Eastern Counties was formed in on 28th October 1890. Originally it consisted of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Cambridgeshire joined in1952 and more recently Essex, about half the total both in area and number of clubs left to seek fortune on their own. The Counties was formed originally as a means of producing a team capable of winning the County Championship a national competition between teams produced by other regions or constituent bodies as they are called. Sadly it never quite achieved that ambition. Eastern Counties have however reached at least one Twickenham final.