Sussex 1 (known as Harvey's of Sussex 1 due to sponsorship reasons) is an English level 9 Rugby Union League. It is made up of teams predominantly from

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. Teams play home and away matches from September through to April. The league champions are automatically promoted up to London 3 South East, while the second placed team plays a promotion playoff against the second placed team from Kent 1. Relegated teams drop to

Sussex 2 Sussex 2 is an English level 10 Rugby Union League. It is run by the Sussex Rugby Football Union and contains teams predominantly from West Sussex. The twelve teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams mov ...

although in recent season there has been no relegation. Only 1st XV sides can be promoted into London 3 South East. The system from 2017 to 2018 sees the eight team league play home and away games against each team in the league (14 games each) up until February when the league splits into two mini leagues of 4 teams (Sussex 1A and Sussex 1B) based on league ranking. Each team then a further 6 games against teams in their group (home and away) with the teams in the promotion group (1A) playing off for the title, and the teams in the relegation group (1B) playing to avoid the drop. Note that points from the first stage are carried into the second. Each year some of the clubs in this division also take part in the

RFU Junior Vase The RFU Junior Vase is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union, which has been competed for since 1990. It is mostly contested by 1st XV teams at level 9 of the English rugby union system, altho ...

- a level 9-12 national competition.

Teams for 2021-22

The teams competing in 2021-22 achieved their places in the league based on performances in 2019–20, the 'previous season' column in the table below refers to that season not 2020–21. Barns Greeen finished 9th in 2019-20 and whilst not relegated, did not return for 2021-22 and instead have dropped to

West.

Season 2020–21

On 30 October 2020 the RFU announced that due to the coronavirus pandemic a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues ( National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning Sussex 1 was not contested.

Teams for 2019-20

Teams for 2018-19

Teams for 2017-18

Teams for 2016-17

* Bognor 2nd XV (promoted from

Sussex Canterbury Jack Division 2 Sussex 2 is an English level 10 Rugby Union League. It is run by the Sussex Rugby Football Union and contains teams predominantly from West Sussex. The twelve teams play home and away matches from September through to April. Promoted teams mov ...

) * Brighton II *

Burgess Hill Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. It ...

(relegated from London 3 South East) *

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

*Hellingly *Horsham II * Hove 2nd XV *Seaford *Shoreham (promoted from

) *Uckfield (relegated from London 3 South East)

Teams for 2015-16

* Brighton II * Chichester III *Crowborough II *

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, Crawl ...

*Hellingly *Horsham II * Hove 2nd XV *

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

(relegated from London 3 South East) *Midhurst *Seaford * Worthing Senior I

Teams for 2014-15

* Brighton II *

(relegated from London 3 South East) * Chichester III *Crowborough II *

*Eastbourne *Hellingly *Holbrook * Hove 2nd XV *Rye *Seaford * Worthing Senior I

Teams for 2012-13

* Brighton II *

* Chichester III *Eastbourne *Holbrook * Haywards Heath II * Hove III *Lewes II *Midhurst *Newick *Rye * Seaford

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams: *

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 ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

* Chichester *

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...

* Eastbourne * Hastings & Bexhill *

* Hove *

Sussex Police Sussex Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Its jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. The force is headquartered in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex. His ...

Sussex 1 honours

Sussex 1 (1987–1993)

The original Sussex 1 was a tier 8 league with promotion up to London 3 South East and relegation down to

Sussex 1 (1993–1996)

The creation of National 5 South meant that Sussex 1 dropped from a tier 9 league to a tier 10 league for the years that National 5 South was active. Promotion and relegation continued to London 3 South East and

respectively.

Sussex 1 (1996–2000)

The cancellation of National 5 South at the end of the 1995–96 season meant that Sussex 1 reverted to being a tier 8 league. Promotion and relegation continued to London 3 South East and

respectively.

Sussex 1 (2000–2009)

The introduction of London 4 South East ahead of the 2000–01 season meant Sussex 1 dropped to become a tier 9 league with promotion to this new division. Relegation continued to

(briefly two regional divisions) until that league was abolished at the end of the 2003–04 season.

Sussex 1 (2009–present)

Sussex 1 remained a tier 9 league despite national restructuring 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 ...

. Promotion was to London 3 South East (formerly London 4 South East) and relegation was to Sussex Canterbury Jack Intermediate (Sussex 2) which was reintroduced for the 2010–11 season after an absence of six years.

Promotion play-offs

Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the runners-up of Kent 1 and Sussex 1 for the third and final promotion place to London 3 South East. The team with the superior league record has home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2019–20 season the Kent 1 teams have been the most successful with fourteen wins to the Sussex 1 teams five; and the home team has won promotion on eleven occasions compared to the away teams eight.

Number of league titles

* Uckfield (5) *

(3) *

(3) * Heathfield & Waldron (3) * Hove (3) *

(2) * Chichester (2) * Eastbourne (2) * Hastings & Bexhill (2) *

Pulborough Pulborough is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England, with some 5,000 inhabitants. It is located almost centrally within West Sussex and is south west of London. It is at the junction of the north–south ...

(2) *

(1) *

(1) * Hellingly (1) *

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...