The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby union system.
Rugby league is played across England but is most popular in Northern England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire where the game originated. These areas are the heartland of rugby league. The sport is also popular in Cumbria where the amateur game is particularly powerful.
Christopher John Ashton is a retired English rugby union and former rugby league footballer, and one of the few players who have represented England in both rugby codes. Ashton primarily played wing and secondarily played fullback.
John Kear is an English professional rugby league coach, for the Wales national rugby league team. He also works as a pundit for BBC Sport and is a former professional rugby league footballer.
Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are one that developed in Europe, characterized by a tiered structure using promotion and relegation in order to determine participation in a hierarchy of leagues or divisions, and a North American originated model characterized by its use of franchises, closed memberships, and minor leagues. Both these systems remain most common in their area of origin, although both systems are used worldwide.
Sport in England plays a prominent role in English society. Popular teams sports in England include association football, field hockey, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, and netball. Major individual sports include badminton, athletics, tennis, boxing, golf, cycling, motorsport, and horseracing. Cricket is regarded as the national summer sport. Association football is the most popular sport, followed by cricket, tennis and rugby. A number of modern sports were codified in England during the nineteenth century, among them cricket, rugby union, rugby league, football, field hockey, bandy, squash, tennis, and badminton. The game of baseball was first described in 18th century England.
Exeter University Rugby Football Club (EURFC) is the University of Exeter's rugby club. The men's side boasts nine sides competing in BUCS competitions, as well as a Saturday XV, currently playing in National League 2 West – a level 4 league in the English rugby union system – following their promotion from South West Premier as champions in 2021–22. The University 1st XV compete in BUCS Super Rugby, the flagship university rugby league in the United Kingdom.
The British Universities American Football League (BUAFL) is an American football league contested by university teams in the United Kingdom as part of the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) organisation. The league was formed by the British American Football Association (BAFA), the national governing body of American football in the UK, in 2007 as the successor to the British Collegiate American Football League, after BAFA withdrew its recognition of the British Student American Football Association which ran that league. The BUAFL has been credited with reviving interest in American football in the UK.
Regional 1 South West is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When this division began in 1987 it was known as South West Division 1. The format of the league was changed at the beginning of the 2009–10 season following reorganisation by the Rugby Football Union, and the name change from National League 3 to South West Premier was introduced for the 2017–18 season by the RFU in order to lessen confusion for what is a series of regional leagues. Regional 1 South West, is the highest regional rugby union league covering South West England. The club finishing in first place is automatically promoted to National League 2 West. Relegated teams drop down to either Regional 2 South West or Regional 2 Severn, depending on their location.
The Women's Premiership, also called the RFUW Premiership was the top level of women's rugby union in England until 2017. It was formed in 1990 and was run by the Rugby Football Union for Women. It was superseded in the 2017/18 season by Premier 15s.
Counties 1 Western West is an English rugby union league. Originally a single division called Western Counties, in 1996 the division split into two regional leagues called Western Counties North and Western Counties West. Western Counties West was renamed Counties 1 Western West prior to the 2022–23 season and is currently a seventh tier league for clubs based in the south-west of England; mainly Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. The champions are promoted to Regional 2 South West. The number of teams relegated depends on feedback following promotion and relegation in the leagues above, but is usually two or three to either Counties 2 Cornwall, Counties 2 Devon or Counties 2 Somerset, depending on location.
The Super League is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of which ten are from Northern England, reflecting the sport's geographic heartland within the UK, one from London and one from southern France.
National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage League National Division Three when founded in 1987. Cambridge are the current champions.
The 2012 Championship 1 was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in England and Wales, the third tier of the sport in the country. For one season only, the top four teams were promoted to the 2013 Rugby Football League Championship, while the champions of the division were decided by a six-team play-off, which was won by Doncaster, who beat Barrow 16–13 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
The 2014 Championship 1, known as the Kingstone Press Championship 1 for sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in England, the third tier of the sport in the country.
Top-level rugby league in 2014 centred on Australasia's 2014 NRL Auckland Nines, 2014 NRL season and the Super League XIX. High-profile representative competitions included the 2014 Rugby League Four Nations and the 2014 State of Origin series.
Premiership Women's Rugby, officially known as Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby or The Allianz PWR, is an annual semi-professional women's rugby union club competition at the highest level of the English rugby union system, and is run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). It is contested by nine clubs who play two series of round-robin matches to determine the four participants of a single-elimination tournament. It began play in the 2017–18 season, superseding the former Women's Premiership, and introducing elements of professionalism in the sport's highest level. In its first six seasons, the competition was known as the Premier 15s. Gloucester-Hartpury are the current champions, while Saracens have won the most championships (3).
Samuel George Skinner is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Edinburgh. Born in England, he represents Scotland at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.
National League 2 West is a rugby union league at level four in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in the Midlands and South West England. The remainder of England is covered by two other regional leagues; National League 2 East and National League 2 North. The champion club is promoted to National One. The last two teams are relegated to either Regional 1 Midlands or Regional 1 South West.
