Pingvin Rugby Club

Pingvin Rugby Club was founded on 18 October 1962. The name came about for two reasons: contacts with a well-known English representative team called The Penguins, and a pair of live penguins then kept in Trelleborg's Stadspark. In 1963 the club played its first season in the national championship series (SM-serien), alongside MRC, Attila, GRK, Trojan and Älvsjö.

The club's first home in the 1960s was Järavallen, an open pitch 30 metres from the sea. From the early 1980s until 2021 it played at Pilevallen, and after a period on temporary and split sites, including Gylle, it moved to Trelleborg Rugby Arena in 2024. In the early 1980s the club moved its clubrooms to a basement on Valldammsgatan, which members renovated and painted in Pingvin's black and white. The first women's team started in 1983, training in Östervångsparken before the spring season at Pilevallen.

In 2021 the women beat Vänersborg in the final to win the Swedish sevens title again; the last time they had played sevens, in 2019, they had also won. In October 2022 the men won the Swedish championship gold. In September 2023 the men had to withdraw from the top men's league because of injuries and the loss of front-row players.

In 2025 the men reached the Super Allsvenskan final against Exiles, played over two legs on 27 September and 4 October. Stockholm Exiles RFC won the title, with the combined team Pingvin RC/Kalmar Södra IF as runners-up.

Honours by the club's count:

• Swedish men's XV champions: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2022
• Swedish women's XV champions: 1994, 2003
• Swedish women's sevens champions: 2019, 2021

That makes twelve men's XV titles. In another account, the men have won eleven. The combined team Pingvin RC/Kalmar Södra IF were runners-up in the 2025 men's XV championship.

The club's home ground and clubhouse are at Trelleborg Rugby Arena, Salixvägen 3, Trelleborg. It is a municipal facility. Trelleborg Municipality set its opening for August 2024. In the municipality's view, the facility, together with its cooperation with Pingvin RC, would help residents lead active lives in their free time.

In 2026 the men play in Allsvenskan Herr 15s Söder. Each year the club also arranges B-team matches for senior players of all ages, and its older players organise and take part in old boys' matches and tournaments in Sweden and abroad. The club has a women's section. Its mini rugby programme, Pingvin Super Minis, introduces children aged 4 to 6 to the sport. As of August 2026, recreational touch rugby is played every Sunday at 14:00 at the new arena.

All adults and young people may try rugby four times before paying the membership fee, which covers the club's competition costs, insurance and player licences. To start training, outdoor training clothes and a pair of gym shoes are enough, and newcomers can simply come to training or contact the team leader. The club has an English-language page.

Membership fees for 2024:

The club's youth policy follows the motto: "It is not winning that matters, but that we get to play rugby, be together and have fun."

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