The 2022/23 season had been earmarked for the RFU to action their competitions structure review and going into last season there was opportunity to finish well and move up to the newly created leagues at level 5 of the RFU pyramid.

The fourth place finish secured on the last day of the season against Sudbury was enough to see Harps move up to Regional 1 South East. Which will be highest level that the club has ever played at. An incredible achievement not only for the 54 men who took the field for the 1st XV last season but for all involved at the club who put so much work into our performance on and off the pitch.

The premise of the restructure was to group clubs more closely geographically to reduce travel times and for leagues to be capped at 12 teams (London 1 North was 14). The make up of league next season will be:

Bedford Athletic
CS Stags
Colchester
Hertford
Harpenden
Medway
Shelford
Sidcup
Sudbury
Tring
Tunbridge
Westcombe Park

Some tantalising fixtures await, not only the local derbies against Hertford and Tring but the continuation of our great battles with Colchester, Sudbury and Shelford as well as the opportunity to test ourselves against new opponents from Kent.

There will also be an optional post season knock out tournament for teams at level 5 which will provide opportunity to compensate for the lost home fixtures from the reduced league size.

An exciting 2022/23 awaits!

Pre-season training is due to start on Thursday 30th June with an initial BBQ and team meeting. On pitch training will then start in earnest on Tuesday 5th July at 7.30pm.

If you are interested in joining, we are always looking for new players of all abilities, positions and experience levels. Either turn up to training or contact our Director of Rugby, Sean McLoughlin (director@hrfc.com) for more information.