 The men's 1st XV currently play in North 2 West, at the seventh tier of the English rugby union system, following their relegation from North 1 West at the end of the 2018-19 season.Although officially founded in 1860 as Manchester Football Club, a Manchester team actually first played in 1857, when the Gentlemen of Manchester and the Gentlemen of Liverpool came together to play a friendly game.Richard Sykes, a former Captain of Football at Rugby School set up the Manchester team and provided the ball.