The Oxfordshire Rugby Football Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the county of Oxfordshire in England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for Oxfordshire, and administers and organises rugby union clubs and competitions in the county. It also administers the Oxfordshire county rugby representative teams.
History
The Oxfordshire RFU was first formed during the 1931–32 season with L.C. Gower being the first ever president. There is little of note of the county's early history although a county cup competition was introduced for local clubs during the 1970s. In 2003 the men's senior team reached the final of the County Championship Shield (now Plate) losing 8–27 to Northumberland at Twickenham Stadium. In 2006 they made Twickenham for second time, this time in the final of the County Championship Plate (now Shield), losing 17–21 to Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire. In 2017 the county made it third time lucky in the 2017 County Championship Shield final, edging Sussex by virtue of tries scored after the game finished 29–29.
Oxfordshire senior men's county side
The Oxfordshire seniors men's team currently play in Division 2 of the County Championship.
Honours: County Championship Division 3 winners: 2017, 2022, County Championship Division 2 winners: 2024
Affiliated clubs There are currently 17 clubs affiliated with the Oxfordshire RFU, with teams at both senior and junior level.
Abingdon RUFC Banbury RUFC Bicester RUFC Chinnor RFC Chipping Norton RUFC Didcot RUFC Faringdon RUFC Gosford All Blacks RFC
Grove RFC Harwell RFC Henley Hawks RFC Littlemore RFC Oxford RFC Oxford Harlequins RFC Wallingford RFC Wheatley RUFC Witney RUFC
County club competitions The Oxfordshire RFU currently helps run the following club competitions:
Leagues Since 2000–01 the league system in this region is combined between three rugby football unions – Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Prior to this Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire had run a combined league, while Berkshire had been grouped with Dorset & Wilts. Currently there are several divisions for first teams in the region including:
Level 2 RFU Championship
Level 3 National League 1
Level 4 National League 2 East National League 2 West
Level 5 Regional 1 South Central Regional 1 South West Regional 1 Midlands
Level 6 Regional 2 Thames Regional 2 South Central Regional 2 South West Regional 2 Severn
Level 7 Counties 1 Southern North Counties 1 Southern South
Level 8 Counties 2 Berks/Bucks & Oxon North Counties 2 Berks/Bucks & Oxon South
Level 9 Counties 3 Berks/Bucks & Oxon North Counties 3 Berks/Bucks & Oxon South
Level 10 Counties 4 Berks/Bucks & Oxon North Counties 4 Berks/Bucks & Oxon South
2026-27 Leagues breakdown CLUB 1ST XVCLUB 2ND XVCLUB 3RD XVCLUB 4TH XVLeagueTierNumber of ClubsClubsChampionship21Chinnor RFC 1st XVNational League 2 East41Henley Hawks 1st XVRegional 1 Midlands52Banbury RUFC 1st XV5Oxford Harlequins RFC 1st XVRegional 2 Severn62Chinnor RFC 3rd XV6Witney RFC 1st XVCounties 1 Tribute Southern North75Banbury RUFC 2nd XV7Bicester RFC 1st XV7Henley Hawks 2nd XV7Oxford Harlequins RFC 2nd XV7Oxford RFC 1st XVCounties 2 Tribute Berks/Bucks & Oxon East81Chinnor RFC 4th XVCounties 2 Tribute Berks/Bucks & Oxon West87Abingdon RFC 1st XV8Chipping Norton RFC 1st XV8Didcot RFC 1st XV8Gosford All Blacks RFC 1st XV8Grove RFC 1st XV8Wallingford RFC 1st XV8Witney RFC 2nd XVCounties 3 Tribute Berks/Bucks & Oxon North99Banbury RUFC 3rd XV9Didcot RFC 2nd XV9Faringdon RFC 1st XV9Gosford All Blacks RFC 2nd XV9Littlemore RFC 1st XV9Oxford Harlequins RFC 3rd XV9Oxford RFC 2nd XV9Wallingford RFC 2nd XV9Witney RFC 3rd XVCounties 3 Tribute Berks/Bucks & Oxon South91Henley Hawks 3rd XVCounties 4 Tribute Berks/Bucks & Oxon North104Abingdon RFC 2nd XV10Bicester RFC 2nd XV10Chipping Norton RFC 2nd XV10Grove RFC 2nd XV
Cups Oxfordshire RFU County Cup – introduced in 1970, for local clubs at tiers 6–7 of the English rugby union system as well as 2nd teams for local clubs in higher divisions (tiers 3–4) Oxfordshire RFU County Shield
See also Oxfordshire RFU County Cup Oxfordshire RFU County Shield South West Division English rugby union system
References
External links Oxfordshire RFU website