 | ||
| Full name | Surrey Rugby Football Union | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | RFU | |
| Founded | 1879 | |
| Region | Surrey, parts of London | |
| President | John Pownall | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
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.
The earliest recorded game played by a team purporting to represent Surrey under rugby union auspices was played before the Surrey County Club has been formed. This was played on 21 February 1878 against Middlesex and won by Surrey with a try scored by AS Trevor. [1]
On 22 December 1879, a meeting was held at the York Hotel, on Waterloo Road, South London (then in Surrey), at which the County Club was formed. Two fixtures were played that season. The first was against Middlesex which turned out to be an easy win for Surrey. However, their confidence was put into check when they were soundly beaten by Yorkshire. [1] Another match with Middlesex was played at Old Deer Park on 6 December 1880 with the result of each fifteen scoring one goal, in what was described as a ″splendidly-contested game″. [2]
County Championship finals (2 wins);
| Year | Winners | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | Yorkshire | Surrey | 4 – 16 | Yorkshire | Richmond | |
| 1938 | Lancashire | Lancashire | 24 – 12 | Surrey | Blundellsands | |
| 1960 | Warwickshire | Warwickshire | 9 – 6 | Surrey | Coundon Road, Coventry | |
| 1967 | (replay) | Surrey | 14 – 14 | Durham County | Twickenham | |
| Durham County | 0 – 0 | Surrey | Hartlepool | title shared after a drawn replay | ||
| 1971 | Surrey | Gloucestershire | 3 – 14 | Surrey | Kingsholm | |
County Championship Shield finals (4 wins);
| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Surrey | 29 - 18 | Somerset | [3] |
| 2011 | Dorset & Wilts | 43 – 22 | Surrey | [4] [5] |
| 2012 | Surrey | 43 – 12 | Leicestershire | [6] |
| 2013 | Surrey | 21 – 16 | Cumbria | [7] |
| 2014 | Surrey | 39 – 12 | Leicestershire | [8] |
County Championship Plate finals (1 win);
| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Surrey | 17 – 3 | Eastern Counties | [9] |
Many notable players have represented Surrey. The most appearances in County Championship games for the Surrey side have been by: [1]
Other famous players include:
There are currently 70 full member mens adult clubs affiliated with the Surrey RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level and are based in Surrey and parts of London. Many of the London-based sides are also members of the Middlesex RFU.
Defunct clubs
The Surrey RFU currently runs the following club competitions for club sides based in Surrey and parts of London:
Post the 2022 Adult Competition Review
Prior to the 2022 Adult Competition Review
East Surrey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Claire Coutinho, a Conservative who formerly served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The seat covers an affluent area in the English county of Surrey.
The Old Alleynian Football Club is an open rugby union club founded as a team for the old boys of Dulwich College, themselves known as Old Alleynians. Founded in 1898, it is one of the oldest clubs in London and was the last of London's old boys clubs to become a fully open club. It is notable not only for its longevity, but also for the prominence it once attained on the club circuit and for the number of eminent players that have been members of the club, some of whom gained their international caps whilst at the club.
The Streatham-Croydon Rugby Football Club, is a rugby union club, founded in 1871, based at Frant Road, Thornton Heath, in the London Borough of Croydon, south London. Streatham-Croydon currently play in Counties Surrey 4. The club's teams play in cardinal shirts, white shorts and cardinal and white hooped socks.
The Surrey Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Surrey Rugby Football Union. The original cup competition was first played for back in 1890, the inaugural winners being Lennox, but was discontinued in 1909, having been held intermittently over 20 seasons, due to cup competitions being considerable 'undesirable'. The cup was reintroduced around 50 years later for the 1970–71 season, with the first winners of the modern competition being Guildford & Godalming. It is the most important rugby union cup competition in Surrey, ahead of the Surrey Trophy, Surrey Shield and Surrey Bowl.
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.
Counties 3 Surrey is a rugby union competition covering the English county of Surrey and parts of south-west London. It sits at the ninth tier of the English rugby union system. The teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams move up to Counties 2 Surrey and relegated teams move down to Counties 4 Surrey.
London 2 South West is an English level 7 Rugby Union League. When this division began in 1987 it was known as London 3 South West, changing to its current name ahead of the 2009–10 season. The division is made up of teams predominantly from south-west London, Surrey, and Hampshire. The 12 teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Each year all clubs in the division are also invited to take part in the RFU Intermediate Cup - a level 7 national competition.
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.
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.
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.
London 3 South West is an English rugby union league at the eighth level of club rugby union in England involving sides based in Hampshire, Surrey and south-west London. Promoted clubs move into London 2 South West. Relegated clubs move into either Surrey 1 or Hampshire Premier depending on their location, with sides coming up from these divisions, although only 1st XV clubs are allowed in London 3 South West. Each year all clubs in the division also take part in the RFU Senior Vase - a level 8 national competition.
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.
Surrey 1 is a level 9 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 London 3 South West with the league winners going straight up and the runners up playing against the runners up from Hampshire Premier. Relegated teams drop to Surrey 2.
The Surrey Shield is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organised by the Surrey Rugby Football Union. It was introduced in 1998 and the inaugural winners were Cobham. It is the third most important rugby union cup competition in Surrey, behind the Surrey Cup and Surrey Trophy but ahead of the Surrey Bowl.
The Surrey Bowl is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Surrey Rugby Football Union. It was introduced in 2006 and the inaugural winners were Merton. It is the fourth most important rugby union cup competition in Surrey, behind the Surrey Cup, Surrey Trophy and Surrey Shield.
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.
King's College School Old Boys RFC is a rugby union club founded in 1907 for the alumni of King's College School, Wimbledon. In recent years the club has used the name King's Rugby which reflects the open nature of the club. The 1XV currently compete in Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex at level 7 of the RFU pyramid whilst the 2XV, U22s and veterans play in the Surrey Rugby reserve leagues.
Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex is an English level 7 rugby union regional league for rugby clubs in London and the south-east of England including sides from Surrey, Greater London, East Sussex and West Sussex. Administration of the leagues is divided between Surrey Rugby, Sussex Rugby and the London & SE RFU.
