Counties 2 Essex Explained

Counties 2 Essex
Current Season:	2024-25Counties 2 Essex
Sport:	Rugby union
Teams:	9
Most Champs:	Billericay, Campion, Dagenham, East London, Upminster, Wanstead
Count:	2
Website:	englandrugby.com

Counties 2 Essex (formerly known as Essex/Canterbury Jack 1 for sponsorship reasons) is an English rugby union league at the ninth tier of the domestic competition and features teams from Essex and parts of north-east London. Promoted clubs tend to move up to Counties 1 Essex. Relegated clubs used to drop into Essex 2 but as that division has been abolished there is currently no relegation. The division was created in 2003 by Essex-based teams who left Eastern Counties 1 and Eastern Counties 2. Following the RFU's Adult Competition Review, from season 2022–23 it adopted its current name Counties 2 Essex.

Each year some of the clubs in this division also take part in the RFU Junior Vase - a level 9-12 national competition.

For the 2016–17 season the league was divided into two parallel divisions - Essex 1A and Essex 1B - divided on geographical lines with teams in Essex 1A typically based in the north and east of the county, while teams in Essex 1B are predominantly London based. Each division plays 14 home and away games from September until February. From February the top 4 teams from each division go into the Essex 1 Premiership and play for the title and promotion, while the bottom 4 sides from each group would play for the Essex 1 Shield. For the 2018–19 season Essex 1 would revert to being a single division of 11 teams.

Participating clubs 2024–25

The experiment of dividing the league was abandoned and North and South divisions reunited.

Departing were Burnham-on-Crouch and Basildon, both promoted to Counties 1 Essex. Barking (7th (South)) were relegated to the Essex RFU merit leagues.

Joining were Stanford-le-Hope, relegated from Counties 1 Essex.

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
	Willowbrook	1,000		3rd (South)
Canvey Island	Tewkes Creek			5th (South)
Clacton	Valley Road			3rd (North)
Harwich & Dovercourt	Wick Lane			2nd (North)
Kelvedon & Feering	Rye Mill Lane			4th (North)
	Memorial Park			4th (South)
Millwall	Millwall Park			6th (South)
Old Brentwoods	Ashwell Road			2nd (South)
South Woodham Ferrers	Saltcoats Playing Field			7th (North)
Stanford-le-Hope	Stanford Recreation Ground			Relegated from Counties 1 Essex
Witham	Witham Town Football & Social Club			6th (North)
Writtle Wanderers	Fox Burrows Lane			5th (North)

Participating clubs 2023–24

Ahead of the new season the decision was taken to split the league into parallel North and South divisions as had previously happened in 2016–17.

Departing were Maldon and Stanford-le-Hope, promoted to Counties 1 Essex.

Joining the North league were South Woodham Ferrers (relegated from Counties 1 Essex), Kelvedon & Feering, Witham and Burnham-on-Crouch.

North

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Burnham-on-Crouch	Dengie Hundred Sports Centre			Re-entry
Clacton	Valley Road			4th
Harwich & Dovercourt	Wick Lane			7th
Kelvedon & Feering	Rye Mill Lane			New entry
South Woodham Ferrers	Saltcoats Playing Field			Relegated from Counties 1 Essex
Witham	Witham Town Football & Social Club			Re-entry
Writtle Wanderers	Fox Burrows Lane			11th

South

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
	Goresbrook	1,000		13th
Basildon	Gardiners Close			8th
	Willowbrook	1,000		5th
Canvey Island	Tewkes Creek			10th
	Memorial Park			3rd
Millwall	Millwall Park			6th
Old Brentwoods	Ashwell Road			9th

Participating clubs 2022–23

This was the first season following the RFU Adult Competition Review^[1] with the league adopting its new name of Counties 2 Essex.

Returning were nine teams took part in Essex 1 in 2021–22: Barking, Basildon, Billericay, Clacton, Harwich & Dovercourt, Maldon, Millwall, Old Brentwoods and Writtle Wanderers. Bancroft (8th) did not return.

Joining were Canvey Island (12th) and Kings Cross Steelers (11th) relegated from London 3 Essex together with Pegasus Palmerians and Stanford le Hope who both re-joined the league.

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
	Goresbrook	1,000		10th
Basildon	Gardiners Close			5th
	Willowbrook	1,000		2nd
Canvey Island	Tewkes Creek			Relegated from London 3 Essex (12th)
Clacton	Valley Road			3rd
Harwich & Dovercourt	Wick Lane			6th
	Memorial Park			Relegated from London 3 Essex (11th)
Maldon	Drapers Farm Playing Fields			1st
Millwall	Millwall Park			7th
Old Brentwoods	Ashwell Road			9th
Pegasus Palmerians	St Cleres School			Re-entry
Stanford-le-Hope	Stanford Recreation Ground			Re-entry
Writtle Wanderers	Fox Burrows Lane			4th

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.

Ilford Wanderers, who had been relegated from London 3 Essex in 11th place in season 2019–20, withdrew from the league in Autumn 2021 meaning it was completed with eleven teams.

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Bancroft	Buckhurst Way			New Entry
	Goresbrook	1,000		Relegated from London 3 Essex (12th)
Basildon	Gardiners Close			Relegated from London 3 Essex (10th)
	Willowbrook	1,000		6th
Clacton	Valley Road			5th
Harwich & Dovercourt	Wick Lane			7th
Maldon	Drapers Farm Playing Fields			3rd
Millwall	Millwall Park			4th
Old Brentwoods	Ashwell Road	500		9th
Writtle Wanderers	Fox Burrows Lane			8th

Season 2020–21

On 30 October the RFU announced ^[2] that a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning Essex 1 was not contested.

Participating clubs 2019–20

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
	Willowbrook	1,000		6th
Canvey Island	Tewkes Creek			Relegated from London 3 Essex (10th)
Clacton	Valley Road			4th
Dagenham	Central Park			3rd
Harwich & Dovercourt	Wick Lane			5th
Maldon	Drapers Farm Playing Fields			Relegated from London 3 Essex (11th)
Millwall	Millwall Park			Relegated from London 3 Essex (12th)
Old Brentwoods	Ashwell Road	500		8th
Writtle Wanderers	Fox Burrows Lane			7th

Participating clubs 2018–19

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
	Willowbrook	1,000		6th (Prem)
Clacton	Valley Road			Relegated from London 3 Essex (8th)
Dagenham	Central Park			3rd (Shield)
Harwich & Dovercourt	Wick Lane			1st (Shield)
Mavericks	Warley Playing Field			Relegated from London 3 Essex (10th)
Mersea Island	The Glebe			4th (Prem)
Old Brentwoods	Ashwell Road	500		7th (Prem)
Thames	Garron Lane			N/A
Upminster	Hall Lane			Relegated from London 3 Essex (9th)
Writtle Wanderers	Fox Burrows Lane			5th (Prem)

Participating clubs 2017–18

Essex Canterbury Jack League 1A

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
	Willowbrook	1,000		8th (Prem)
Burnham-on-Crouch	Dengie Hundred Sports Centre			7th (Shield)
Harwich & Dovercourt	Wick Lane			2nd (Shield)
Mersea Island	The Glebe			Transferred from Eastern Counties 2 (South) (champions)
Stanford-le-Hope	Stanford Recreation Ground			6th (Prem)
Witham	Witham Town Football & Social Club			8th (Shield)
Writtle Wanderers	Fox Burrows Lane			1st (Shield)

Essex Canterbury Jack League 1B

Team	Ground	Capacity	City/Area	Previous season
Bancroft	Buckhurst Way			3rd (Shield)
Dagenham	Central Park			5th (Shield)
Ilford Wanderers	Ilford Wanderers Sports Ground			Transferred from London 3 North East (11th)
	Memorial Park	500		6th (Shield)
May & Baker	M&B Eastbrook Community Club			N/A
Old Brentwoods	Ashwell Road	500		7th (Prem)
Pegasus Palmerians	St Cleres School			4th (Shield)

Participating clubs 2016–17

Essex 1A

• Bancroft
• Billericay
• Dagenham
• Kings Cross Steelers
• Millwall
• Old Brentwoods (relegated from London 3 North East)
• Pegasus Palmerians
• Stanford Le Hope

Essex 1B

• Braintree
• Burnham-on-Crouch
• Canvey Island
• Clacton
• Harwich & Dovercourt
• Maldon
• Writtle Wanderers
• Witham

Participating clubs 2015–16

• Bancroft
• Billericay (relegated from London 3 North East)
• Braintree
• Canvey Island
• Clacton (relegated from London 3 North East)
• East London
• Ilford Wanderers
• Kings Cross Steelers
• Maldon
• Millwall
• Pegasus Palmerians
• Stanford Le Hope
• Writtle Wanderers

Participating clubs 2014–15

• Bancroft
• Burnham-on-Crouch
• Canvey Island (relegated from London 3 North East)
• Dagenham
• East London
• Epping Upper Clapton
• Ilford Wanderers
• Maldon
• May & Baker
• Millwall
• Pegasus Palmerians
• Writtle Wanderers

Original teams

When Essex 1 was introduced in 2003 it contained the following teams:

• Billericay - transferred from Eastern Counties 1 (7th)
• Canvey Island - transferred from Eastern Counties 1 (9th)
• East London - transferred from Eastern Counties 2 South (runners up)
• Epping Upper Clapton - transferred from Eastern Counties 1 (8th)
• Ilford Wanderers II - transferred from Eastern Counties 2 South (3rd)
• Maldon - transferred from Eastern Counties 1 (3rd)
• Stanford Le Hope - transferred from Eastern Counties 1 (10th)
• Upminster - relegated from London 4 North East (9th)
• Wanstead - transferred from Eastern Counties 1 (4th)
• Westcliff - transferred from Eastern Counties 2 South (champions)

Essex 1 honours

Essex 1 (2004–2009)

The original Essex 1 was a tier 9 league with promotion up to London 4 North East and relegation down to Essex 2.

<											----> Essex 1
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
2003–04^[3]	10	Westcliff
2004–05^[4]	10	Wanstead
2005–06^[5]	10	Upminster
2006–07^[6]	10	Billericay
2007–08^[7]	10	Dagenham
2008–09^[8]	10	Wanstead		Writtle Wanderers, Epping Upper Clapton
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Essex 1 (2009–2017)

Essex 1 remained a tier 9 league despite national restructuring by the RFU. Promotion was to London 3 North East (formerly London 4 North East) and relegation was to Essex 2 until that division was disbanded at the end of the 2013–14 season.

<											----> Essex 1
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
2009–10^[9]	10	Campion
2010–11^[10]	11	East London
2011–12^[11]	10	Old Brentwoods
2012–13^[12]	10	Campion
2013–14^[13]	9	Billericay		No relegation
2014–15^[14]	11	May & Baker		No relegation
2015–16^[15]	13	East London		No relegation
2016–17^[16]	16	Braintree		No relegation
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Essex 1 (2017–present)

The cancellation of London 3 North East and subsequent introduction of London 3 Essex ahead of the 2017–18 meant that Essex 1 remained a tier 9 league with promotion to this new division, and as it was the lowest division for clubs in Essex, there was no relegation.

<											----> Essex 1
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams
2017–18^[17]	16	Kings Cross Steelers		No relegation
2018–19^[18]	10	Upminster		No relegation
2019–20^[19]	9	Dagenham		No relegation
2020–21	9			No relegation
2021-22^[20]	10	Maldon	Billericay
Green backgrounds are promotion places.

Promotion play-offs

From 2004 to 2016 there was a play-off between the runners-up of Eastern Counties 1 and Essex 1 for the third and final promotion place to London 3 North East. The team with the superior league record had home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2015–16 season the Essex 1 teams had been the most successful with seven wins to the Eastern Counties 1 teams five; and the home team had won promotion on eight occasions compared to the away teams four. Since the introduction of London 3 Eastern Counties and London 3 Essex at the start of the 2017–18 season the playoff has been cancelled.^[21]

<											----> Eastern Counties 1 v Essex 1 promotion play-off results
Season	Home team	Score	Away team	Venue	Attendance
2004-05^[22]	Crusaders (EC)	41-24	Upminster (EX)
2005–06^[23]	Canvey Island (EX)	31-18	Mersea Island (EC)
2006–07^[24]	Thurston (EC)	22-33	South Woodham Ferrers (EX)
2007–08^[25]	Maldon (EX)	15-20	West Norfolk (EC)
2008–09^[26]	Wisbech (EC)	38-14	Campion (EX)
2009–10^[27]	Bancroft (EX)	37-29	Stowmarket (EC)
2010–11^[28]	Holt (EC)	HWO	Millwall (EX)
2011–12^[29]	Wisbech (EC)	38-12	Maldon (EX)
2012–13^[30]	Ipswich Y.M. (EC)	20-27	Old Cooperians (EX)
2013–14^[31]	Newmarket (EC)	17-18	Clacton (EX)
2014–15^[32]	Epping Upper Clapton (EX)	36-22	Ely (EC)		400
2015–16^[33]	Ilford Wanderers (EX)	66-17	Wymondham (EC)
Green background is the promoted team. EC = Eastern Counties 1 and EX = Essex Canterbury Jack (formerly Essex 1)

Number of league titles

• Billericay (2)
• Campion (2)
• East London (2)
• Upminster (2)
• Wanstead (2)
• Braintree (1)
• Dagenham (1)
• Kings Cross Steelers (1)
• Maldon (1)
• May & Baker (1)
• Old Brentwoods (1)
• Westcliff (1)

See also

• London & SE Division RFU
• Essex RFU
• English rugby union system
• Rugby union in England

Notes and References

1. Web site: RFU announce new men's community structure . RFU . 2022-06-13.
2. Web site: RFU Cancels Adult Competitive Leagues for the 2020/21 Season . RFU . 2020-10-20 . 2020-11-09.
3. Web site: 2003-2004 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
4. Web site: 2004-2005 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
5. Web site: 2005-2006 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
6. Web site: 2006-2007 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
7. Web site: 2007-2008 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
8. Web site: 2008-2009 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
9. Web site: 2009-2010 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
10. Web site: 2010-2011 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
11. Web site: 2011-2012 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
12. Web site: 2012-2013 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
13. Web site: 2013-2014 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 31 January 2015.
14. Web site: 2014-2015 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 3 May 2015.
15. Web site: 2015-2016 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 25 April 2016.
16. Web site: 2016-2017 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 22 April 2017.
17. Web site: 2017-2018 London South-East Division. England Rugby. 21 April 2018.
18. Web site: 2018-2019 London & South-East Division. England Rugby. RFU . 13 April 2019.
19. Web site: Men's London & South East Level 8 and below leagues 2019–20. England Rugby. 25 April 2020.
20. Web site: Essex 1 table 2021-2022 . RFU . 15 February 2023.
21. Web site: Wymondham v Wisbech EC1 - Sat 8th Apr. Wymondham RFC (Pitchero). 8 April 2017.
22. Web site: London & SE Division Play-Offs 2004-05 . England Rugby . 30 April 2005.
23. Web site: London & SE Division Play-Offs 2005-06 . England Rugby . 29 April 2006.
24. Web site: London & SE Division Play-Offs 2006-07 . England Rugby . 28 April 2007.
25. Web site: London & SE Division Play-Offs 2007-08 . England Rugby . 26 April 2008.
26. Web site: Rugby: Wisbech's fine win secures promotion. Peterborough Today. 27 April 2009.
27. Web site: London & SE Division Play-Offs 2009-10 . England Rugby . 24 April 2009.
28. Web site: London & SE Division Play-Offs 2010-11 . England Rugby . 30 April 2010.
29. Web site: Long delighted as Wisbech Rugby Club win promotion play-off in his final game as skipper. Eastern Daily Press. 27 April 2012. 6 May 2017. 27 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201027025659/https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/long-delighted-as-wisbech-rugby-club-win-promotion-play-off-in-his-final-game-as-skipper-1-1359984. dead.
30. Web site: OLD COOPERIANS PROMOTED to London North East 3. Old Cooperians RFC (Pitchero). 4 May 2013.
31. Web site: Newmarket stay down with a narrow defeat to Clacton. Newmarket Journal. 1 May 2014.
32. Web site: Epping v Ely 25.04.15. Epping Upper Clapton RFC (Pitchero). 25 April 2015.
33. Web site: Wanderers earn their place in London 3 NE. Ilford Wanderers RFC (Pitchero). 3 May 2016.