The Hertfordshire Rugby Football Union is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

for the sport of

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 Hertfordshire in England. The union is the constituent body of the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

(RFU) for Hertfordshire, and administers and organises rugby union clubs and competitions in the county. It also administers the Hertfordshire county rugby representative teams.

History

Although the Hertfordshire Rugby Football Union was formed in 1935 and there have been club sides based in the county since as the late 19th century, a senior representative side did not take part in the County Championships until as late as 1952. Two years later after their debut, the county was finally awarded constituent status by the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

in 1954, allowing them to have a representative on the RFU committee. Over the years Hertfordshire has become an important member of the RFU and is currently one of the stronger sides in the men's County Championships.

Hertfordshire senior men's county side

Hertfordshire senior men's county side currently play in the Bill Beaumont Division 1 South – the top level of the County Championships. They have reached several finals in the counties history, most recently in 2012 when they finished as winners after beating

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

38–20 at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. Honours: * Bill Beaumont Cup winners: 2012

Affiliated clubs

There are currently 29 clubs affiliated with the Hertfordshire RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. The majority of clubs are based in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, but there are also clubs from north-west London. * Barnet Elizabethans *

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

Black Horse Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and it is not uncommon to mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. True black horses have dark brown eyes, black skin, an ...

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, Hertfor ...

* Chess Valley *

Cuffley Cuffley is a village in the civil parish of Northaw and Cuffley, in the Welwyn Hatfield district of south-east Hertfordshire located between Cheshunt and Potters Bar. It has a population of just over 4,000 people. and is part of Broxbourne parli ...

Datchworth Datchworth is a village and civil parish between the towns of Hertford, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Sited on the Roman road from St Albans to Puckeridge, the village has examples of Anglo-Saxons, Saxo ...

* Fullerians *

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...

* Hatfield Queen Elizabeth *

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

* Herts Fire & Rescue Service *

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

Letchworth Garden City Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

Old Albanian Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

* Royston *

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

* Stevenage Town *

Tabard A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed ...

* The Mount *

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to ...

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...

* Verulamians *

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Welwyn Welwyn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the villages of Digswell and Oaklands, Hertfordshire, Oaklands. It is sometimes referred to as Old Welwyn or Welwyn Village, ...

West Herts College West Herts College is a college for further education in Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The college has campuses in Watford, Hemel Hempstead and Kings Langley. As of 2017 the college has 5,900 students on study programmes or apprentic ...

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

County club competitions

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

and occasionally, north-west London:

Leagues

Herts/Middlesex 1 Herts/Middlesex 1 is a tier 9 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the top tier competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that traditionally ...

(alongside Middlesex RFU) – league ranked 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 ...

for club sides based in

and the historic county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

(now London) *

Herts/Middlesex 2 Herts/Middlesex 2 is a tier 10 English Rugby Union league. It is organised by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union and is the second division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that tradit ...

– tier 10 league

Cups

* Hertfordshire presidents' Cup – founded in 1970, for club sides at tier 6 of the English rugby union system as well as 2nd teams for local clubs in higher divisions (tiers 3–5) *

Hertfordshire presidents' Tankard The Hertfordshire Presidents' Tankard is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Hertfordshire Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 2010-11 season, with the inaugural winners being St Albans. It is ...

– founded in 2010, for clubs at tiers 7–8 *

Hertfordshire presidents' Trophy The Hertfordshire presidents' Trophy is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organised by the Hertfordshire Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 1999–00 season, with the inaugural winners being Datchworth. It ...

– founded in 1999, for clubs at tiers 9–10

Discontinued competitions

Herts/Middlesex 3 Herts/Middlesex 3 was a tier 11 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the third division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that belo ...

- tier 11 league, discontinued in 2014 *

Herts/Middlesex 4 Herts/Middlesex 4 was a tier 12 English Rugby Union league that was organized by the London and South East Division Rugby Football Union. It was the fourth division competition for clubs in Hertfordshire and parts of north-west London that trad ...

- tier 12 league, discontinued in 2010 * Herts/Middlesex 5 - tier 13 league, discontinued in 1997 *

Hertfordshire 1 Hertfordshire 1 was an English level 10 Rugby Union league with teams from Hertfordshire and parts of north London taking part. Promoted teams used to move up to Herts/Middlesex 1 and relegation was to Hertfordshire 2 until that division was c ...

- tier 8-10 league, discontinued in 1996 *

Hertfordshire 2 Hertfordshire 2 was an English level 9 Rugby Union league with teams from Hertfordshire and parts of north London taking part. Promoted teams used to move up to Hertfordshire 1 and, as it was the lowest level league in the region, there was n ...

- tier 9 league, discontinued in 1990

References

External links

Hertfordshire RFU website
Rugby union governing bodies in England 1935 establishments in England Rugby union in Hertfordshire {{Rugbyunion-stub