East Grinstead RFC is a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club based in

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. The 1st XV play in

Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex 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 (in locations that were historically part of Surrey), East Sussex and ...

(Level 7). The men's section also run 2 further sides, 2nd XV (playing in Counties 3 Sussex, level 9) and a Vets side. The rugby club also has a flourishing women's team who compete in Women's NC 2 South East. The first XV (G-Force) played in

National League 3 London & SE Regional 1 South East (formerly known as London & South East Premier and National League 3 London & South East) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When this division began in 1987 ...

for three seasons, until 2015–16, a level five league in the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England consi ...

. For season 2016–17 the club voluntarily dropped leagues to Sussex Canterbury Jack Division 2 following the resignation of the main sponsor..

History

The club was founded in 1929 by Brian Desmond. The current clubhouse at Saint Hill was built in 1997. The club was incorporated as a company in 2009. In the 2011–12 season, G-Force played in the

London 2 South East 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 ...

division (a level 7 division), which they won, gaining promotion to London 1 South. In 2012–13 season they were undefeated and won promotion to the national leagues. The club made news headlines in September 2020 when its coach, Metropolitan Police officer Matiu Ratana, was shot and killed while on duty in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

.Martin, H., and Loren, A.,
New Zealand-born police officer Matt Ratana shot dead in London was 'big in heart'
" ''

stuff.co.nz Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). As of early 2024, it is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff ...

'', 26 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020. In recent seasons both the men's 1st XV and 2nd XV have been able to go the entire season undefeated in all competitions, firstly achieved by the men's 1st XV in the 2016–17 season in Sussex 2. Then again in the 2021–22 season, winning 18 matches from 18 with leading try scorers F. Wood scoring 22 tries and G. Johnson scoring 13. The team was led by J. Andrews until he dislocated his shoulder earlier in the season passing the captains armband to M. Crawley-Moore. This was followed by the men's 2nd XV who secured an undefeated season in both league and cup in the 2023–24. They won 18 games from 18 with leading try scorers W. Roberts scoring 15 in all competitions and C. Taylor scoring 9. The team was led by captain B. Watkinson and team manager M. Burger. The men's recent success is closely linked to the coaching team of R. Morlen and S. Robertson who continued Matt's legacy in 2020.

Honours

1st Team: * Kent 1 v Sussex 1 promotion playoff winners: 2007–08 * London Division 3 South West champions: 2009–10 * London Division 2 East champions: 2011–12 *

RFU Intermediate Cup 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 howeve ...

winners: 2012 * London Division 1 South champions: 2012–13 *

Sussex 2 Sussex 2 is an English level 10 Rugby Union League. It is run by the Sussex Rugby Football Union and contains teams predominantly from West Sussex. The twelve teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams mov ...

champions: 2016–17 *

Sussex 1 Sussex 1 (known as Harvey's of Sussex 1 due to sponsorship reasons) is an English level 9 Rugby Union League. It is made up of teams predominantly from Sussex. Teams play home and away matches from September through to April. The league champi ...

champions: 2021–22 *

Counties 2 Sussex Counties 2 Sussex is a level 8 English Rugby Union League. It is made up of teams from Sussex with teams playing home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams move up to Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex but there is no relegat ...

champions: 2022–23 2nd Team: * Sussex Asahi Division 4 East champions: 2016–17 * Counties 4 Sussex East champions: 2023–24 * Sussex Junior Bowl Cup champions: 2023–24 3rd Team: * Sussex Asahi 2 East champions: 2012–13

Sunshine Sevens

Since the 1950s, East Grinstead have hosted an annual

Rugby Sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

tournament, which raises money for children's charities.

References

{{Rugby Union in Sussex East Grinstead Rugby union teams in England Rugby clubs established in 1929 1929 establishments in England Rugby union in West Sussex