 | ||
| Full name | Surrey Rugby Football Union | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | RFU | |
| Founded | 1879 | |
| Region | Surrey, parts of London | |
| President | Gary Ashburn | |
| ||
| 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:
The 2008–09 president of Surrey RFU is John Vale. [1]
There are currently 73 full member 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.
The Surrey RFU currently runs the following club competitions for club sides based in Surrey and parts of London:
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.
Hampshire Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the county of Hampshire, England. It represent clubs sides not just from Hampshire but also from the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, who take part in many of the competitions organized by the Hampshire RFU.
Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premiership Rugby. They were promoted to the league after they won National League 1 in 2014–15.
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 Surrey 4 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 Surrey 5. 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 Surrey 3 is a Rugby Union competition covering the English county of Surrey and parts of south-west London. It sits at the 9th 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 2 and relegated teams move down to Surrey 4.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
Neil Hallett is a retired English rugby union player who played at either full-back, centre or fly-half Neil is a coach at Wimbledon. An excellent kicker, Hallett is best known for his time at Esher where he scored over 1,300 points for the club in all competitions, and he is also one of the most prolific scorers in tier 3 history with over 1,400 league points scored from his time spent with at four different clubs including Esher and Ealing Trailfinders. As well as playing club rugby Hallett has also captained Surrey and been capped by the Barbarians and England Counties XV.
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.
The 2017–18 RFU Senior Vase is the 12th version of the RFU Senior Vase national cup competition for clubs at level 8 of the English rugby union system. The competition consists of 94 clubs divided into four regions. The winners of each region then advance to the national semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London at the end of the season, along with the RFU Intermediate Cup and RFU Junior Vase finals.
The Essex Rugby Football Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the county of Essex in England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for Essex, and administers and organises rugby union clubs and competitions in the county. It also administers the Essex county rugby representative teams.
Regional 2 South East 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 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. Following the RFU Adult Competition Review the league was decreased in size from 14 to 12 and the name changed once more.
