The Millwall team you might just like....!!

With a dearth of news on the Charlton Athletic front so far this summer, I have the choice of creating false rumours or causing a ruckus with a misleading heading - I've chosen the latter.

I bet you thought that you would never hear the day that you heard a Charlton fan say that they also supported Millwall, well I do, what's more I have brazenly worn my Millwall shirt to games at the Valley!  However, before you rush out to call in the medics or the lynch mob let me explain.

To most of us that support the club in SE7, Millwall is a team that plays at the Den down near New Cross.  In fact its history lies in E14 on the Isle of Dogs, when the club was set up by a group of Dockers in the area known as Millwall.  It's still known as Millwall but many people have dropped the name with many preferring to use the term "Isle of Dogs" to describe the area.  I will leave it up to you to decide whether this has anything to do with the connotations with the fans of the club of the same name.  Suffice it to say, the story is that they were so concerned about thick football fans turning up on a Saturday afternoon that they named the nearby Docklands Light Railway station "Mudchute" rather than Millwall.

However that does not stop the area being called Millwall and some teams are still quite rightly proud enough to wrestle back the name to preserve the rich history and heritage of the area and this  includes Millwall Rugby Club.  This fledgling club was set up in 1995 and by all accounts has been well supported and flourished.  They currently have about 200 active members and 800 supporter subscribers, with three men's teams, a woman's team and a number of youth teams.  Having spent a few nights with various members I can also confirm that they are active supporters of the local public house trade!  Always game for a laugh and a pint I have to say that they are a decent bunch of people keen to promote their sport and integrate into local society.  Indeed a friend of mine, who's son played for one of their youth teams was amazed at how many of the older players acknowledged his son and stopped to say hello when they saw him in the area.


So I know the shape of the ball is wrong and they pick it up with their hands but this is a local club which has started from scratch and deserves all the recognition it can get.  So if like me you live in the area come and have a closer look at this community club.  For more information go to www.millwallrugby.com or contact secretary@millwallrugby.com