Eastern Counties 5 was an English level 13

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 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

taking part. Promoted teams used to move up to

Eastern Counties 4 Eastern Counties 4 was an English level 12 Rugby Union league that was divided into two regional divisions - north and south - with teams from Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex taking part. Promoted teams used to move up to the relevant ...

and relegation was to

Eastern Counties 6 Eastern Counties 6 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 5 and, as this was the lowest tier league in the Eastern C ...

until that division was cancelled at the end of the 1991–92 season. After ten seasons Eastern Counties 5 was cancelled at the end of the 1996–97 campaign.

Original teams

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

Dereham Dereham (), also known historically as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about west of the city of Norwich ...

* Haverhill & District *

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Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

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 ...

Norwich Union Norwich Union was the name of insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. On 29 April 2008, Aviva a ...

* Old Brentwoods *

Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

Sawston Sawston is a large village in Cambridgeshire in England, situated on the River Cam about south of Cambridge with a population of 7,271. The village has historical roots dating back to medieval times and has landmarks such as Sawston Hall, a ...

Swaffham Swaffham () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District and England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and in the U ...

Thurston Thurston may refer to: Places Antarctica * Thurston Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Thurston Island, off Ellsworth Land United Kingdom * Thurston, Suffolk, England, a village and parish ** Thurston railway station United States * Thurston County, Neb ...

Eastern Counties 5 honours

Eastern Counties 5 (1987–1993)

The original Eastern Counties 5 was a tier 12 league with promotion up to

and relegation down to

until that division was cancelled at the end of the 1991–92 season.

Eastern Counties 5 (1993–1996)

The creation of National 5 South meant that Eastern Counties 5 dropped from a tier 12 league to a tier 13 league for the years that National 5 South was active. Promotion continued to

and there was no relegation.

Eastern Counties 5 (1996–1997)

The cancellation of National 5 South at the end of the 1995–96 season meant that Eastern Counties 5 once more became a tier 12 league. Promotion continued to

and there was no relegation. At the end of the 1996–97 Eastern Counties 5 was discontinued and all teams transferred into Eastern Counties 4.

Number of league titles

* Bancroft (1) *

(1) * Haverhill & District (1) *

(1) *

May & Baker May & Baker was a British chemical company founded by John May and William Gerrard Baker in Wandsworth, London in 1839. They initially specialized in the manufacture of chemicals derived from mercury and bismuth. Over the years they diversified ...

(1) *

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 ...

(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) *

(1) * Ongar (1) *

(1)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastern Counties 5 Defunct rugby union leagues in England Rugby union in Essex Rugby union in Cambridgeshire Rugby union in Norfolk Rugby union in Suffolk

Original teams

Eastern Counties 5 honours

Eastern Counties 5 (1987–1993)

Eastern Counties 5 (1993–1996)

Eastern Counties 5 (1996–1997)

Number of league titles

See also

Notes

References