Esher Rugby Football Club is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Esher currently play in the third division of the English league system,

National League 1 National One, up until 2023 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 Lea ...

, following their promotion as champions from the

2023–24 National League 2 East The 2023–24 National League 2 East was the second season of the fourth-tier (east) of the English domestic rugby union competitions; one of three at this level. The others are National League 2 North and National League 2 West. Esher were cr ...

History

The club was formed in 1923 when four rugby enthusiasts agreed to start a club. When the league system was introduced in 1987 Esher were placed in

London 1 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 ...

, but were relegated in the first season and did not win promotion back to that league until 1993. Esher were first promoted to the national leagues system for the 1997–98 season, finishing fourth in

National League 2 South National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) was a level four league in the English rugby union system until the end of season 2021–22. It was one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, N ...

. They led for most of the season the following year but finished second, but won promotion in 1999–00. The club set a new points record when winning

National Division Two National One, up until 2023 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 Lea ...

in 2006–07 and were thus promoted. They were promoted into the second tier, the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...

after winning National League 1 in 2009–10. During this season they broke the world record when they beat

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

148 – 0. They played in the Championship for two seasons before being relegated back into National League 1 for the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season. Esher suffered another relegation at the end of the 2018–19 season, dropping down to National League 2 South, their lowest league level since the end of the 1990s. They would yo yo between the leagues over the next few years, being promoted as National 2 South champions in 2021–22 and then being relegated from National League 1 at the end of 2022–23 season. In 2020, the club announced a two-year agreement to share their ground with

side London Scottish starting in 2021–22. However it was later confirmed that Scottish would remain at

Richmond Athletic Ground Built in 1886, and located in Richmond upon Thames, London, the Athletic Ground is a rugby ground, managed by Richmond Athletic Association, home to RFU Championship side London Scottish and National League 1 side Richmond. The first team ...

. On 13 April 2024 Esher defeated Dorking to win

National League 2 East National League 2 East is a rugby union league at level four in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in London, South East England and the East of England. The remainder of England is covered by t ...

and return to National League 1 after being relegated the season before.

Current standings

Honours

Surrey Cup The Surrey Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Surrey Rugby Football Union. The original cup competition was first played for back in 1890, the inaugural winners being Lennox, but was discontinued in 1909, ...

winners (8): 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1994, 1996, 2011, 2012 * London Division 2 South champions: 1993–94 * London Division 1 champions: 1996–97 *

champions: 1999–00, 2021–22 *

(formerly National League 2) champions (2): 2006–07, 2009–10 *

champions: 2023–24

Notable former players

Neil Hallett Neil Hallett (born John W. Neil; 30 June 1924 – 5 December 2004) was a Belgian-born English actor. His stage name was taken from a combination of his proper surname, Neil, and his grandmother's maiden name, Hallet. He began his acting care ...

- scored 1,301 points for Esher in all competitions between 2004–10 to become one of the most prolific points scorer in tier 3 history. Also capped by the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

and

England Counties XV England Counties XV is a representative rugby union team, formed in 2002, open to English players who play in the County Championship and the third tier (and below) of the English rugby union system. Players from the Premiership and RFU Champi ...

as well as captaining

. * Ladislav Vondrasek - captain of the Czech Republic national team played for Esher between 2005–07.

References

External links

* {{Elmbridge Rugby clubs established in 1923 Rugby union clubs in Surrey 1923 establishments in England Borough of Elmbridge Esher