Kent 1 (known as Shepherd Neame Kent 1 for sponsorship reasons) is an English level 9

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 is made up of teams predominantly from south-east

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

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 ...

. The teams play home and away matches from September through to April. The league champions move up to London 3 South East while the runners up play against the runners up of

Sussex 1 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. Teams play home and away matches from September through to April. The league champi ...

for the remaining place. Relegated teams drop down to

Kent 2 Kent 2 (known as Shepherd Neame Kent 2 for sponsorship reasons) is an English level 10 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 Apri ...

. 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.

Participating clubs 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. Despite finishing 7th in season 2019-20, HSBC did not return to the league for the current season.

Season 2020–21

On 30th 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 Kent 1 was not contested.

Participating clubs 2019-20

Participating clubs 2018-19

Participating clubs 2017-18

Participating clubs 2016-17

*Beccehamaian *Brockleians *Hastings & Bexhill *HSBC * King's College Hospital *Lordswood *New Ash Green *Old Gravesendians *Sittingbourne (promoted from

) *Southwark Lancers *Snowdon C.W. (promoted from

) *Vigo

Participating clubs 2015-16

*Beccehamaian *Brockleians (promoted from

) *Hastings & Bexhill (relegated from London 3 South East) *HSBC * King's College Hospital *Lordswood *New Ash Green (promoted from

) *Old Gravesendians *Old Williamsonians *Sheppey *Southwark Lancers *Vigo

Participating clubs 2014-2015

*Beccehamian (relegated from London 3 South East) *Bexley (promoted from

) * Cranbrook *HSBC * King's College Hospital *Lordswood *Old Gravesendians *Old Williamsonians *Sheppey (relegated from London 3 South East) *Sittingbourne *Southwark Lancers *Vigo

Participating clubs 2010-2011

*Ashford *Beccehamian * Cranbrook *Dartfordians *Erith *Gillingham Anchorians. * Guys' Kings' & St Thomas' Hospital *Hastings and Bexhill *HSBC *New Ash Green *Old Gravesendians *Shooters Hill *Sittingbourne *Vigo *Whitstable

Original teams

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

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

* Charlton Park *

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 ...

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 ...

NatWest Bank National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

Old Elthamians Old Elthamians Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Chislehurst in SE London-Kent. Due to financial difficulties they withdrew from National League One, the third tier of English club rugby, in August, 2021. Upon retur ...

* Old Shootershillians * Park House * Sevenoaks *

Thanet Wanderers Thanet Wanderers RUFC was founded in 1886, and are based in Broadstairs. They currently play in London and South East Division Two South East. The club runs 4 senior teams (one being veterans) plus a junior section for boys and girls. Honors ...

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

Kent 1 honours

Kent 1 (1987–1993)

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

Kent 1 (1993–1996)

The creation of National 5 South meant that Kent 1 dropped from a tier 8 league to a tier 9 league for the years that National 5 South was active. Promotion and relegation continued to London 3 South East and

respectively.

Kent 1 (1996–2000)

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

respectively.

Kent 1 (2000–2009)

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

Kent 1 (2009–present)

Kent 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 to

Promotion play-offs

Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the runners-up of Kent 1 and

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

* Park House (4) * Dartfordians (3) *

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 ** ...

(2) * Beccehamian (2) * Cranbrook (2) * Gillingham Anchorians (2) * Aylesford Bulls (1) *

(1) *

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

(1) * Charlton Park (1) *

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 ...

(1) *

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 ...

(1) * Guys' Kings' & St Thomas' Hospital (1) * Hastings & Bexhill (1) * Lordswood (1) *

(1) * Old Dunstonians (1) * Sevenoaks (1) * Sheppey (1) * Southwark Lancers (1) *

(1) *

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

Participating clubs 2021-22

Season 2020–21

Participating clubs 2019-20

Participating clubs 2018-19

Participating clubs 2017-18

Participating clubs 2016-17

Participating clubs 2015-16

Participating clubs 2014-2015

Participating clubs 2010-2011

Original teams

Kent 1 honours

Kent 1 (1987–1993)

Kent 1 (1993–1996)

Kent 1 (1996–2000)

Kent 1 (2000–2009)

Kent 1 (2009–present)

Promotion play-offs

Number of league titles

Notes

See also

References

External links