The British rugby league system is based on a nine-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League .
46-793: The Rugby League Conference National Division (formally known as the National League Three ) was the fourth division of the British rugby league system . In 2012, the winter amateur competition, the National Conference League announced it was switching to a summer season and the Rugby League Conference would become part of the NCL. Leading up to the 2003 season the RFL rebranded its lower divisions as
92-534: A complete round-robin and an added fixture, the Magic Weekend . From 2015, this was decided to be the new structure. In preparation for the new structure, it was decided across the two leagues, Championship and Super League , there would be a season of realignment, in which five clubs would be relegated from the Championship, and one promoted to the Championship, and two teams would be relegated from
138-551: A new play-off type competition, the Club Championship was introduced to replace the championship play-offs. The following season saw the title change to Premiership and the format was altered so that only the top eight teams in the First Division would compete. A similar competition was later instituted for clubs in the lower league(s). In the 1991–92 and 1992–93 seasons, a Third Division was played. However,
184-559: Is promotion and relegation between each division – three up and three down – for the heartlands competition. The bottom two teams from Division Three face re-election each year. Teams must apply to be promoted to League 1. Below the Conference League are a series of regional leagues , some of which still play in the winter, teams must apply to get promoted to the Conference Leagues. Tier The Women's Conference
230-514: The Lancashire League . In the 1897–98 season Lancashire added professional second and third competitions, but the third competition only lasted one season. Yorkshire added a professional second competition (split west and east to reduce travelling) for the 1898–99 season. The bottom teams from the senior competition played a promotion/relegation test match against the winner of their county's second competition. This arrangement lasted until
276-609: The National Conference League ( Bradford Dudley Hill , Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks and Warrington Woolston Rovers ) and Huddersfield Underbank Rangers from the Pennine League ). [3] The league was split into two regions with sides playing everyone in their region twice and those outside once except for one cross-region team they played twice giving 14 fixtures with no promotion to National League Two. The 2004 season saw an expansion to fourteen teams with Birmingham Bulldogs , Carlisle Centurions and Essex Eels elected from
322-766: The National Conference League and St Albans Centurions decided to join the Rugby League Conference Premier South Division, which left Hemel Stags as the only South of England team in the league. In 2007 the National League Three was abolished with the remaining seven club entered into the Rugby League Conference , creating a new league; the Rugby League Conference National Division which would be
368-416: The Rugby League Conference . Bramley Buffaloes , were admitted after the demise of the professional Bramley club . Gateshead Storm also entered as late replacements for the defunct Teesside Steelers. The season was extended to twenty games starting a move towards a full season. Manchester Knights resigned from the league a few games before the end of the season. The league was reduced back to 10 teams for
414-469: The world wars , this system was retained until 1962–63, when the league briefly returned to a two divisional system. This lasted only two seasons, and in 1964–65 they went back to one large division subdivided into county leagues, but the play-off were expanded to the top 16 teams. In 1973–74 they again went back to two divisions. The play-off and the Yorkshire and Lancashire League were abandoned, though
460-487: The 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the south east, but subsequently, rebranded and expanded both geographically and numerically to include around 90 teams stretched across almost the whole of Great Britain from Aberdeen in northern Scotland down to Plymouth on the south coast of England. The aim of the RLC was initially to provide regular fixtures for new clubs based outside
506-596: The 1901–02, when the top clubs from each league formed a single new competition. This saw the Lancashire and Yorkshire Senior Leagues elect numerous clubs from the second competitions (5 from Lancashire and 7 from Yorkshire) with the second competitions subsequently scrapped and teams excluded from the senior competitions joining either the Lancashire Combination (reserve grade) and a new Yorkshire Senior League or reverting to amateur status, either within
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#1732801964187552-520: The 2005 season. South London Storm joined the new Conference South Premier Division and Manchester Knights entered the Rugby League Conference Central Premier. The league went to a round robin 22 game home-and-away setup. Carlisle Centurions and Birmingham Bulldogs failed to complete the season, while Coventry Bears and Essex Eels resigned after the season and reentered the Rugby League Conference . Ahead of
598-481: The 2006 season Dewsbury Celtic entered from the Conference Central Premier and Featherstone Lions , just a month after failing to finish the season in the National Conference League , were accepted to National League Three to keep the number of teams to ten. A few weeks into the season Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks withdrew, Bradford Dudley Hill despite making the playoffs opted to return to
644-641: The Grand Final. At the end of the season it was announced Division Three would not continue in the same format. Winners, Hemel Stags were elevated to the professional Championship 1 , while Coventry Bears , Huddersfield Underbank Rangers and Nottingham Outlaws were among nine clubs invited to join the new-look National Conference League . Nottingham Outlaws opted to join Conference League South along with Bristol Sonics and St Albans Centurions . After not being invited to continue in
690-535: The NCL, Bramley Buffaloes and Kippax Knights dropped into the Yorkshire Men's League . Warrington Wizards merged with Woolston Rovers and applied for the National Conference League while South Wales Hornets folded. British rugby league system The following is a list of professional and semi-professional clubs in the British rugby league system: [REDACTED] France In 2005
736-728: The National Conference League in Division Two, with the eight remaining clubs being joined by two clubs, Bristol Sonics and St Albans Centurions, stepping up from the Conference Premier. Valley Cougars dropped back to the Welsh League after the teams were announced and were replaced by South Wales Hornets (a feeder club for South Wales Scorpions . Despite finishing top of the league, Huddersfield Underbank Rangers were beaten 17-10 by Hemel Stags in
782-545: The National Leagues and reintroduced a third division, National League Two. The RFL also planned for two more divisions to be added, a National League Three and National League Four. National League Three would be made up of British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) teams wishing to play in the summer whilst National League Four would have been made up of clubs from the Rugby League Conference . [1] . Promotion and relegation between National League Three and
828-676: The North East league and East Lancashire Lions taking a season’s sabbatical to secure a new home base (they resurfaced as Accrington & Leyland Lions in the North West Premier Division in 2011). Carlisle Centurions and Liverpool Buccaneers failed to complete the season in 2010. 2011 was the National Leagues final season. Coventry Bears rejoined the competition for its final season and Welsh Champions Valley Cougars entered. Gateshead Thunders reserve team, Gateshead Lightening intended to enter but they failed to start
874-628: The Northern Union or in the case of many Yorkshire clubs back to rugby union . However, many clubs folded and some even switched to association football . The following season most of the remaining clubs in the Yorkshire and Lancashire Leagues were re-organised to form a Second Division , although four teams from the Yorkshire League and two from the Lancashire league were not elected to the new second division (but South Shields who had played in no league in 1901–02 were). In 1905–06,
920-435: The Rugby League Conference including an entire Welsh division. The league also pushed its borders further including more teams from the less rugby league playing areas of the counties considered the heartlands and went as far south west as Somerset. The league expanded further in 2004 by allowing entry to heartland clubs. For the 2005 season the competition was split into two tiers, with Premier divisions being created for above
966-726: The Second Division. Between 1999 and 2002, rugby league below Super League was re-organised into one large competition, the Northern Ford Premiership . In 2003, the NFP was divided into National Leagues 1 and 2 with a National League 3 made up from sides drawn from the Rugby League Conference and British Amateur Rugby League Association winter leagues. It was intended that at some future point promotion and relegation would be allowed between National League 3 and National League 2, however, in 2006 National League 3
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#17328019641871012-678: The Super League is the RFL Championship . A similar play-off structure which accumulates with the Championship Grand Final is used to determine the winners of the Championship and thus promotion to Super League. First place in regular season is awarded the RFL Championship Leaders' Shield , while the bottom two teams are relegated. League 1 is the final tier of professional rugby league in
1058-472: The Super League to the Championship. This meant that the Super League, from 2015, would be made up of the 12 remaining teams from the Super League XIX season, and a Championship made up of the two relegated teams from the Super League, one team promoted from the 2014 Championship 1 and the nine remaining Championship teams. League 1, which would be modelled on the Championship, would be made out of
1104-502: The UK. It currently contains 10 teams and sees the league leader declared champion and promoted, and a playoff system for teams two to six to gain the final promotion spot. The highest amateur league is the National Conference League for the heartlands, which consists of four divisions (Premier Division, Division One, Division two and Division Three) of up to 14 teams each, and Conference League South for elsewhere consisting of 8 teams. There
1150-539: The end of the 2007 season. In 2008, Super League team, Crusaders entered their academy team after missing the deadline for entering the reserves league. Liverpool Buccaneers also joined the league while Leeds Akkies dropped down to the Conference Premier North. Bramley finished top of the league but the Colts won the Grand Final. During this season there were no withdrawals from the league and like
1196-667: The five relegated Championship teams, 8 current League 1 teams, and Coventry Bears . The top tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom is the Super League . It features 12 teams with 10 teams from Northern England, 1 from London and 1 from France. The top six teams enter the play-offs and the winner is determined by the Super League Grand Final . The 12th placed team is relegated, from 2024 this will be subject to an off-field criteria as well. Below
1242-407: The fourth tier of the National Conference League being rebranded as NCL Division Three. The new division was a one season trial to see how amateur clubs coped with traveling with NCL Division Three being the most geographically spread league in the NCL. During the 2012 season there would be no promotion due to minimum standards. Ahead of the new season Dewsbury Celtic and Featherstone Lions rejoined
1288-475: The hope they can get promoted to Super League. Toulouse now play in the Championship, having earned promotion in their inaugural League 1 season of 2016. The first season of rugby league (1895–96) saw all the clubs play in a single league competition. The addition of new teams and the problems of travelling led to the league being split in two for the following season; into the Yorkshire League and
1334-526: The league reverted to two divisions for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, controversially demoting three clubs to the National Conference League in the process. In 1996 the Premiership was replaced by the Super League . The clubs outside of Super League played in the First Division which now came under Super League, and the clubs that previously played in Division Three now played in a retitled
1380-526: The new franchise was awarded to Catalans Dragons to play in the 2006 Super League. To help make sure the franchise did not fail as the PSG franchise did, the RFL allowed the Dragons to sign players from other French teams for no transfer fee. They were also promised to be exempted from relegation for 3 years. In their first season they finished bottom of the league but Castleford Tigers were the team relegated. Over
1426-462: The next few years they continually improved and in 2007 they became the first French team to reach a Challenge Cup Final. In 2018 they were the first non-British team to win the Challenge Cup. In 2009 Toulouse applied for a Super League licence but failed; however, the RFL were impressed with their application and invited them to play in the Championship. In their first season they finished
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1472-694: The previous season a high fixture fulfilment rate. In 2009, the league saw its first significant expansion since its rebrand in 2007, with Nottingham Outlaws entering for the first time and Carlisle Centurions returning to the league while Celtic Crusaders Colts joined the Super League Reserve grade. After winning the Yorkshire Premier title in 2009, Kippax Knights enter red the National Fivision in 2010 while Gateshead Storm resigned to merged with Newcastle Knights in
1518-492: The restructured Championship which started in 2024. Tier Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference , also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group ), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England , Scotland , and Wales . The RLC was founded as
1564-535: The season 10th but were not relegated due to it being their first season in the British structure. In their second season they improved finishing 8th but missing out on the playoffs. In 2011 they were relegated but chose to return to the French Elite One Championship after they failed to get into Super League. In 2015 it was announced the RFL had invited them to play in League 1 from 2016 in
1610-439: The season. In 2011, members of the National Conference League voted to switch to play from winter to summer. This meant both major amateur competitions would be playing at the same time of year. It was decided that the Rugby League Conference would be abolished and replaced by four summer regional leagues; Cumbria League , North West League , North East League and Yorkshire League . The RLC National League would become
1656-424: The semi-professional National League Two would have been gradually introduced. [2] However, due to an insufficient number of applicants, National League Four was never founded. In the end, a ten team National League Three was founded, with six coming from the Rugby League Conference (Teesside Steelers, Manchester Knights, Coventry Bears , Hemel Stags , St Albans Centurions and South London Storm , four from
1702-441: The top heartlands amateur league, the National Conference League voting to move to a summer season, the 2012 season saw a re-alignment of the amateur game and the Rugby League Conference was replaced with a series of regional leagues. The Southern Conference League was founded as a 10-team competition in 1997. The following season it was rebranded as the Rugby League Conference due to its intentions to include teams from outside
1748-591: The top level of amateur summer rugby. Three teams from the Conference North Premier (Leeds Akkies, Cottingham Phoenix and East Lancashire Lions) were entered. The new National Division was much more based around the North of England with Hemel the only team based in the South. A largely Naorthen based league saw far less resignations than its predecessor with only Cottingham Phoenix being expelled at
1794-489: The traditional 'heartland' of rugby league in the UK, although as the playing standards increased, it also accepted teams from the 'heartlands'. The hope was that some clubs would eventually progress to become semi-professional. To date, London Skolars and Coventry Bears both play in the professional structure as have Hemel Stags and Oxford although Hemel reverted to being a solely amateur club after selling its professional license to Cornwall and Oxford folded. With
1840-488: The traditional heartlands of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria. The league steadily expanded over the first few seasons right up to the fringes of the heartlands, before expanding into Wales for the first time in 2001 with the addition of Cardiff Demons. The league expanded into the North East that same season. In 2003 National League Three was founded including some of the stronger Rugby League Conference clubs and some BARLA clubs. This same season saw massive expansion of
1886-433: The two divisions were re-combined into a single competition . Initially clubs arranged all their own fixtures with the condition that they had to play teams they do play both home and away. After this a new structure was introduced where clubs played all the teams in their own county on a home-and-away basis, results counting towards the re-formed Yorkshire and Lancashire Leagues, although due to imbalance in number of teams it
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1932-521: Was announced that there was to be a review into the structure of the Rugby League system in Europe. Clubs, fans and sponsors were asked about their needs from the system. Three options were reviewed; one system using two leagues of 10, with the Super League and Championship having one promotion and relegation place between the two. The format of promotion was to be decided later. The second option
1978-467: Was common for a Yorkshire club to have to play in the Lancashire League. They also had home-and-away fixtures scheduled against a small number of teams in the other competition (usually three); all results were collated into a single table for the Championship. In order to even up the competition a top-four play-off series was used to determine the Championship. Apart from the interventions of
2024-463: Was rebranded Rugby League Conference National Division and plans for promotion and relegation were scrapped. In 2009, the National Leagues were renamed the Championship and Championship 1. Between 2009 and 2014 automatic promotion and relegation between Super League and the Championship was replaced by a franchise system. Teams in the Championship would have to apply for a licence to play in Super League. Licences were reviewed every 5 years. In 2013, it
2070-411: Was the same system, with Promotion and Relegation between the two, but with 12 teams in each division. The third option was most radical, and featured two leagues of 12, which would, after 11 games, split to three groups of 8. This would be mixed with a new funding structure. On 17 January 2014, it was announced the third option had been selected, but had been changed to split after 23 games, which would be
2116-470: Was the top tier of British rugby league until the RFL Women's Rugby League was introduced in 2012 with the aim of creating an elite top tier. This became the RFL Women's Super League in 2017, and also saw a second tier RFL Women's Championship introduced. The RFL Women's Super League South was introduced in 2021 to run parallel to the Super League, however this would become a second tier competition in
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