Counties 1 Kent is an English level 7 rugby union regional league for rugby clubs in London and the south-east of England including sides from Kent, Greater London and East Sussex. Administration of the leagues is divided between Kent Rugby, Sussex Rugby and the London & SE RFU. (The locations in Greater London are all in areas that were historically part of Kent.)

The current champions are Canterbury Pilgrims.

Structure and format The twelve teams play home and away matches from September through to April, making a total of twenty-two matches each. The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows: 4 points are awarded for a win. 2 points are awarded for a draw. 0 points are awarded for a loss. In addition: 1 losing (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match

Promotion is to Regional 2 South East and relegation is to either Counties 2 Kent or Counties 2 Sussex depending on location.

2026–27

Departing were Old Elthamians promoted to Regional 2 South East whilst Cranbrook (11th) and Charlton Park (12th) were relegated to Counties 2 Kent.

TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Ashford Kinney's Field Ashford, Kent 5th Beccehamian Sparrow's Den West Wickham, London 8th Canterbury II Marine Travel Ground Canterbury, Kent Relegated from Regional 2 South East (11th) Crowborough Steel Cross Crowborough, East Sussex 7th Deal & Betteshanger The Drill Field Deal, Kent Runners-up Dover Crabble Athletic Ground Dover, Kent 6th Gillingham Anchorians Darland Banks Gillingham, Kent 9th Heathfield & Waldron Hardy Roberts Recreational Ground Cross In Hand, Heathfield, East Sussex 3rd Park House Barnet Wood Road Hayes, London 10th Sevenoaks II Knole Paddock 1,000 Sevenoaks, Kent 4th Thanet Wanderers St Peter's Recreation Ground Broadstairs, Kent Promoted from Counties 2 Kent (runners-up) Tonbridge Juddians II The Slade 1,500 Tonbridge, Kent Promoted from Counties 2 Kent (champions)

2025–26 Departing were Canterbury II and Bromley, both promoted to Regional 2 South East.

TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Ashford Kinney's Field Ashford, Kent 10th Beccehamian Sparrow's Den West Wickham, London 5th Charlton Park Broad Walk Kidbrooke, London 12th Cranbrook Tomlin Ground Cranbrook, Kent 11th Crowborough Steel Cross Crowborough, East Sussex 4th Deal & Betteshanger The Drill Field Deal, Kent 9th Dover Crabble Athletic Ground Dover, Kent 6th Gillingham Anchorians Darland Banks Gillingham, Kent Promoted from Counties 2 Kent (2nd) Heathfield & Waldron Hardy Roberts Recreational Ground Cross In Hand, Heathfield, East Sussex 7th Old Elthamians Hospital Ground Chislehurst, London Promoted from Counties 2 Kent (champions) Park House Barnet Wood Road Hayes, London 8th Sevenoaks II Knole Paddock 1,000 Sevenoaks, Kent 3rd

2024–25 Canterbury Pilgrims finished top but owing to league regulations were not permitted to be promoted to level 6. Departing were Dartfordians promoted to Regional 2 South East as runner-up with Thanet being relegated to Counties 2 Kent. With no team coming down from Regional 2 South East there was a reprieve for Charlton Park who finished 11th and would ordinarily have been relegated to Counties 2 Kent. Joining were Sevenoaks 2XV and Park House from Counties 2 Kent.

TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Ashford Kinney's Field Ashford, Kent 9th Beccehamian Sparrow's Den West Wickham, London 3rd Bromley Barnet Wood Road Hayes, London 4th Canterbury II Marine Travel Ground Canterbury, Kent 1st (not promoted) Charlton Park Broad Walk Kidbrooke, London 11th Cranbrook Tomlin Ground Cranbrook, Kent 10th Crowborough Steel Cross Crowborough, East Sussex 5th Deal & Betteshanger The Drill Field Deal, Kent 8th Dover Crabble Athletic Ground Dover, Kent 6th Heathfield & Waldron Hardy Roberts Recreational Ground Cross In Hand, Heathfield, East Sussex 7th Park House Barnet Wood Road Hayes, London Promoted from Counties 2 Kent (2nd) Sevenoaks II Knole Paddock 1,000 Sevenoaks, Kent Promoted from Counties 2 Kent (champions)

League table Counties 1 Kent 2024–25 TeamPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTry bonusLoss bonusPointsAdjust 1 Canterbury Pilgrims (P) 22 20 0 2 740 309 431 15 1 99 +2 2 Bromley (P) 22 18 1 3 748 419 329 13 3 90 3 Sevenoaks II 22 16 0 6 698 448 250 15 4 85 +2 4 Crowborough 22 12 0 10 486 419 67 13 5 67 +1 5 Beccehamian 22 12 0 10 607 450 157 12 5 66 +1 6 Dover 22 12 1 9 510 524 −14 9 4 64 +1 7 Heathfield & Waldron 22 11 0 11 571 457 114 11 5 60 8 Park House 22 8 0 14 532 605 −73 9 7 48 9 Deal & Betteshanger 22 9 0 13 418 726 −308 6 2 44 10 Ashford 22 7 0 15 364 598 −234 6 4 38 11 Cranbrook 22 3 0 19 297 715 −418 4 3 9 −10 12 Charlton Park 22 3 0 19 284 585 −301 4 1 2 −15If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Number of draws Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled Green background are the promotion places. Pink background are the relegation places.Updated: 12 January 2024 Source:

2023–24 Departing were Old Alleynians promoted to Regional 2 South East, while Folkestone and Aylesford Bulls were relegated to Counties 2 Kent. In their place came Dover and Canterbury Pilgrims both promoted as 'joint champions' from Counties 2 Kent, whilst Dartfordians were relegated from Regional 2 South East.

TeamGroundCity/AreaPrevious season Ashford Kinney's Field Ashford, Kent 9th Beccehamian Sparrow's Den West Wickham, London 3rd Bromley Barnet Wood Road Hayes, London 4th Canterbury II Marine Travel Ground Canterbury, Kent Promoted from Counties 2 Kent (joint champions) Charlton Park Broad Walk Kidbrooke, London 5th Cranbrook Tomlin Ground Cranbrook, Kent 10th Crowborough Steel Cross Crowborough, East Sussex 5th Dartfordians Bourne Road Bexley, London Relegated from Regional 2 South East (11th) Deal & Betteshanger The Drill Field Deal, Kent 8th Dover Crabble Athletic Ground Dover, Kent Promoted from Counties 2 Kent (joint champions) Heathfield & Waldron Hardy Roberts Recreational Ground Cross In Hand, Heathfield, East Sussex 7th Thanet Wanderers St Peter's Recreation Ground Broadstairs, Kent 10th

League table Counties 1 Kent 2023–24 TeamPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTry bonusLoss bonusPointsAdjust C Canterbury Pilgrims 22 20 0 2 846 439 407 18 0 98 2 Dartfordians 22 17 1 4 692 444 248 19 1 90 3 Beccehamian 22 18 1 3 839 299 540 16 1 86 −5 4 Bromley 22 15 1 6 621 416 205 13 3 79 5 Crowborough 22 14 2 6 530 463 67 9 1 70 6 Dover 22 9 1 12 466 548 −82 9 3 50 7 Heathfield & Waldron 22 8 2 12 459 469 −10 7 6 50 8 Deal & Betteshanger 22 8 0 14 403 582 −179 6 4 42 9 Ashford 22 6 0 16 345 518 −173 3 3 30 10 Cranbrook 22 4 1 17 388 756 −368 4 4 26 11 Charlton Park 22 5 0 17 371 684 −313 5 3 23 −5 12 Thanet Wanderers (R) 22 3 1 18 378 720 −342 4 3 21 If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Number of draws Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are the relegation places.Updated: 25 June 2024 Source:

2022–23 This was the first season following the RFU Adult Competition Review. The league was substantially similar to London 2 South East with the teams placed 5th to 12th returning. The teams finishing 1st to 4th were promoted to Regional 2 South East (level 6) with the top four teams promoted from London 3 South East (level 8).

TeamGroundCapacityCity/AreaPrevious season Ashford Kinney's Field Ashford, Kent 11th L2SE Aylesford Bulls Jack Williams Ground Aylesford, Kent Promoted from L3SE (2nd) Beccehamian Sparrow's Den West Wickham, London 10th L2SE Bromley Barnet Wood Road Hayes, London Promoted from L3SE (champions) Charlton Park Broad Walk Kidbrooke, London 8th L2SE Cranbrook Tomlin Ground Cranbrook, Kent Promoted from L3SE (3rd) Crowborough Steel Cross Crowborough, East Sussex 9th L2SE Deal & Betteshanger The Drill Field Deal, Kent 7th L2SE Folkestone New Burlington Ground Newington, Folkestone, Kent 12th L2SE Heathfield & Waldron Hardy Roberts Recreational Ground Cross In Hand, Heathfield, East Sussex Promoted from L3SE (4th) Old Alleynians Dulwich Common Dulwich, London 5th L2SE Thanet Wanderers St Peter's Recreation Ground Broadstairs, Kent 6th L2SE

League table Counties 1 Kent 2022–23 TeamPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTry bonusLoss bonusPointsAdjust 1 Old Alleynians (P) 22 20 0 2 890 257 633 16 1 97 2 Bromley 22 16 0 6 575 316 259 12 1 77 3 Beccehamian 22 14 0 8 596 381 215 11 4 71 4 Heathfield & Waldron 22 14 0 8 468 486 −18 9 3 68 5 Charlton Park 22 14 0 8 525 537 −12 10 1 67 6 Cranbrook 22 12 0 10 538 511 27 10 1 59 7 Ashford 22 12 0 10 440 399 41 4 4 56 8 Deal & Betteshanger 22 11 0 11 448 507 −39 7 3 55 9 Crowborough 22 8 0 14 443 552 −109 7 1 35 −5 10 Thanet Wanderers 22 7 0 15 309 593 −284 5 0 33 11 Folkestone (R) 22 3 0 19 346 797 −451 5 4 21 12 Aylesford Bulls (R) 22 1 0 21 341 603 −262 3 6 13 If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Number of draws Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are the relegation places.Source:

Counties 1 Kent honours (2022–present) Following the RFU Adult Competition Review, eight teams finishing 5th to 12th were transferred from London 2 South East and the top four from London 3 South East were promoted to this league. Promotion is to Regional 2 South East and relegation to Counties 2 Kent or Counties 2 Sussex.

Counties 1 KentSeason No of teamsChampionsRunner-upRelegated team(s)Ref 2022–23 12 Old Alleynian Bromley Folkestone (11th) and Aylesford Bulls (12th) 2023–24 12 Canterbury Pilgrims Dartfordians Thanet Wanderers (12th) 2024–25 12 Canterbury Pilgrims Bromley No relegation Green background is the promotion place(s).

See also London & SE Division RFU Kent RFU Sussex RFU English rugby union system Rugby union in England

References