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Middlesex is a historic county, a former post county, and a former administrative county in South East England; it is now mainly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouring ceremonial counties. The county's boundaries largely followed three rivers: the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hills formed the northern boundary with Hertfordshire. The county was the second smallest of the historic counties of England, after Rutland.
The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent and Surrey are usually included in definitions as, except Berkshire, they all border London. Other counties slightly further from London – such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, East Sussex and West Sussex – are not always regarded as home counties, although on occasion may be thought of as such due to their proximity to London and their connection to the London regional economy.
Counties 4 Surrey is a rugby union competition covering the English county of Surrey and parts of south-west London. It sits at the 10th tier of the English rugby union system. The teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams move up to Surrey 3 and relegated teams move down to Counties 5 Surrey. At the end of the 1999–2000 season, Surrey 4 was cancelled with teams automatically going up to Surrey 3 or dropping out of the league. After a hiatus of four seasons the division was reinstated.
Herts/Middlesex 3 was a tier 11 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the third division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that belonged to the historic county of Middlesex, with promoted teams moving up to Herts/Middlesex 2.
Herts/Middlesex 4 was a tier 12 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the fourth division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally belonged to the historic county of Middlesex. Promoted teams moved up to Herts/Middlesex 3 and since the cancellation of Herts/Middlesex 5 there was no relegation.
London 1 North was an English level 6, rugby union league for clubs in London and the south-east of England including sides from Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, north Greater London, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk. When this division began in 1987 it was known as London 2 North, changing to its final name ahead of the 2009–10 season.
Counties 2 Herts/Middlesex is a level 8 league within the RFU league structure and is made up of teams predominantly from north-west London and Hertfordshire. Promoted sides move up to Counties 1 Herts/Middlesex while relegated teams drop to Counties 3 Herts/Middlesex. Following the RFU's Adult Competition Review, from season 2022-23 it adopted its current name Counties 2 Herts/Middlesex.
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.
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.
Herts/Middlesex 2 is a tier 10 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the second division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally was encompassed by the historic county of Middlesex. Each year some of the clubs in this division also take part in the RFU Junior Vase - a level 9-12 national competition.
Counties 3 Herts/Middlesex is a tier 9 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally was encompassed by the historic county of Middlesex. Promotion is to Counties 2 Herts/Middlesex relegation is to the Middlesex RFU merit leagues.
Counties 1 Herts/Middlesex is a tier 7 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the top-tier competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally was encompassed by the historic county of Middlesex. It was previously known as London 2 North West. After the restructuring of the English rugby union system ahead of the 2022–23 season, the league was renamed to Counties 1 Herts/Middlesex.
Counties 2 Surrey is a level 8 English Rugby Union League. It is made up of teams predominantly from Surrey and south-west London. Teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams move up to Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex while relegated teams drop down to Counties 3 Surrey. It was previously known as Surrey 2 and a 10 team team league prior to the RFU Adult Competition Review.
The Hertfordshire Rugby Football Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the county of Hertfordshire in England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for Hertfordshire, and administers and organises rugby union clubs and competitions in the county. It also administers the Hertfordshire county rugby representative teams.
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.
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.
Hertfordshire 1 was an English level 10 Rugby Union league with teams from Hertfordshire and parts of north London taking part. Promoted teams used to move up to Herts/Middlesex 1 and relegation was to Hertfordshire 2 until that division was cancelled at the end of the 1989–90 season. The division was cancelled in at the end of the 1995–96 campaign after nine seasons due to the merger of the Hertfordshire and Middlesex regional leagues.
Herts/Middlesex 5 was a tier 13 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the fifth division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally belonged to the historic county of Middlesex. The league was split into two regional divisions - Herts/Middlesex 5 North and Herts/Middlesex 5 - with promoted teams moving up to Herts/Middlesex 4 and there was no relegation as it was the lowest level in the region. Herts/Middlesex 5 only lasted one season before being discontinued, with all teams being transferred into Herts/Middlesex 4.
Regional 2 Thames is an English level 6 rugby union regional league for rugby clubs in London and the south-east of England including sides from Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Surrey. It was created following the 2022 Adult Competition Review by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Amersham and Chiltern are the champions and are promoted to Regional 1 South East.
