Esher Rugby Football Club is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

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 ...

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

National League 1 National One (last season 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 Leagu ...

, following the club's promotion from

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, ...

at the end of the 2021–22 season.

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 (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. ...

, 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

. 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 (last season 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 Leagu ...

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 ...

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

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

148 – 0. They played in the Championship for two seasons before being relegated back into National League 1 for the 2012–13 season. In 2020, the club announced a 2-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 London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, London, the Athletic Ground is a rugby ground, managed by Richmond Athletic Association, home to RFU Championship, Green King IPA Championship sides Rich ...

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

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 appeared in many Briti ...

- 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 (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

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

Official site
{{Elmbridge English rugby union teams Rugby clubs established in 1923 Rugby union clubs in Surrey 1923 establishments in England