Eastern Counties 1 is an English level 9

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

League. From the 2017-18 promoted teams move up to the newly created London 3 Eastern Counties with the league champions going up automatically, while relegated teams drop down to

Eastern Counties 2 Eastern Counties 2 is an English level 10 Rugby Union League - currently divided into 3 regional divisions (north, south, west). Promoted teams move up to Eastern Counties 1 with teams in this league tending to be from Cambridgeshire, Norfolk ...

(split into three regional divisions - north, south, west). Teams in this league tend to be based in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

or Suffolk. In the past teams from

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

used to take part until the 2003–04 season when they formed a new league - with Essex 1 being the top division. Each year some of the 1st XV clubs in this division also take part in the

RFU Junior Vase 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, alth ...

- a level 9-12 national competition. The division was split across three geographic areas (North, South & West) for the 2017-18 as part of an RFU reorganization of the London & South East regional league. The top two teams from each Area Division shall enter the Championship Phase (Shield) to determine the final rankings for promotion to London 3 Eastern Counties. Other teams will play in the Plate, Bowl and Salver competitions, depending on league position, with clubs finishing bottom of the Salver being relegated to Eastern Counties 2.

Participating Clubs 2021-22

North

* Beccles * Diss II * Lowestoft & Yarmouth * North Walsham II * Norwich II * Southwold II * Watton * Wymondham II

South

*Braintree II *Brightlingsea * Colchester III *Hadleigh *Mistley *Ipswich II *Stowmarket II *Sudbury II

West

*Bury St Edmunds III * Cambridge III *Cantabrigian II *Cottenham Renegades *Haverhill and District * Mildenhall & Red Lodge * Shelford III

Season 2020–21

On 30 October the RFU announced that a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (

National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning Eastern Counties 1 was not contested.

Participating Clubs 2019-20

North

* Diss II * Holt * North Walsham II * Norwich II * Norwich Medics * Norwich Union * Watton * Wymondham II

South

*Braintree II * Colchester III *Hadleigh *Halstead Templars *Mersea Island *Ipswich II *Stowmarket II *Sudbury II

West

*Bury St Edmunds III * Cambridge III *Cantabrigian II *Cottenham Renegades *Newmarket *Saffron Walden II * Shelford III

Participating Clubs 2018-19

North

* Beccles * Diss II * Lowestoft & Yarmouth * North Walsham II * Norwich II * Norwich Medics * Norwich Union * Wymondham II

South

*Brightlingsea * Bury St Edmunds III * Colchester III *Hadleigh *Halstead Templars *Harwich & Dovercourt II *Ipswich II *Sudbury II

West

* Cambridge III *Cantabrigian II *Cottenham Renegades *Ely II *March Bears *Newmarket *Saffron Walden II * Shelford III

Participating Clubs 2017-18

* Beccles (North) * Brightlingsea (South) * Bury St. Edmunds III (West) * Cambridge Adventurers (West) * Cantabrigian II (West) * Colchester III (South) * Cottenham Renegades (West) * Diss II (North) * Fakenham (North) * Great Yarmouth-Broadland (North) * Hadleigh (South) * Haverhill & District (West) * Ipswich Magpies (South) * Ipswich Y.M. (South) * Mistley (South) * North Walsham II (North) * Norwich Medics (North) * Norwich Union (North) * Saffron Walden II (West) * Shelford III (West) * Stowmarket II (South) * Sudbury Talbots (South) * Swaffham (North) * Thurston (West)

Participating Clubs 2016-17

*Beccles (relegated from London 3 North East) * Bury St Edmunds 3rd XV * Colchester III *Crusaders *Ipswich Y.M. *Newmarket *Thetford *Thurston *Wisbech *Woodbridge *Wymondham

Participating Clubs 2015-16

*Crusaders *Ely *Ipswich Y.M. *Mersea Island *Newmarket *Swaffham *Thetford *Thurston *Wisbech *Woodbridge *Wymondham

Participating Clubs 2014-15

*Crusaders *Ely *Ipswich Y.M. *Mersea Island *Newmarket *Southwold *Swaffham *Thetford (promoted from

) *Thurston (promoted from

) *Wisbech (relegated from London 3 North East) *Woodbridge *Wymondham (relegated from London 3 North East)

Participating Clubs 2013-14

*Broadland - Great Yarmouth (promoted from

) *Crusaders *Ely *Harwich & Dovercourt *Ipswich Y.M. *Mersea Island *Newmarket *Swaffham (promoted from

) *West Norfolk *Woodbridge

Participating Clubs 2012-13

*Crusaders *Ely *Hadleigh *Harwich & Dovercourt *Ipswich Y.M. *Mersea Island *Newmarket *Southwold *Thurston *West Norfolk *Woodbridge *Wymondham

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams: *

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

* Ely * Harlow * Lowestoft & Yarmouth * Met Police Chigwell * Redbridge * Rochford Hundred * Romford & Gidea Park * Shelford *

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

Eastern Counties 1 honours

Eastern Counties 1 (1987–1993)

The original Eastern Counties 1 was a tier 8 league with promotion up to London 3 North East and relegation down to

Eastern Counties 1 (1993–1996)

The creation of National 5 South meant that Eastern Counties 1 dropped from a tier 8 league to a tier 9 league for the years that National 5 South was active. Promotion and relegation continued to London 3 North East and

respectively.

Eastern Counties 1 (1996–2000)

The cancellation of National 5 South at the end of the 1995–96 season meant that Eastern Counties 1 reverted to being a tier 8 league. Promotion and relegation continued to London 3 North East and

respectively.

Eastern Counties 1 (2000–2009)

The introduction of London 4 North East ahead of the 2000–01 season meant Eastern Counties 1 dropped to become a tier 9 league with promotion to this new division. Relegation continued to

- split into north and south regional divisions between 2000 and 2003.

Eastern Counties 1 (2009–2017)

Eastern Counties 1 remained a tier 9 league despite national restructuring by the RFU. Promotion was to London 3 North East (formerly London 4 North East) and relegation to

, which split into three regional divisions - north, south, west - from the 2014–15 season onward.

Eastern Counties 1 (2017–present)

The cancellation of London 3 North East and subsequent introduction of London 3 Eastern Counties ahead of the 2017–18 meant that Eastern Counties 1 remained a tier 9 league with promotion to this new division. Relegation continued to the regionalised

(north, south, west).

Promotion play-offs

Between 2004 and 2017 there was a play-off between the runners-up of Eastern Counties 1 and Essex 1 for the third and final promotion place to London 3 North East. The team with the superior league record had home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2016–17 season the Essex 1 teams had been the most successful with seven wins to the Eastern Counties 1 teams five; and the home team has won promotion on eight occasions compared to the away teams four. Since the introduction of London 3 Eastern Counties and

London 3 Essex London 3 Essex is an English rugby union league that is at the eighth level of the English rugby union system and is available to club sides based in Essex and north-east London. Promoted teams move up to London 2 North East with league champ ...

at the end of the 2016–17 season the playoff has been cancelled.

Number of league titles

(3) *

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fl ...

(2) * Lowestoft & Yarmouth (2) *

Mersea Island Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word ''meresig'', meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological. The island is s ...

(2) *

Wymondham Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England, south-west of Norwich off the A11 road to London. The River Tiffey runs through. The parish, one of Norfolk's largest, includes rural areas to ...

(2) *

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

(1) * Bury St Edmunds (1) * Cantabrigian (1) *

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ( ...

(1) *

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It ...

(1) *

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

(1) * Diss (1) * Ely (1) *

Eton Manor Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is a sports and leisure venue located in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest, to the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is regularly used for international field hockey fixtures by both the Great ...

(1) *

Fakenham Fakenham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, about north west of Norwich. The town is the junction of several local roads, including the A148 from King's Lynn to Cromer, the A1067 to Norw ...

(1) * Hadleigh (1) * Harlow (1) *

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced ...

(1) * Met Police Chigwell (1) * Newmarket (1) * Rochford Hundred (1) *

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

(1) *

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is ...

(1) *

Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 trunk road between Bury St Edm ...

(1) * West Norfolk (1) *

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...

(1)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern Counties 1 9 Rugby union in Essex Rugby union in Cambridgeshire Rugby union in Norfolk Rugby union in Suffolk

Participating Clubs 2021-22

North

South

West

Season 2020–21

Participating Clubs 2019-20

North

South

West

Participating Clubs 2018-19

North

South

West

Participating Clubs 2017-18

Participating Clubs 2016-17

Participating Clubs 2015-16

Participating Clubs 2014-15

Participating Clubs 2013-14

Participating Clubs 2012-13

Original teams

Eastern Counties 1 honours

Eastern Counties 1 (1987–1993)

Eastern Counties 1 (1993–1996)

Eastern Counties 1 (1996–2000)

Eastern Counties 1 (2000–2009)

Eastern Counties 1 (2009–2017)

Eastern Counties 1 (2017–present)

Promotion play-offs

Number of league titles

See also

Notes

References