby