Esher Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Surrey, England. Esher currently play in the third division of the English league system, National League 1, following their promotion as champions from the 2023–24 National League 2 East.

History

The club was formed in 1923 when four rugby enthusiasts agreed to start a club.

When the league system was introduced in 1987 Esher were placed in London 1, but were relegated in the first season and did not win promotion back to that league until 1993.

Esher were first promoted to the national leagues system for the 1997–98 season, finishing fourth in National League 2 South. They led for most of the season the following year but finished second, but won promotion in 1999–00. The club set a new points record when winning National Division Two in 2006–07 and were thus promoted. They were promoted into the second tier, the RFU Championship after winning National League 1 in 2009–10. During this season they broke the world record when they beat Manchester 148 – 0. They played in the Championship for two seasons before being relegated back into National League 1 for the 2012–13 season.[1]

Esher suffered another relegation at the end of the 2018–19 season, dropping down to National League 2 South, their lowest league level since the end of the 1990s. They would yo yo between the leagues over the next few years, being promoted as National 2 South champions in 2021–22 and then being relegated from National League 1 at the end of 2022–23 season.

In 2020, the club announced a two-year agreement to share their ground with RFU Championship side London Scottish starting in 2021–22.[2] However it was later confirmed that Scottish would remain at Richmond Athletic Ground.[3]

On 13 April 2024 Esher defeated Dorking to win National League 2 East and return to National League 1 after being relegated the season before.[4]

Current standings

2024–25 National League 1 table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Richmond 21 17 2 2 659 409 +250 14 0 86 Promotion place
2 Rotherham Titans 21 17 0 4 656 452 +204 10 3 81
3 Rosslyn Park 21 15 0 6 706 530 +176 14 2 76
4 Plymouth Albion 21 14 0 7 582 512 +70 14 5 75
5 Rams 21 13 0 8 594 419 +175 16 5 73
6 Blackheath 21 13 0 8 653 465 +188 11 5 68
7 Sale FC 21 10 0 11 477 504 −27 9 6 55
8 Birmingham Moseley 20 10 1 9 486 474 +12 9 3 54
9 Sedgley Park 21 8 1 12 521 544 −23 8 5 47
10 Dings Crusaders 21 8 1 12 558 661 −103 12 1 47
11 Bishop's Stortford 20 7 0 13 479 519 −40 10 6 44
12 Esher 21 6 0 15 573 859 −286 12 1 37
13 Leicester Lions 21 4 0 17 435 586 −151 6 6 28 Relegation place
14 Darlington Mowden Park 21 1 1 19 368 813 −445 6 3 15
Updated to match(es) played on 8 March 2025. Source: National League Rugby [5]
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled

Honours

Notable former players

References

  1. ^ "History of Esher Rugby Club". Esher Rugby Club. Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  2. ^ "General announcements of progress and fundraising during the Covid pandemic". Esher Rugby Club. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  3. ^ "London Scottish to remain at the RAG". London Scottish Rugby. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Esher on top to seal title triumph". The RugbyPaper. No. 813. 14 April 2024. p. 32-33.
  5. ^ "National League 1". NCA Rugby.
  6. ^ "London 1 96/97". www.hampshirerugby.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Esher on top to seal title triumph". The RugbyPaper. No. 813. 14 April 2024. p. 32-33.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esher_R.F.C.
No tags for this post.