Thanet Wanderers RUFC - A Short History

Thanet were formed in 1886 and used several ground before settling at St Peters Recreation Ground – hence Wanderers!!

In all their long and distinguished history Thanets' best Season ever was 1996 – 1997 when they won promotion to London One and scooped the first ever Intermediate Cup at Twickenham.

Eleven wins out of twelve secured promotion whilst nerve-racking cup-ties earned Thanet the title' the comeback kings' for their ability to turn the game around in the dying minutes. No one who saw the Cup Final against Doncaster will ever forget the emotions of that day.

Crowds at St Peters have swelled over the years from the passing dog to over 400 for each League game and treble that for cup-ties in the process of building a winning team. Thanet also have built strong links with the local community, and their junior teams show that the future will be in safe hands. Sponsorship continues to grow, but the Thanet players still play for the love of the game!!

At the beginning of the 1996-97 Season.Thanet opened their new Clubhouse built after the previous one was broken into and burned down. Built with support from Lottery finds but mainly funded by Club members it represents a testament to the determination of the Club Members to turn the disaster into a triumph and provide the best facilities for rugby in the South East.

Prior to the advent of League rugby, Thanet was a Club that could not play as high a standard as they wanted. Many clubs from the London area refused to visit as the trip was ‘too far' and they believed that passports were required to visit clubs east of the Medway!! We found ourselves stuck with playing local derbies. League rugby changed all that and from 90/91 we won promotion from Kent One to begin our rise to London One.

In Season 2000- 2001 we won the Kent Cup for the first time in our history!

In season 2002 – 2003 we were top in England in the RFU Questionnaire – Conditional Funding Evaluation Audit.

However a poor run of games in Season 2004 – 2005 saw us relegated to London Two South.

After completely rebuilding the side – mainly with players who had come'through the ranks' – we won the play off in Season 2006 – 2007 to gain promotion to London One