Burgess Hill Rugby Football Club or BHRFC, known as the Sussex All Blacks, is a
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
club in
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The team currently fields a 1st XV in the
Sussex Spitfire 1
Sussex 1 (known as Harvey's of Sussex 1 due to sponsorship reasons) is an English level 9 Rugby Union League. It is made up of teams predominantly from Sussex. Teams play home and away matches from September through to April. The league champ ...
league, and a 2nd XV in the Sussex 'Oranjeboom' 2 West league.
The team is based at the Southway Recreation ground, on Poveys Close,
Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. It ...
, which is owned and managed by
Mid Sussex District Council.
History
The club was formed in late 1961 and the first game was played towards the end of the 1961–2 season away to Hove Yeoman (3rd XV), winning the game 28–0. The first matches were played in a white and blue kit, but at the end of the season the club voted to move to an all black strip.
The first full season was in 1962-3 and the team was based at the Fairfield recreation ground, with social aspects being undertaken at the Kings Head public house. The social venue moved on to the Potters and then to the Junction Inn until a permanent club house was built in 1970 at the Southway recreation ground, where the club is based to this day.
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Performance
The team has consistently played in the Sussex RFU leagues, posting its highest ever league finish in the 2010–11 season, coming second in the Sussex Division 1, although missing out on promotion in the playoff against Sheppey Rugby Football Club.[ and the Maastrich International 10s tournament.]
Club Honours
1st Team:
*Sussex 2
Sussex 2 is an English level 10 Rugby Union League. It is run by the Sussex Rugby Football Union and contains teams predominantly from West Sussex. The twelve teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams mov ...
champions (2): 1997–98, 2002–03
*Sussex 1
Sussex 1 (known as Harvey's of Sussex 1 due to sponsorship reasons) is an English level 9 Rugby Union League. It is made up of teams predominantly from Sussex. Teams play home and away matches from September through to April. The league champi ...
champions: 2012–13
* Kent 1 v Sussex 1 promotion playoff winners: 2014–15
2nd Team:
* Sussex Bishop's Finger 3 East champions: 2012–13
External links
Official Burgess Hill RFC website
References
Rugby union teams in England
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
Rugby union in West Sussex
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