The Club was first formed in 1952 by the amalgamation of two of Poverty Bay’s oldest clubs Celtic and Kaiti City. Both of these clubs had lengthy histories with Celtic being formed in 1924 and Kaiti City in 1902, and both clubs had continued through the depression and war years despite other clubs folding at the time. The amalgamation came about simply because of declining numbers in both clubs. The Pirates name was agreed upon because committee members at the time felt that in fairness to both clubs, a new and fresh name was needed and the Pirates name also made the club eligible to attend the annual Pirates Easter tournaments. No clubrooms or floodlights were available when the club was first formed. Practise was either called straight after work during daylight hours or on the beach where players could at least see or feel the waves when it got dark. In 1954 a decision was made to build a clubhouse and fund raising commenced. This included holding dances in various halls around Gisborne as well as selling raffles. Sufficient funds were raised and the building of the clubrooms commenced. Labour costs were minimal due to the many tradesmen in the club and the project was completed in 1956 at the current site but nearer the road. Facilities at the clubroom was basically a gymnasium; for changing before and after the games and meeting afterwards for a couple of ales. These were the times of 6 o’clock closing and the liquor laws were extremely strict. Due to rising numbers, other parts were added to the building including an extra space for ‘get togethers’ after games and a verandah overlooking the Oval. The land where the Clubrooms stand was initially leased from the Council however in the 1970’s they offered the Club the option to buy and this was accepted and the land was purchased. The Club had a name change in the mid 70’s to attract students from Lytton High School after finishing school. The Club became Lytton Old Boys Pirates Football Club but after 10 years, a decision was taken in 1983 to revert back to Pirates Rugby Club. We are a whānau based club where the children are our most important focus - they are our tomorrow!