Eastern Counties 1 is an English level 9
Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
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 (split into three regional divisions - north, south, west). Teams in this league tend to be based in
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, 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 North ...
,
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 Nort ...
or
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...
. 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 G ...
used to take part until the 2003–04 season when they formed a new league - with
Essex 1
Essex 1 (known as Essex/Canterbury Jack 1 for sponsorship reasons) is an English Rugby Union league at the ninth tier of the domestic competition and features teams from Essex and parts of north-east London. Promoted clubs tend to move up to L ...
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, altho ...
- 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
London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nort ...
)
*
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
Eastern Counties 2)
*Thurston (promoted from
Eastern Counties 2)
*Wisbech (relegated from
London 3 North East
London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nort ...
)
*Woodbridge
*Wymondham (relegated from
London 3 North East
London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nort ...
)
Participating Clubs 2013-14
*Broadland - Great Yarmouth (promoted from
Eastern Counties 2)
*Crusaders
*Ely
*Harwich & Dovercourt
*Ipswich Y.M.
*Mersea Island
*Newmarket
*Swaffham (promoted from
Eastern Counties 2)
*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 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. Cambridge beca ...
*
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 ...
*
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to:
Places Ireland
* Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely
* Ely Place, Dublin, a street
United Kingdom
* Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England
** Ely Cathedral
** Ely Rural District, a ...
*
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
London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nort ...
and relegation down to
Eastern Counties 2.
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
London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nort ...
and
Eastern Counties 2 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
London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nort ...
and
Eastern Counties 2 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
Eastern Counties 2 - 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
London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nort ...
(formerly London 4 North East) and relegation to
Eastern Counties 2, 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
London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nort ...
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
Eastern Counties 2 (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
Essex 1 (known as Essex/Canterbury Jack 1 for sponsorship reasons) is an English Rugby Union league at the ninth tier of the domestic competition and features teams from Essex and parts of north-east London. Promoted clubs tend to move up to L ...
for the third and final promotion place to
London 3 North East
London 3 North East was an English rugby union league that was the eighth level of club rugby union in England and was available to sides from north east London, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Promoted clubs move into London 2 Nort ...
. 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 at the end of the 2016–17 season the playoff has been cancelled.
Number of league titles
*
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, ...
(3)
*
Beccles
Beccles ( ) is a market town
A market town is a Human settlement, settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular marketplace, market; this d ...
(2)
*
Lowestoft & Yarmouth (2)
*
Mersea Island (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 t ...
(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
__NOTOC__
''Cantabrigian'' (often shortened to ''Cantab'') is an adjective that is used in two meanings: 1) to refer to what is of or pertaining to Cambridge University, located in Cambridge, United Kingdom;http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona ...
(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 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 is located north-east of Lond ...
(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. Colc ...
(1)
*
Diss
Diss or DISS may refer to:
*Diss, Alberta, a place in Canada
*Diss, Norfolk, a market town in England, United Kingdom
**Diss railway station
**Diss Rugby Club
** Diss Town F.C.
*Diss grass, a Mediterranean grass
*Diss (music), a song whose primary ...
(1)
*
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to:
Places Ireland
* Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely
* Ely Place, Dublin, a street
United Kingdom
* Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England
** Ely Cathedral
** Ely Rural District, a ...
(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 Gre ...
(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 Norwi ...
(1)
*
Hadleigh (1)
*
Harlow (1)
*
Maldon (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 a ...
(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 (8& ...
(1)
See also
*
London & SE Division RFU
*
Eastern Counties RU
*
Essex RFU
*
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 cons ...
*
Rugby union in England
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern Counties 1
9
Rugby union in Essex
Rugby union in Cambridgeshire
Rugby union in Norfolk
Rugby union in Suffolk