Eastern Counties 4 was an English level 12

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 ...

league that was divided into two regional divisions - north and south - with teams from

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

taking part. Promoted teams used to move up to the relevant division in

Eastern Counties 3 Eastern Counties 3 is an English level 11 Rugby Union league, currently divided into 3 regional leagues (north, south, west). Promoted teams moved up to the relevant regional divisions in Eastern Counties 2 while since the abolition of Eastern ...

and relegation was to

Eastern Counties 5 Eastern Counties 5 was an English level 13 Rugby Union league with teams from Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk taking part. Promoted teams used to move up to Eastern Counties 4 and relegation was to Eastern Counties 6 until that divis ...

until that division was cancelled at the end of the 1996–97 season. The league was originally abolished in 1999–00 due to East Counties restructuring and teams moved up to higher divisions, only to be reinstated in 2014-15 due to further league restructuring that allowed more 2nd and 3rd teams to take part. It was abolished again at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Original teams

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

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 at the junction of several local roads, including the A148 from King's Lynn to Cromer, the A1067 to N ...

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...

* Gothic * Mayfield Old Boys * NELPOB * Old Bealonians * Old Palmerians *

Rayleigh Rayleigh may refer to: Science *Rayleigh scattering *Rayleigh–Jeans law *Rayleigh waves *Rayleigh (unit), a unit of photon flux named after the 4th Baron Rayleigh *Rayl, rayl or Rayleigh, two units of specific acoustic impedance and characte ...

Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. o ...

East Counties 4 honours

Eastern Counties 4 (1987–1993)

The original Eastern Counties 4 was a tier 11 league with promotion up to

and relegation down to

Eastern Counties 4 (1993–1996)

The creation of National 5 South meant that Eastern Counties 4 dropped from a tier 11 league to a tier 12 league for the years that National 5 South was active. Promotion and relegation continued to

and

respectively.

Eastern Counties 4 (1996–1997)

The cancellation of National 5 South at the end of the 1995–96 season meant that Eastern Counties 4 reverted to being a tier 11 league. Promotion continued to

, while the cancellation of

at the end of the 1996–97 meant there would be no relegation.

Eastern Counties 4 (1997–2000)

Ahead of the 1997–98 season Eastern Counties 4 was split into two regional divisions - north and south - with both divisions remaining as tier 11 leagues. Promotion continued to

- now also regionalised into north and south divisions - while the cancellation of

at the end of the 1996–97 season meant there was no relegation. At the end of the 1999–00 season Eastern Counties 4 was cancelled and the majority of teams transferred into Eastern Counties 3.

Eastern Counties 4 (2014–2017)

After an absence of thirteen years, Eastern Counties 4 was re-introduced as a tier 12 league ahead of the 2014–15 season, split into two regional divisions - north and south. Promotion was to one of the regional divisions in

- north, south or west - and there was no relegation. Eastern Counties 4 was cancelled for the second time at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Number of league titles

* Haverhill & District (2) * Bancroft (1) *

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is located along the A145 r ...

(1) *

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon in Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, east of the City of London. The town was founded in the 13th century by the Stratford Langthorne Abbey, Abbot of West Ham, ...

(1) *

Brightlingsea Brightlingsea (, traditionally , , ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the Tendring District, Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, Essex, River Colne, on ...

(1) * Campion (1) * Colchester IV (1) * Fakenham II (1) *

(1) * Hadleigh (1) * Hadleigh II (1) *

London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and London Borough of Tow ...

(1) *

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

(1) *

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

(1) * Old Brentwoods (1) * Southwold II (1) * Swaffham II (1) * Thames Sports (1) * Thetford II (1) *

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland District, 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 ...

(1) *

Witham Witham () is a town and civil parish in the Braintree district, in the county of Essex, England. In the 2011 census, it had a population of 25,353. It is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands on the Roman road between the ...

(1)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern Counties 4 Defunct rugby union leagues in England Rugby union in Essex Rugby union in Cambridgeshire Rugby union in Norfolk Rugby union in Suffolk

Original teams

East Counties 4 honours

Eastern Counties 4 (1987–1993)

Eastern Counties 4 (1993–1996)

Eastern Counties 4 (1996–1997)

Eastern Counties 4 (1997–2000)

Eastern Counties 4 (2014–2017)

Number of league titles

See also

Notes

References