Midlands 4 East (South) is a level 9 English

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 ...

league and level 4 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the

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 ...

region including clubs from

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

and occasionally

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, all of whom play home and away matches throughout the season. 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. Formed for the 2006-07 season, the division was originally known as Midlands 5 East (South) but changed to its present name for the 2008-09 season due to league restructuring. Promoted teams tend to move up to

Midlands 3 East (South) Midlands 3 East (South) is a level 8 English Rugby Union league and level 3 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the East Midlands region including clubs from Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and o ...

and since Midlands 5 East (South) was abolished there has been no relegation.

2021-22

Participating teams & locations

Kempston, who finished 11th in 2019-20, and Wellingborough Old Grammarians, who finished 12th in 2019-20, did not return for the current season. Joining the league are South Leicester who withdrew from

Midlands Premier Regional 1 Midlands (until 2022–23 known as Midlands Premier and up until 2016–17 known as National League 3 Midlands) is a level five semi-professional league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When ...

in season 2019-20.

2020–21

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the 2020–21 season was cancelled.

2019–20

Participating teams & locations

2018–19

Participating teams & locations

2017–18

Participating teams & locations

Teams 2016-17

*Bedford Queens *Bedford Swifts *Bourne *Brackley *Deepings *Old Newtonians *Sileby Town *Stamford College Old Boys * Thorney *Wellingborough Old Grammarians

Teams 2015-16

*Bedford Queens (relegated from

) *Bedford Swifts * Birstall *Bourne *Brackley *Deepings *Northampton Men's Own (relegated from

) *Sileby Town *Stamford College Old Boys * Thorney *Wellingborough Old Grammarians

Teams 2014-15

*Bedford Swifts *Bourne *Brackley (relegated from

) *Corby *Deepings (relegated from

) *Kempston *Old Newtonians *Sileby Town *

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

*Stamford College Old Boys * Thorney *Westwood

Teams 2013-14

* Aylestone Athletic *Bedford Swifts *Bourne *Corby *Kempston *Long Buckby (relegated from

) *Old Newtonians (relegated from

) *Oundle *

*Stamford College Old Boys * Thorney *Westwood

Teams 2012–13

* Aylestone Athletic *Bedford Swifts *Bourne *Brackley *Corby *Oundle *St Ives (Midlands) *

*Stamford College Old Boys * Thorney *Wellingborough Old Grammarians *Westwood

Teams 2008–09

*Ashfield *Bedford Swifts *Brackley *Bugbrooke *Daventry *Deepings *Long Buckby *Market Harborough *Northampton Casuals *Northampton Men's Own * Peterborough Lions *Rugby St Andrews *Vauxhall Motors

Original teams

When this division was introduced in 2006 as Midlands 5 East (South), it contained the following teams: * Aylestone St James - promoted from East Midlands/South Leicestershire 2 (champions) * Bedford Queens - transferred from East Midlands/South Leicestershire 1 (4th) * Bedford Swifts - transferred from East Midlands/South Leicestershire 1 (3rd) *

Kempston Kempston is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It had a population of 19,330 in the 2011 census. Kempston is part of Bedford's built-up area and is situated directly south-west of Bedford proper. The River ...

- promoted from East Midlands/South Leicestershire 2 (runners up) *

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire. Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the admi ...

- transferred from East Midlands/South Leicestershire 1 (5th) *

Oundle Oundle () is a market town on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 5,735 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. It is north of London and south-west of Peterborough ...

- transferred from East Midlands/South Leicestershire 1 (7th) * St Ives (Midlands) - transferred from East Midlands/South Leicestershire 1 (8th) * Stamford - transferred from Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire/North Leicestershire (11th) *

Stoneygate Stoneygate is part of the City of Leicester, England. Situated on the south-east side of the city some two miles from the centre, Stoneygate is a mainly residential suburb characterised by its large Victorian houses. It straddles the London Roa ...

- relegated from

Midlands 4 East (South) Midlands 4 East (South) is a level 9 English Rugby Union league and level 4 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the East Midlands region including clubs from Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Linc ...

(10th) *

Wellingborough Old Grammarians Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Ne ...

- transferred from East Midlands/South Leicestershire 1 (6th)

Midlands 4 East (South) honours

Midlands 5 West (North) (2006–2009)

League restructuring ahead of the 2006–07 season saw the introduction of Midlands 5 East (South) and its counterpart

Midlands 5 East (North) Midlands 5 East (North) was a level 10 English Rugby Union league and level 5 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the northern part of the East Midlands region including Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the occasional team ...

at tier 9 to replace the discontinued East Midlands/South Leicestershire 1 and Notts, Lincs, Derbyshire/North Leicestershire leagues. Promotion was to

and relegation to Midlands 6 East (South).

Midlands 4 East (South) (2009–present)

Further league 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 ...

meant that Midlands 5 East (North) and Midlands 5 East (South) were renamed as

Midlands 4 East (North) Midlands 4 East (North) is a level 9 English Rugby Union league and level 4 of the English Rugby Union Midland Division, Midlands League, made up of teams from the northern part of the East Midlands region including clubs from Derbyshire, Lincol ...

and Midlands 4 East (South), with both leagues remaining at tier 9. Promotion was now to

(formerly Midlands 4 East (South)) and relegation to Midlands 5 East (South) (formerly Midlands 6 East (South)) until that league was discontinued at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Number of league titles

(2) * Bedford Swifts (1) * Birstall (1) *

Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inters ...

(1) *

Long Buckby Long Buckby is a large village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. In 2020 the parish of Long Buckby, which includes the hamlet of Long Buckby Wharf, was estimated to have a population of 4,303. Long Buckby is hill top village, l ...

(1) *

(1) * N'hampton BBOB (1) * Northampton Men's Own (1) * Oadby Wyggestonians (1) * Old Newtonians (1) * Sileby Town (1) * Stamford (1) *

Stockwood Park Stockwood Park is a large urban park in Luton, Bedfordshire, in the Farley Hill estate. With period formal gardens, leading crafts museums, Stockwood Park Rugby Club and extensive golfing facilities, it is about 100 hectares in area. Golf Cent ...

(1)

Notes

References

* *Rugby First: To view previous seasons in the league, search for any club within that league then click on to club details followed by fixtures and then select the appropriate season. {{Rugby union in England 9 5 Rugby union in Bedfordshire Rugby union in Northamptonshire Rugby union in Leicestershire

2021-22

Participating teams & locations

2020–21

2019–20

Participating teams & locations

2018–19

Participating teams & locations

2017–18

Participating teams & locations

Teams 2016-17

Teams 2015-16

Teams 2014-15

Teams 2013-14

Teams 2012–13

Teams 2008–09

Original teams

Midlands 4 East (South) honours

Midlands 5 West (North) (2006–2009)

Midlands 4 East (South) (2009–present)

Number of league titles

Notes

See also

References