Essex Auto Group Sponsors - Southend Rugby Football Club
Southend Rugby Club has a long and proud history dating back to 1870 a year before the Rugby Football Union itself. In that year Admiral Charles Barstow Theobald gave a set of 'By-laws and rules' to lads playing football at the local Milton Hall sports ground. So the club was formed. That makes SRFC one of the oldest Rugby Clubs in the world!
The formation of leagues in the nineties saw Southend placed in National League Four South. Memories of great wins against sides such as Redruth and Lydney remain from this period but from the mid nineties playing strength diminished and results suffered. Whilst team spirit remained strong relegation and league restructuring saw the club tumble to London North East Three as the new millennium dawned.
However the dawn broke brightly. The appointment of former fly half Kevin Harman as Coach and James Shearing as Captain backed by a playing focused committee saw the fortunes of the club once again on the up. Much hard work, a new ambition, discipline and approach has spring boarded successive promotions back into London Division One. That same season Southend went on to win London One and in the season 2003-04 saw the club back in the National Leagues again. Playing in the National 3 South the First IV came a very creditable 6th and won the inaugural Essex Senior Cup.
Since then, Southend have maintained National League status and are currently playing in National 2 South under the guidance of the Director of Rugby Ben Green. I wonder whether Admiral Theobald knew what he was starting one hundred and thirty six years ago. The members of Southend Rugby Football Club past and present owe him a debt of gratitude and raise a pint in his honour, as we look back with pride and forward with excitement to the rugby challenges ahead. .
Hopefully 2010 will bring more victories for all the teams and prosperity on and off the field as we navigate through these hard times.
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Did you know that the Brown section on the Harlequins kit was taken from the Southend colours!
The association with Essex Auto Group started in 2007 and has gone from strength to strength. Essex Auto Group advertises with SRFC who have 2 Kia Rio vehicles which were purchased through our Kent Elms branch, where they are serviced and maintained.
SRFC is more than just a rugby club. They host lots of other functions including wedding receptions and parties etc. Also there are lots of events and entertainment all through the season –
Nathan Strange SRFC Marketing Director – “We are trying make the 1st team home games a fun day out for all the family … so there is always something for everyone”.
