| London 3 Essex | |
| Sport: | Rugby union |
| Teams: | 12 |
| Champion: | Chelmsford (1st title) |
| Season: | 2019–20) (promoted to London 2 North East |
| Most Champs: | Basildon, Chelmsford, Epping Upper Clapton |
| Count: | 1 |
| Website: | englandrugby.com |
London 3 Essex was an English rugby union league at the eighth level of the English rugby union system and was available to club sides based in Essex and north-east London. Promoted teams moved up to London 2 North East with league champions going up automatically and the runners up playing a playoff against the runners up from London 3 Eastern Counties, while demoted teams usually dropped down to Essex Canterbury Jack 1, with new teams also coming up from this league. Each year all clubs in the division also took part in the RFU Senior Vase – a level 8 national competition.
The division was created for the 2017–18 season as part of an RFU reorganization of the London & South East regional league. Originally there had been a London 3 North East league which had involved teams from Essex and north-east London along with teams from the Eastern Counties (Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk). Due to the distances involved for teams travelling potentially from London to Norfolk and vice versa, at the end of the 2016–17 season this league was discontinued. Teams in Essex and north-east London who had played in London 3 North East were transferred into the new look London 3 Essex along with additional promoted teams from the Essex regional leagues, while the Eastern Counties sides went into another new division called London 3 Eastern Counties.
Following the Rugby Football Union's Adult Competition Review, the league's place in the English rugby union system was taken by Counties 1 Essex, with the teams placed 1st to 10th in 2021–22 London 3 Essex making up the new league.
The teams competing in 2021-22 achieved their places in the league based on performances in 2019–20, the 'previous season' column in the table below refers to that season not 2020–21.
| Team | Ground | Capacity | City/Area | Previous season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braintree | Robbswood | 4th | ||
| Campion | Cottons Park | 8th | ||
| Canvey Island | Tewkes Creek | Promoted from Essex 1 (runners up) | ||
| Dagenham | Central Park | Promoted from Essex 1 (champions) | ||
| East London | Memorial Park | 5th | ||
| Epping Upper Clapton | Upland Road | Relegated from London 2 NE (12th) | ||
| Latton Park | 2nd | |||
| Memorial Park | 500 | 7th | ||
| Mavericks | Warley Playing Field | 9th | ||
| Old Cooperians | Coopers' Company & Corborn School | 6th | ||
| Crowlands | Relegated from London 2 NE (10th) | |||
| Upminster | Hall Lane | 3rd | ||
On 30 October the RFU announced [1] that a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (National League 1 and below) for the 2020–21 season meaning London 3 Essex was not contested.
| Team | Ground | Capacity | City/Area | Previous season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goresbrook | 1,000 | 9th | ||
| Basildon | Gardiners Close | Relegated from London 2 NE (12th) | ||
| Braintree | Robbswood | 3rd | ||
| Campion | Cottons Park | 8th | ||
| Coronation Park | 4th | |||
| East London | Memorial Park | Runners up (lost playoff) | ||
| Latton Park | Relegated from London 2 NE (11th) | |||
| Ilford Wanderers | Ilford Wanderers Sports Ground | 5th | ||
| Memorial Park | 500 | 6th | ||
| Mavericks | Warley Playing Field | Promoted from Essex 1 (runners up) | ||
| Old Cooperians | Coopers' Company & Corborn School | 7th | ||
| Upminster | Hall Lane | Promoted from Essex 1 (champions) | ||
| Team | Ground | Capacity | City/Area | Previous season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goresbrook | 1,000 | Relegated from London 2 SE (12th) | ||
| Braintree | Robbswood | 3rd | ||
| Campion | Cottons Park | 7th | ||
| Canvey Island | Tewkes Creek | 5th | ||
| Coronation Park | Relegated from London 2 NE (10th) | |||
| East London | Memorial Park | 4th | ||
| Epping Upper Clapton | Upland Road | Relegated from London 2 NE (11th) | ||
| Ilford Wanderers | Ilford Wanderers Sports Ground | Promoted from Essex 1 (runners up) | ||
| Memorial Park | 500 | Promoted from Essex 1 (champions) | ||
| Maldon | Drapers Farm Playing Fields | 6th | ||
| Millwall | Millwall Park | Runners up (lost playoff) | ||
| Old Cooperians | Coopers' Company & Corborn School | Relegated from London 2 NE (12th) | ||
| Team | Ground | Capacity | City/Area | Previous season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basildon | Gardiners Close | 8th (London 3 North East) | ||
| Braintree | Robbswood | Promoted from Essex 1 (champions) | ||
| Campion | Cottons Park | Relegated from London 2 North East (12th) | ||
| Canvey Island | Tewkes Creek | Promoted from Essex 1 (runners up) | ||
| Clacton | Valley Road | Promoted from Essex Jack 1 (4th) | ||
| East London | Memorial Park | 3rd (London 3 North East) | ||
| Maldon | Drapers Farm Playing Fields | Promoted from Essex 1 (3rd) | ||
| Mavericks | Warley Playing Field | Invited from Essex Merit Leagues | ||
| Millwall | Millwall Park | Promoted from Essex 1 (5th) | ||
| Upminster | Hall Lane | 7th (London 3 North East) | ||
London 3 Essex was a tier 8 league with promotion to London 2 North East and relegation to Essex 1.
| < | ---->
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | No of teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated Teams | |||||||||||
| 2017–18[2] | 10 | Basildon | |||||||||||||
| 2018–19[3] | 12 | Epping Upper Clapton | |||||||||||||
| 2019–20[4] | 12 | Chelmsford | Barking, Ilford, Basildon | ||||||||||||
| 2020–21 | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | |||||||||||||||
From the 2017–18 season there was a play-off between the runners-up of London 3 Eastern Counties and London 3 Essex for the third and final promotion place to London 3 North East. The team with the superior league record had home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2019–20 season the London 3 Eastern Counties were the most successful with two wins to the London 3 Essex teams none; and the home team won promotion on two occasions compared to the away teams none.
| < | ---->
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Attendance | ||||||||||
| 2017–18[5] | Southwold (EC) | 49-3 | Millwall (EX) | 300[6] | |||||||||||
| 2018–19[7] | Holt (EC) | 31-22 | East London (EX) | ||||||||||||
| 2019–20 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Best ranked runner up - Cantabrigian (EC) - promoted instead. | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–21 | |||||||||||||||
| Green background is the promoted team. EC = London 3 Eastern Counties and EX = London 3 Essex | |||||||||||||||