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| Full name | Kent Rugby Football Union | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | RFU | |
| Founded | 1880 | |
| Region | Kent, parts of London | |
| Chairman | Roger Clarke | |
| President | John Nunn | |
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| Official website | ||
| www | ||
The Kent Rugby Football Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the county of Kent in England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for Kent, and administers and organises rugby union clubs and competitions in the county. It also administers the Kent county rugby representative teams.
One of the oldest unions in the country, the Kent Rugby Football Union was founded in 1880. [1] In 1891, the Kent RFU created the Kent Cup as a county-wide competition for their members, one of the first few county cups established in England and the second in southern England after the Hampshire Rugby Football Union. [2] They have a rich history in the men's senior County Championship since the early years of the competition, finishing as one of the regional winners in 1892, and became outright winners for the first time in 1897. [3] They have gone on to win the top flight competition several more times, most recently in 2023.
In 2010, the Kent RFU were brought into national attention following an incident in a Kent Cup match between Maidstone and Gravesend where a Gravesend player was blinded in one eye as a result of eye-gouging. [4] Despite a statement from the County Chairman that there would be a long ban for the perpetrator, [5] there were no charges from either the Kent RFU, The RFU or Kent Police due to lack of evidence available. [4] As a result, instead, Maidstone were fined £2,000 and deducted 50 league points for failing to identify the player. [6]
In modern times Kent have yo-yoed between Division 1 and Division 2 of the championships, with the most recent silverware claimed being the 2014 Plate when the defeated Durham 30–23 at Twickenham Stadium. [3] [7] [8] They also run regular county tours overseas including to New Zealand in 2012 [9] and to Argentina in 2016. [10]
Kent senior men's county side currently play in the Bill Beaumont Division 1 South – the top level of the County Championships, having been promoted despite losing 33–27 to East Midlands in the 2016 Plate final. [11] [12]
Honours:
There are currently 56 clubs affiliated with the Kent RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. The majority of clubs are based in Kent, but there are also clubs from south-east London and even East Sussex.
The Kent RFU currently runs the following competitions for club sides based in Kent and parts of south-east London, which they also administer discipline for: [5]
The Sussex Rugby Football Union is the society responsible for rugby union in the county of Sussex, England and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union.
London 2 South East is an English level 7 Rugby Union League. When this division began in 1987 it was known as London 3 South East, changing to its current name ahead of the 2009–10 season. The division is made up of teams predominantly from south-east London, Kent, East Sussex and West Sussex. The twelve teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Each year all clubs in the division also take part in the RFU Intermediate Cup - a level 7 national competition.
Regional 2 South East, previously known as London 1 South, is an English level 6 rugby union regional league for rugby clubs in London and the south-east of England including sides from East Sussex, south Essex, south Greater London, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex. When this division began in 1987 it was known as London 2 South, changing to London 1 South ahead of the 2009–10 season. It used to be the feeder league for London & South East Premier into which the champion team each season was promoted whilst the second-placed team entered a play-off against the runner-up of London 1 North. Three teams were relegated into either London 2 South East and London 2 South West depending on their location. The league was renamed as Regional 2 South East for the 2022-23 season and moved from a 14 team, to a 12 team competition. The champion would be promoted to either Regional 1 South Central or Regional 1 South East depending on geographical location, whilst relegated sides would go to either Counties 1 Kent or Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex.
The Surrey County Rugby Football Union is the union responsible for rugby union in the county of Surrey, England, and is one of the constituent bodies of the national Rugby Football Union having been formed in 1879.
Maidstone Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Maidstone, Kent. The men's first XV currently compete in Counties 2 Kent - a league at the eighth tier of the English rugby union system. The club has thriving mini and youth sections, with enjoyment and development a priority. There are three men's senior teams, catering for all ages and abilities, along with a senior women's team.
Middlesex Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Middlesex, England; Middlesex is a historic county of England that covers areas in the ceremonial counties of Greater London, Surrey and Hertfordshire. The historic county is still in use when referring to sport, and some businesses in the area. Middlesex RFU was originally created as the Middlesex County Rugby Club but within six years was being referred to as the Middlesex County Rugby Football Union and is now known simply as Middlesex Rugby.
The North Midlands Rugby Football Union is a governing body for rugby union in part of The Midlands, England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union for the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and the Greater Birmingham area.
The Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 is an annual rugby union competition in England between teams representing English counties. It was formed in 2002 as the County Championship Shield - changing to Plate by 2010 and then to Bill Beaumont Division 2 by 2017. Division 2 is contested for by second tier teams in the RFU County Championship. Each county draws its players from rugby union clubs from the third tier and below of the English rugby union league system.
The 2015 Bill Beaumont Cup, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division One, was the 115th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organized by the RFU for the top tier English counties. Each county drew its players from rugby union clubs from the third tier and below of the English rugby union league system. The counties were divided into two regional pools with the winners of each pool meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New counties to the competition were the two finalists from the 2014 County Championship Plate – Kent (winners) and Durham County (runners-up) who replaced North Midlands and Northumberland. Lancashire were the defending champions.
The 2014 County Championship Plate, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division 2, was the 13th version of the annual English rugby union, County Championship organized by the RFU for the tier 2 English counties. Each county drew its players from rugby union clubs from the third tier and below of the English rugby union league system. The counties were divided into two regional pools (north/south) with three teams in the north division and three in the south, with the winners of each pool meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. New teams to the division included Durham County and Kent who were relegated from the 2013 Bill Beaumont Cup.
The Middlesex RFU Senior Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organised by the Middlesex Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 1971–72 season, with the inaugural winners being Saracens. It is the most important cup competition organised by the Middlesex RFU ahead of the Senior Bowl and Senior Vase. The cup was originally open to all sides in Middlesex, including such illustrious names as Harlequins, Saracens and Wasps, but after the 1986–87 season and the incorporation of the Courage Leagues the cup was for limited to the smaller clubs in the county.
The Kent Rugby Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organised by the Kent Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 1890-91 season, with the inaugural winners being R.N.C., Greenwich. It was discontinued after the 1926-27 season, but reintroduced during the 1969–70 season, the winners in that year were Sidcup.
The Kent Shield is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Kent Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 2015-16 season, with the inaugural winners being Aylesford Bulls. It is the second most important rugby union cup competition in Kent, behind the Kent Cup but ahead of the Kent Vase, Kent Plate and Kent Salver.
The Kent Vase is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Kent Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 2001-02 season, with the inaugural winners being Bromley. It is the third most important rugby union cup competition in Kent, behind the Kent Cup and Kent Shield but ahead of the Kent Plate and Kent Salver.
The Kent Plate is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organised by the Kent Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 2001–02 season, with the inaugural winners being Bromley. It is the fourth most important rugby union cup competition in Kent, behind the Kent Cup, Kent Shield and Kent Vase, but ahead of the Kent Salver.
The Kent Salver is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Kent Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 2005-06 season, with the inaugural winners being Guy's Hospital. It is the fifth most important rugby union cup competition in Kent, behind the Kent Cup, Kent Shield, Kent Vase and Kent Plate.
The Durham County Rugby Football Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the historic county of Durham in England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for Durham County, it administers and organises rugby union clubs, competitions and Durham county rugby representative teams.
The Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire & Derbyshire Rugby Football Union is a governing body for rugby union in part of The Midlands, England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union for the counties of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire and Derbyshire, with each county also having its own sub-unions with additional club cup competitions. As well as overseeing club rugby, the Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire RFU also administers the county representative teams.
The RFU Intermediate Cup is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by teams at level 7 of the English rugby union system. While the competition is a national one, it is however split into regions until the semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London. It was first contested in 1997. Presently, the RFU Intermediate Cup is the third most important club cup competition in England, behind the Premiership Rugby Cup and RFU Championship Cup.
The RFU Junior Vase is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union, which has been competed for since 1990. It is mostly contested by 1st XV teams at level 9 of the English rugby union system, although sides as low as level 12 or even outside the league system can sometimes enter. The competition is a national one, but split into regions until the national semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London. Presently, the RFU Junior Vase is the fifth most important club cup competition in England, behind the Premiership Rugby Cup, RFU Championship Cup, RFU Intermediate Cup and RFU Senior Vase.
