Colchester kick off the new brand-new rugby season with a double-header against familiar opposition Shelford.

The first team travel to the Cambridgeshire side on Saturday September 6th, while on the same day The Ravens play Shelford 2s at Raven Park.

Following Colchester’s relegation from Nat 2 East, there is a distinctly familiar look to their Regional 1 South East fixture list.

That opening match of the season will bring back happy memories of Colchester’s last visit to Shelford. The nail-biting 30-28 win on a sweltering afternoon in early September 2023 effectively rocket-boosted a league campaign which was to culminate in promotion six months later.

Colchester’s first home match a week later will see them entertain Medway, the Kent side having been promoted to Regional 1 South East last season.

Another promoted side is next up for The Blacks as they visit Westcliff on September 20th, with the south Essex side making their return trip to Raven Park for the ever-popular Christmas fixture on December 20th.

Amongst other eagerly anticipated fixtures are the matches against nearest neighbours Sudbury (November 29th away and March 21st at home) and there’s a welcome resumption of rivalry with Southend (October 11th home, January 17th away).

On paper, the toughest challenge looks like Letchworth Garden City who were runners-up to promoted Oundle last season, losing just four of their 22 matches and in the process banking 19 try bonus points.

But all the fixtures present a massive challenge for a Colchester side looking to bounce back from the challenges of last season in level four.

1st team fixture list:
Sep 6th: Shelford (a), Sep 13th: Medway (h), Sep 20th: Westcliff (a), Oct 4th: Hertford (a), Oct 11th: Southend (h), Oct 18th: Old Northamptonians (a), Oct 25th: Tring (h), Nov 8th: North Walsham (a), Nov 22nd: Letchworth (h), Nov 29th: Sudbury (a), Dec 6th: Amersham (h), Dec 13th: Medway (a), Dec 20th: Westcliff (h), Jan 10th: Hertford (h), Jan 17th: Southend (a), Jan 31st: Old Northamptonians (h), Feb 14th: Tring (a), Feb 28th: North Walsham (h), Mar 7th: Letchworth (a), Mar 21st: Sudbury (h), Mar 28th: Amersham (a), Apr 11th: Shelford (h).

2nd team fixtures:
Sep 6th: Shelford 2s (h), Sep 13th: Southwold (a), Oct 4th: Ipswich YM (h), Oct 11th: Saffron Walden (a), Oct 18th: Newmarket (h), Nov 8th: Bury 2s (h), Nov 22nd: North Walsham 2s (a), Nov 29th: Ely (h), Dec 6th: West Norfolk (a), Dec 13th: Stowmarket (h), Dec 20th: Ipswich (a), Jan 10th: Southwold (h), Jan 17th: Ipswich YM (a), Jan 24th: Saffron Walden (h), Feb 14th: Newmarket (a), Feb 28th: Bury 2s (a), Mar 7th: North Walsham 2s (h), Mar 21st: Ely (a), Mar 28th: West Norfolk (h), Apr 11th: Stowmarket (a), Apr 18th: Ipswich (h), Apr 25th: Shelford 2s (a).