Esher Rugby Football Club is an English

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.

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

Current standings

Honours

* Surrey Cup 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 * National League 2 East 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 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