The Kent Rugby Football Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the county of Kent 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 Kent, and administers and organises rugby union clubs and competitions in the county. It also administers the Kent county rugby representative teams.

History

One of the oldest unions in the country, the Kent Rugby Football Union was founded in 1880. In 1891, the Kent RFU created the Kent Cup as a county-wide competition for their members, one of the first few county cups established in England and the second in southern England after the Hampshire Rugby Football Union. They have a rich history in the men's senior County Championship since the early years of the competition, finishing as one of the regional winners in 1892, and became outright winners for the first time in 1897. They have gone on to win the top flight competition several more times, although the last time was way back in 1927. In 2010, the Kent RFU were brought into national attention following an incident in a Kent Cup match between Maidstone and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

where a Gravesend player was blinded in one eye as a result of eye-gouging. Despite a statement from the County Chairman that there would be a long ban for the perpetrator, there were no charges from either the Kent RFU, The RFU or

Kent Police Kent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the and approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kent, a county in the south east of England. History On 14 January 1857, a 222-strong 'Kent County Constabulary' was formed u ...

due to lack of evidence available. As a result, instead, Maidstone were fined £2,000 and deducted 50 league points for failing to identify the player. In modern times Kent have yo-yoed between Division 1 and Division 2 of the championships, with the most recent silverware claimed being the 2014 Plate when the defeated Durham 30–23 at Twickenham Stadium. They also run regular county tours overseas including to New Zealand in 2012 and to Argentina in 2016.

Kent senior men's county side

Kent senior men's county side currently play in the Bill Beaumont Division 1 South – the top level of the County Championships, having been promoted despite losing 33–27 to

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

in the 2016 Plate final. Honours: * County Championship winners (3): 1897, 1904, 1927 * County Championship Plate winners (2): 2010,

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Affiliated clubs

There are currently 56 clubs affiliated with the Kent RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. The majority of clubs are based in Kent, but there are also clubs from south-east London and even

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

. * Ash *

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

* Askeans *

Aylesford Bulls Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, northwest of Maidstone. Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a village ...

*Badgers RFC * Beccehamian * Beckenham * Bexley *

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

* Brockleians * Bromley * Canterbury * Charlton Park * Cranbrook * Dartford Valley * Dartfordians * Deal & Betteshanger *

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

* Edenbridge *

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies nort ...

* Faversham *

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

* Footscray * Gillingham Anchorians *

* Greenwich * Guy's Hospital * Hastings & Bexhill *

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

* King's College Hospital * Lordswood * Maidstone *

Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...

* New Ash Green * Old Colfeians * Old Dunstonian * Old Elthamians * Old Gravesendians * Old Williamsonians * Orpington * Park House *

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...

* Sevenoaks * Sheppey * Shooters Hill * Sidcup * Sittingbourne *

Snowdown Colliery Snowdown is a hamlet near Dover in Kent, England. It was the location of one of the four chief collieries of the Kent coalfield, which closed in 1987. The population of the village is included in the civil parish of Aylesham, Kent. As a result, ...

* Southwark Lancers * Thanet Wanderers *

Tonbridge Juddians Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Tonbridge in Kent. The club runs four senior teams, a ladies side and the full range of junior teams. The first XV play in National League 2 East for the 2022–23 sea ...

* Tunbridge Wells * Vigo * Weavering Warriors * Westcombe Park * Whitstable

County club competitions

The Kent RFU currently runs the following competitions for club sides based in Kent and parts of south-east London, which they also administer discipline for:

Leagues

Shepherd Neame Kent 1 Kent 1 (known as Shepherd Neame Kent 1 for sponsorship reasons) is an English level 9 Rugby Union League and is made up of teams predominantly from south-east London and Kent. The teams play home and away matches from September through to April ...

– a league ranked at tier 9 of English rugby union league system * Shepherd Neame Kent 2 – tier 10 league

Cups

* Kent Cup – founded in 1970, for club sides at tiers 5–6 of the English rugby union system as well as 2nd teams for local clubs in higher divisions (tiers 3–4) * Kent Shield – founded in 2015, for club sides at tiers 7–8 *

Kent Vase The Kent Vase is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Kent Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 2001-02 season, with the inaugural winners being Bromley. It is the third most important rugby uni ...

– founded in 2001, for club sides at tiers 9–10 * Kent Plate – founded in 1993, for club sides knocked out of the first round of the Kent Cup and Kent Shield *

Kent Salver The Kent Salver is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Kent Rugby Football Union. It was first introduced during the 2005-06 season, with the inaugural winners being Guy's Hospital. It is the fifth most important r ...

– founded in 2005, for club sides knocked out of the first round of the Kent Vase

Discontinued competitions

Kent 3 Kent 3 was an English Rugby Union league that was the third tier for clubs in south-east London and Kent. Promoted teams went up to Kent 2 and relegation was to Kent 4 until that league was abolished at the end of the 2000–01 season. Dwindlin ...

– tier 11 league, cancelled in 2008 * Kent 4 – tier 12 league, cancelled in 2001

Notes

References

External links

Kent RFU website
{{County rugby union in England Rugby union governing bodies in England Rugby union in Kent Sports organizations established in 1880