HEREFORD Rugby Club are celebrating being 150 years old.

It has been a rocky ride at times for the Wyesiders who played their first match at the Harold St Army Barracks ground in season 1870/71.

Since then the club has played on at least 12 other locations around the city settling in Rockfield Rd in the 1950s before moving to its current home nearly 40 years ago.

To celebrate the landmark birthday the club are using ‘from tiny acorns mighty oaks do grow’.

Fitting to this message Hereford has youth teams from six years of age up to some of their ‘old oaks’ up to 85 years of age who are still active in the club.

The club’s under-18s started in the 1960s before their mini and youth sections started when they had more pitches with the move to Wyeside in 1984.

Every week the club has hundreds of youngsters being taught discipline, respect and teamwork whilst also enjoying fitness, fun and friendship.

To mark the birthday the club have planted a Red leaf Oak tree at Wyeside ably assisted by the current mayor and last year’s mayor to commemorate the last 150 years and hopefully another 150 going forward.

Hereford RFC are also working closely with 21 local schools that have supplied them with players over the years and are giving them 20 saplings each to plant this autumn as a thank you to them.

The pupils will plant, maintain and learn valuable eco lessons accordingly by monitoring the six different wildlife varieties which will of course blossom and produce flowers and berries etc and attract insects birds and bees.

In total the club are planting 421 trees in Hereford by way of celebrating the club’s history and thereby helping the local community and enhancing the future of this wonderful city.

The club have many sponsors to thank for their help and it would not have been possible without the generosity of Wyevale Nurseries, The Woodland Trust and Advance Joinery Pontrilas.