Kent Invicta is a defunct

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team that were based in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and later

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

History

Kent Invicta RLFC and Southend Invicta RLFC

''Kent Invicta RLFC'' was formed by a local businessman, Paul Faires, and Jim Thompson, Maidstone United FC's chairman. The club was admitted to the Rugby Football League on 6 April 1983 and entered the Second Division. The moniker "Invicta" (unvanquished) is the motto of Kent. The club colours consisted of a black shirt with an amber chevron, black shorts and black socks. The club played its first game at London Road,

, a ground it shared with Maidstone United. It lost the game 31-12 against

Cardiff City Blue Dragons Cardiff City Blue Dragons were a rugby league team formed in 1981. Their home ground was Ninian Park, which was also used by Cardiff City F.C.. The club spent three seasons in Cardiff before relocating to Bridgend in 1984 as the Bridgend Blue ...

. By 6 November 1983 the club was bankrupt. Despite its financial problems, the club continued playing competitively. In late 1984 the team became ''Southend Invicta'', and started playing games at the

Roots Hall A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

Stadium in

. The club colours changed to white shirts with a blue V, white shorts and white socks. Invicta were struck from the 1985-86 fixtures by the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

because it was considered not to have formed a team. It went into liquidation soon afterwards.{{citation needed, date=February 2017

Notable players

* John Donnelly *

Mark Elia Mark Wycliffe Elia (born 25 December 1962)ELIA, Mark Wycliffe 1985 - 89 - Kiwi ...

* Gary Freeman *

Gary Hetherington Gary Hetherington (born 1954) is an English professional rugby league executive and former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He is the chief executive officer of the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. Hetherington made his débu ...

Lynn Hopkins Lynn Hopkins (birth unknown) is a Welsh former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for Wales and Cumbria, and at club level for Workington Town and Kent Invicta, as a , i.e. ...

Bob Mordell Bob Mordell (born 2 July 1953) is an English former professional rugby union and rugby league footballer, and also a manager. He played rugby league as a professional for Oldham ( Heritage № 837), Kent Invicta and Fulham RLFC ( Heritage № ...

External links

Kent/Southern Invicta social media website
Rugby league teams in Kent Defunct rugby league teams in England Rugby league teams in Essex Sports clubs in Southend-on-Sea English rugby league teams Rugby clubs established in 1983 1983 establishments in England 1986 disestablishments in England