East Grinstead RFC was 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 based in

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. The first XV (G-Force) played in

National League 3 London & SE Regional 1 South East (up until 2022-23 known as London & South East Premier and up until 2016-17 known as 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. ...

for three seasons, until 2015–16, a level five league in the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

. For season 2016–17 the club has voluntary dropped leagues to Sussex Canterbury Jack Division 2 following the resignation of the main sponsor. In addition to G-Force, East Grinstead run a second XV "Storm", a women's XV, and a range of junior and senior teams.

History

The club was founded in 1929 by Brian Desmond. The current clubhouse at Saint Hill was built in 1997. The club was incorporated as a company in 2009. In the 2011–12 season, G-Force played in the

London 2 South East London 2 South East is an English level 7 Rugby Union League. When this division began in 1987 it was known as London 3 South East, changing to its current name ahead of the 2009–10 season. The division is made up of teams predominantly from ...

division (a level 7 division), which they won, gaining promotion to London 1 South. In 2012–13 season they were undefeated and won promotion to the national leagues. The club made news headlines in September 2020 when its coach, Metropolitan Police officer Matiu Ratana, was shot and killed while on duty in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

.Martin, H., and Loren, A.,
New Zealand-born police officer Matt Ratana shot dead in London was 'big in heart'
" ''

stuff.co.nz Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). It is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff w ...

'', 26 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.

Honours

1st Team: * Kent 1 v Sussex 1 promotion playoff winners: 2007–08 * London Division 3 South West champions: 2009–10 * London Division 2 East champions: 2011–12 *

RFU Intermediate Cup The RFU Intermediate Cup is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by teams at level 7 of the English rugby union system. While the competition is a national one, it is howeve ...

winners: 2012 * London Division 1 South champions: 2012–13 * Sussex 2 champions: 2016–17 *

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: 2021–22 2nd Team: *

Sussex Asahi Division 4 East Sussex Asahi Division 4 East is an English level 12 Rugby Union League. It is run by the Sussex Rugby Football Union and contains teams predominantly from east Sussex and is the counterpart to Sussex Late Red Division 4 West which is for tea ...

champions: 2016–17 3rd Team: * Sussex Asahi 2 East champions: 2012–13

Sunshine Sevens

Since the 1950s, East Grinstead have hosted an annual Rugby Sevens tournament, which raises money for children's charities.

References

{{Rugby Union in Sussex East Grinstead Rugby union teams in England Rugby clubs established in 1929 1929 establishments in England Rugby union in West Sussex