The new club was based at The Slade with Tonbridge’s Avebury Avenue previous rugby site sold for development, with the proceeds used for improving rugby in the town.
Tonbridge was founded in 1904 with OJs making their debut in 1928.
TRFC started life at Tunbridge Wells before moving to Tonbridge in 1908 as most members lived there.
Their Avebury Avenue plot was acquired in 1923 for £200 while OJs played rugby “off a park bench” socialising in various hostelries.
The first match between the town clubs was in 1928-9 when TRFC “B” met the newly-formed OJs.
With the introduction of leagues in 1987, Tonbridge started in Kent One and OJs were placed in London Two South, in which the merged clubs made their debut in 1999.
A glorious run of success
After some testing years at that level, TJs slipped into London Four South East before winning three league titles in four years between 2010 and 2014.
They missed out on a fourth promotion in 2012, when they lost to Chinnor in a play-off.
But they made further progress in 2017 by lifting the National Three London & South-East title, then gained promotion to National One for the post-Covid campaign as National Two runners-up with the best record in the 2019/20 campaign.
However, they struggled at Level Three, relegated in bottom spot before a period of consolidation.
Title triumph and back to Level Three
They finished eight in National Two East in 2022/23, moving up to fifth the following year before taking the title in fine fashion last term, TJs racking up 111 points with 22 wins in their 26 games to finish six clear of Dorking – despite losing at the runners-up in the final round.
Our clubs have met six times with Rams winning four, losing once and drawing the first home clash 12-12 in January, 2018 when Jak Rossiter and Tom Vooght crossed.
Earlier in the season Rams won 47-24 on the road with Jordan Souter (two), Conor Corrigan, Stevie Bryant, Vooght and Rossiter all touching down along with a penalty try and five Tom Humberstone conversions.
Ben Henderson bagged a brace and James Page, Rossiter and another penalty try secured a 33-18 home win the following season, Alex Seers adding six points with the boot.
But the eventual champions lost 25-19 at The Slade despite Henderson, Vooght and Corrigan crossing in February, 2019.
A trio of hard-fought victories for Rams
The first two National One clashes in the 2021/22 season went Rams way, a penalty try plus scores from Henderson, Ollie Cole and Connor Hayhow sealing a 24-13 home success before a 22-19 away triumph in a mud bath saw Henry Bird, Jamie Guttridge and Drew Humberstone touch down, the latter adding seven points from the tee.
And following a three-and-a-half year gap, it was the Berkshire men who took the honours 40-19 at Old Bath Road back in September.
A Morgan MacRae double and Luke Graham try, plus two Mike Cooke conversions, put the hosts 19-0 up before Nathan Earle went over for TJs.
Jack Park added the extras for 19-7 at the break, but a converted Charlie Robson score sealed a bonus-point.
Earle’s second kept the game alive before Axel Kalling-Smith and Graham seven-pointers halted visiting dreams, Tom Kendrick’s late score merely a consolation.
