The Kent Rugby Football Union is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the county of Kent in England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for Kent, and administers and organises rugby union clubs and competitions in the county. It also administers the Kent county rugby representative teams.
One of the oldest unions in the country, the Kent Rugby Football Union was founded in 1880.[1] In 1891, the Kent RFU created the Kent Cup as a county-wide competition for their members, one of the first few county cups established in England and the second in southern England after the Hampshire Rugby Football Union.[2] They have a rich history in the men's senior County Championship since the early years of the competition, finishing as one of the regional winners in 1892, and became outright winners for the first time in 1897.[3] They have gone on to win the top flight competition several more times, most recently in 2023.
In 2010, the Kent RFU were brought into national attention following an incident in a Kent Cup match between Maidstone and Gravesend where a Gravesend player was blinded in one eye as a result of eye-gouging.[4] Despite a statement from the County Chairman that there would be a long ban for the perpetrator,[5] there were no charges from either the Kent RFU, The RFU or Kent Police due to lack of evidence available.[4] As a result, instead, Maidstone were fined £2,000 and deducted 50 league points for failing to identify the player.[6]
In modern times Kent have yo-yoed between Division 1 and Division 2 of the championships, with the most recent silverware claimed being the 2014 Plate when the defeated Durham 30–23 at Twickenham Stadium.[3][7][8] They also run regular county tours overseas including to New Zealand in 2012[9] and to Argentina in 2016.[10]
There are currently 56 clubs affiliated with the Kent RFU, most of which have teams at both senior and junior level. The majority of clubs are based in Kent, but there are also clubs from south-east London and even East Sussex.
The Kent RFU currently runs the following competitions for club sides based in Kent and parts of south-east London, which they also administer discipline for:[5]
Kent Cup – founded in 1970, for club sides at tiers 5–6 of the English rugby union system as well as 2nd teams for local clubs in higher divisions (tiers 3–4)
Kent Shield – founded in 2015, for club sides at tiers 7–8
Kent Vase – founded in 2001, for club sides at tiers 9–10
Kent Plate – founded in 1993, for club sides knocked out of the first round of the Kent Cup and Kent Shield
Kent Salver – founded in 2005, for club sides knocked out of the first round of the Kent Vase
