although the north gloucestershire combination was not officially formed until early in the 20th century, rugby union was already popular in the region with gloucester rugby having come into existence in 1873. gloucester were then, as now, the biggest club in the county, but still needed the support of junior club sides to bolster their team in the case of injuries and other such selection crisis's. a solution of sorts was to introduce a competition for local club sides to help develop rugby union in the city and increase the amount and quality of potential players that could one day represent gloucester. the first cup competition was introduced in 1893–94 and was known simply as the 'challenge cup'. early records of this challenge cup are scarce but it the early competition format appears to be that of a league, with the teams taking part considered part of the gloucester league, even though sides from other towns such as stroud and cheltenham took part. of the first clubs to take part in the new competition, only gordon league and painswick are still members of the north gloucestershire combination, although other club sides such as stroud are still active, albeit in neighbouring combinations.