Essex 1

Essex 1 (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 London 3 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. Each year some of the clubs in this division also take part in the RFU Junior Vase - a level 9-12 national competition.

Essex 1

Current season or competition: 2019–20 Essex Canterbury Jack 1
Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	2003 (2003)
Number of teams	9
Country	England
Holders	Dagenham (2nd title) (2019–20) (promoted to London 3 Essex)
Most titles	Billericay, Campion, Dagenham, East London, Upminster, Wanstead (2 titles)
Website	englandrugby.com

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 predominately 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 Shied.

For the 2018–19 season Essex 1 would revert to being a single division of 11 teams.

Participating Clubs 2019-20

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

Canvey Island Clacton Dagenham Brentwoods Billericay Harwich & Dovercourt Maldon Millwall Writtle Wanderers Locations of the 2019-20 Essex Canterbury Jack 1 teams

Participating Clubs 2018-19

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

Clacton Dagenham Brentwoods Billericay Harwich & Dovercourt Mavericks Mersea Island Thames Upminster Writtle Wanderers Locations of the 2018-19 Essex Canterbury Jack 1 teams

Participating Clubs 2017-18

Essex Canterbury Jack League 1A

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

Billericay Burnham Harwich & Dovercourt Mersea Island Stanford-le-Hope Witham Writtle Wanderers Locations of the 2017-18 Essex Canterbury Jack 1A teams

Essex Canterbury Jack League 1B

Team Ground Capacity City/Area Previous season Bancroft Buckhurst Way Buckhurst Hill, Essex 3rd (Shield) Dagenham Central Park Dagenham, London 5th (Shield) Ilford Wanderers Ilford Wanderers Sports Ground Ilford, London Transferred from London 3 North East (11th) Kings Cross Steelers Memorial Park 500 Plaistow, London 6th (Shield) May & Baker M&B Eastbrook Community Club Dagenham, London N/A Old Brentwoods Ashwell Road 500 Pilgrims Hatch, Brentwood, Essex 7th (Prem) Pegasus Palmerians St Cleres School Stanford-le-Hope, Essex 4th (Shield)

Bancroft Dagenham Ilford Kings Cross May & Baker Brentwoods Pegasus Locations of the 2017-18 Essex Canterbury Jack 1B teams

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

Essex 1 honours

Essex 1 Honours
Season	No of Teams	Champions	Runners–up	Relegated Teams	League Name
2003–04[1]	10	Westcliff	Wanstead	Canvey Island	Essex 1
2004–05[2]	10	Wanstead	Upminster	Stanford Le Hope	Essex 1
2005–06[3]	10	Upminster	Canvey Island	Thames	Essex 1
2006–07[4]	10	Billericay	South Woodham Ferrers	Ilford Wanderers II[a 1]	Essex 1
2007–08[5]	10	Dagenham	Maldon	East London, Millwall	Essex 1
2008–09[6]	10	Wanstead	Campion	Writtle Wanderers, Epping Upper Clapton	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2009–10[7]	10	Campion	Bancroft	Ilford Wanderers	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2010–11[8]	11	East London	Millwall	Dagenham, Thames, Brightlingsea	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2011–12[9]	10	Old Brentwoods	Maldon	Writtle Wanderers, Pegasus Palmerians	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2012–13[10]	10	Campion	Old Cooperians	Burnham-On-Crouch, Millwall	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2013–14[11]	9	Billericay	Clacton	No relegation[a 2]	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2014–15[12]	11	May & Baker	Epping Upper Clapton	No relegation	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2015–16[13]	13	East London	Ilford Wanderers	No relegation	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2016–17[14]	16	Braintree	Canvey Island (3 others also promoted)[a 3]	No relegation	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2017–18[15]	16	Kings Cross Steelers	Ilford Wanderers	No relegation	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2018–19[16]	10	Upminster	Mavericks	No relegation	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2019–20[17]	9	Dagenham	Canvey Island	No relegation	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
2020–21	9			No relegation	Essex Canterbury Jack League 1
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.[18]

Eastern Counties 1 v Essex 1 promotion play-off results
Season	Home team	Score	Away team	Venue	Attendance
2004-05[19]	Crusaders (EC)	41-24	Upminster (EX)	Beckhithe, Little Melton, Norfolk
2005–06[20]	Canvey Island (EX)	31-18	Mersea Island (EC)	Tewkes Creek, Canvey Island, Essex
2006–07[21]	Thurston (EC)	22-33	South Woodham Ferrers (EX)	Robinson Field, Thurston, Suffolk
2007–08[22]	Maldon (EX)	15-20	West Norfolk (EC)	Drapers Farm Playing Fields, Heybridge, Essex
2008–09[23]	Wisbech (EC)	38-14	Campion (EX)	Chapel Road, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
2009–10[24]	Bancroft (EX)	37-29	Stowmarket (EC)	Buckhurst Way, Buckhurst Hill, Essex
2010–11[25]	Holt (EC)	HWO[a 4]	Millwall (EX)	Bridge Road, Holt, Norfolk
2011–12[26]	Wisbech (EC)	38-12	Maldon (EX)	Chapel Road, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
2012–13[27]	Ipswich Y.M. (EC)	20-27	Old Cooperians (EX)	The Street, Rushmere St Andrew, Ipswich, Suffolk
2013–14[28]	Newmarket (EC)	17-18	Clacton (EX)	The NSDA Pavilion, Newmarket, Suffolk
2014–15[29]	Epping Upper Clapton (EX)	36-22	Ely (EC)	Upland Road, Thornwood, Essex	400
2015–16[30]	Ilford Wanderers (EX)	66-17	Wymondham (EC)	Ilford Wanderers Sports Ground, Barkingside, Greater London
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)
• 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

1. Ilford Wanderers II were relegated despite finishing 7th as Ilford Wanderers 1st team was demoted to the league for the following season.
2. No relegation as division due to increase from 9 to 11 teams the following season.
3. Due to London 3 North East being split into London 3 Eastern Counties and London 3 Essex, five teams would be promoted this season instead of the usual 1 or 2, including Maldon, Clacton and Millwall.
4. Holt were promoted as Millwall did not manage to raise a team for the 2010-11 play-off game.

References

1. "2003-2004 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
2. "2004-2005 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
3. "2005-2006 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
4. "2006-2007 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
5. "2007-2008 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
6. "2008-2009 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
7. "2009-2010 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
8. "2010-2011 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
9. "2011-2012 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
10. "2012-2013 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
11. "2013-2014 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
12. "2014-2015 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
13. "2015-2016 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
14. "2016-2017 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
15. "2017-2018 London South-East Division". England Rugby. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
16. "2018-2019 London & South-East Division". England Rugby. RFU. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
17. "Men's London & South East Level 8 and below leagues 2019–20" (PDF). England Rugby. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
18. "Wymondham v Wisbech EC1 - Sat 8th Apr". Wymondham RFC (Pitchero). 8 April 2017.
19. "London & SE Division Play-Offs 2004-05". England Rugby. 30 April 2005.
20. "London & SE Division Play-Offs 2005-06". England Rugby. 29 April 2006.
21. "London & SE Division Play-Offs 2006-07". England Rugby. 28 April 2007.
22. "London & SE Division Play-Offs 2007-08". England Rugby. 26 April 2008.
23. "Rugby: Wisbech's fine win secures promotion". Peterborough Today. 27 April 2009.
24. "London & SE Division Play-Offs 2009-10". England Rugby. 24 April 2009.
25. "London & SE Division Play-Offs 2010-11". England Rugby. 30 April 2010.
26. "Long delighted as Wisbech Rugby Club win promotion play-off in his final game as skipper". Eastern Daily Press. 27 April 2012.
27. "OLD COOPERIANS PROMOTED to London North East 3". Old Cooperians RFC (Pitchero). 4 May 2013.
28. "Newmarket stay down with a narrow defeat to Clacton". Newmarket Journal. 1 May 2014.
29. "Epping v Ely 25.04.15". Epping Upper Clapton RFC (Pitchero). 25 April 2015.
30. "Wanderers earn their place in London 3 NE". Ilford Wanderers RFC (Pitchero). 3 May 2016.