Hampshire Rugby Football Union is the governing body for

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 ...

in the county of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

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 ...

. It represent clubs sides not just from Hampshire but also from the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

and the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, who take part in many of the competitions organized by the Hampshire RFU.

History

At the initiative of the

Trojans Rugby Club The Trojans Club based at Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh, Hampshire was formed in 1874, initially as a rugby union club. The men's rugby 1st XV currently play in London 3 South West - a league at the eighth level of the English rugby union system, ...

a meeting was held on 13 April 1883 to discuss the formation of "The Hampshire County Rugby Football Union". In this inaugural season at least seven Trojans represented the County. The United Services proved to be the other early mainstay of the county side. In 1901 County activities had ceased. Once again, the Trojans, along with

United Services Portsmouth RFC United Services Portsmouth RFC is now 140 years old and once featured amongst the top clubs of English rugby. With a proud history and boasting of many former international, county and inter-service players. Currently re-building from the diffi ...

convened a meeting in 1910 at the Trojans Club for the purpose of forming a Rugby Football Union in Hampshire. Since then, with a notably strong side in the 1930s (drawn largely from the United Services) the county has won the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

twice, featuring in four finals. Their last appearance in the County Championship final was in 1962 although they did play in the County Championship Plate final in 2008 at Aldershot, beating Leicestershire 22-12.

County side

Honours

The county side has been in the county championship cup final four times, winning the title on two occasions. They have also played in the Plate(shield) -now named Bill Beaumont County Championship final three times, winning on two appearances. Division 3 winners twice, runner up Division 2 final.

Notable players for the County side

Jonny Wilkinson Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and RC Toulonnais, Toulon and represente ...

* Arthur Gould

Affiliated clubs

There are currently 44 clubs affiliated with the Hampshire RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. The majority of clubs are in

but a number are based in the

or the

as well as other counties such as

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. ...

. * Aldershot & Fleet * Alresford *

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

Bognor Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

Chineham Chineham ( ) is a civil parish on the outskirts of Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. It is situated about northeast of central Basingstoke, just north of the A33 road between Basingstoke and Reading. Demography Population The population of Ch ...

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

* Ellingham & Ringwood * Fareham Heathens *

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

* Fawley *

Fordingbridge Fordingbridge is a town and broader civil parish with a population of 6,000 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England, near the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest, famed for its late medieva ...

* Gosport & Fareham *

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Castl ...

* Hook & Odiham *

Jersey Reds Jersey Reds is a rugby club based in Jersey, Channel Islands that currently competes at the RFU Championship, which is the second tier of English professional rugby. Until season 2022/23, the professional arm of Jersey Reds was part of Jers ...

* Jersey United Banks *

Kingsclere Kingsclere is a large village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. Geography Kingsclere is approximately equidistant ) from the towns of Basingstoke and Newbury on the A339 road. History Kingsclere can trace back its history to a p ...

* Locksheath Pumas * Lymington Mariners * Millbrook * New Milton & District * Overton *

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

* Sandown & Shanklin *

Scottish Exiles Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English * Scottish national identity, the Scottish id ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Tadley Tadley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE), now known as AWE, became the area's largest employer, and many houses were built during this per ...

* Tottonians *

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

* U.S. Portsmouth * Vectis *

Ventnor Ventnor () is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface Down, and built on steep slopes leading down to the sea. ...

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

County club competitions

The Hampshire RFU currently runs the following club competitions for club sides based in

, the

and the

Leagues

Hampshire Premier Hampshire Premier is an English level 9 Rugby Union league for teams based in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Up until the 2017–18 season it was known as Hampshire 1 but was changed to Hampshire Premier due to restructuring of the Hampshir ...

- league at tier 9 of 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 ...

Hampshire 1 Hampshire 1 is an English level 10 Rugby Union league for teams based in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Up until the 2017–18 season it was known as Hampshire 2 but was changed to Hampshire 1 following the restructuring of the Hampshire lea ...

- league at tier 10 *

Hampshire 2 Hampshire 2 is an English level 11 rugby union league for teams based in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It was originally known as Hampshire 3 until the 2008–09 season when it was discontinued, but the division was reinstated as Hampshire 2 ...

- league at tier 11

Cups

* Hampshire Cup - for club sides that typically play between tiers 6-7 of the

English rugby union league 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 ...

Hampshire Bowl The Rose Bowl, known for sponsorship reasons as Ageas Bowl is a cricket ground and hotel complex in West End, Hampshire. It is the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club, who have played there since 2001. It was constructed as a replacement ...

- for clubs sides at tiers 8-9 *

Hampshire Plate The Hampshire Plate is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organised by the Hampshire Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 1990–91 season, with the inaugural winners being Fareham Heathens. It is the third m ...

- for club sides at tiers 9-11

Notes

References

External links

Homepage

Club Rugby
Rugby union governing bodies in England Sports organizations established in 1883 Rugby union in Hampshire {{Rugbyunion-stub