Cumbria Rugby League

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Cumbria Rugby League [1] is a series of summer rugby league competitions for amateur teams in Cumbria.

Contents

Cumbria Rugby League is part of the Rugby Football League and incorporates what is now called the "Iggesund Cumberland ARL" which has existed since 1899 and one of the few competitions that predates any attempt to organise the amateur game. Along with the Cumberland ARL, Cumbria Rugby League also runs the Barrow and District Leagues (open age and youth) along with the West Cumbria Youth League. [2] The leagues are jointly administered with the British Amateur Rugby League Association. [3]

Cumbria Rugby League itself was formed during the Rugby Football League's 2012 restructuring of amateur rugby league in Great Britain.

History

The Cumberland League has been in existence, in one form or another, since 1899. Millom, in 1897, was the first club in the county to defect from rugby union to Northern Union, they were followed a year later by Workington, Maryport, Whitehaven, Seaton, Brookland Rovers and Wath Brow. The first three named joined with Lancaster and the Furness clubs Barrow, Dalton and Askam to form the North Western League in 1898/99. The first champions were Millom who finished just ahead of Barrow.

On 10 May 1899 the Cumberland clubs met at the Grapes Hotel in Workington and agreed to form a Cumberland Senior League for the following season. They voted W.E. Mason (Whitehaven) to chair the new competition and R. Nixon (Maryport) was elected Hon. Secretary.

The participants in that first season, 1899/1900, were Brookland Rovers, Maryport, Seaton, Whitehaven, Whitehaven Rec and Workington.

In 2024, suggestions were made that the league could return to winter due to a number of fixtures cancellations caused by clubs being unable to field teams in the summer months. [4]

Iggesund Cumberland ARL

Premier Division

YearLeague LeadersPlay Off Final
WinnerResultRunner-up
1899/1900Maryport
1900/01Maryport
1901/02SeatonSeaton5-3Whitehaven Rec
1902/03MaryportMaryport18-0Seaton
1903/04MaryportNot played
1904/05PartonParton0-0

5-2

Brookland Rovers
1905/06Whitehaven Rec
1906/07 Millom Workington25-3 Millom
1907/08WorkingtonWorkingtonWOWhitehaven Rec
1908/09WorkingtonWorkington6-5Egremont
1909/10Broughton MoorBroughton Moor8-0Brookland Rovers
1910/11Broughton MoorBrookland Rovers2-0Broughton Moor
1911/12SeatonSeaton10-5Brookland Rovers
1912/13SeatonSeaton29-0Fothergill United
1913/14SeatonSeaton23-3Broughton Moor
1914/15Cancelled due to the First World War
1915/16
1916/17
1917/18
1918/19
1919/20Brookland RoversBrookland Rovers7-5Broughton Moor
1920/21Dearham Wanderers14-4Seaton
1921/22Broughton MoorBroughton Moor7-5 Wath Brow Hornets
1922/23Brookland RoversBrookland Rovers2-0Aspatria Hornets
1923/24Glasson Rangers5-3Flimby & Fothergill Utd
1924/25Brookland Rovers3-0Flimby & Fothergill Utd
1925/26 Hensingham Hensingham vs.Dearham/Brookland
1926/27Dearham WanderersDearham Wanderers11-0Brookland Rovers
1927/28Dearham WanderersDearham Wanderers20-0Whitehaven Rec
1928/29Whitehaven RecGlasson Rangers2-0Whitehaven Rec
1929/30Great CliftonGlasson Rangers12-5Great Clifton
1930/31Great Clifton Egremont Rangers 5-2Great Clifton
1931/32Glasson RangersGlasson Rangers2-0Flimby
1932/33FlimbyFlimby4-0Great Clifton
1933/34Dearham WanderersDearham Wanderers5-2Kells
1934/35KellsFlimby6-0Kells
1935/36Glasson RangersGlasson Rangers11-3Maryport
1936/37Netherton6-0Broughton
1937/38Glasson Rangers21-0Maryport
1938/39Glasson RangersGlasson Rangers
1939/40Cancelled due to the Second World War
1940/41
1941/42
1942/43
1943/44
1944/45
1945/46
1946/47
1947/48
1948/49
1949/50
1950/51
1951/52
1952/53
1953/54
1954/55
1955/56
1956/57
1957/58
1958/59
1959/60
1960/61
1961/62
1962/63
1963/64
1964/65
1965/66
1966/67
1967/68
1968/69
1969/70
1970/71
1971/72
1972/73
1973/74Seaton Rangers
1974/75MaryportMaryport
1975/76 Wath Brow Hornets
1976/77 Wath Brow Hornets
1977/78
1978/79LowcaEllenborough Rangers14-0Lowca
1979/80Lowca
1980/81
1981/82KellsGlasson Rangers
1982/83Kells12-8Lowca
1983/84Great Clifton Lions Egremont Rangers def.Great Clifton Lions
1984/85 Egremont Rangers
1985/86
1986/87
1987/88
1988/89Hensingham
1989/90Kells
1990/91Ellenborough Rangers
1991/92Ellenborough Rangers
1992/93Ellenborough Rangers
1993/94 Hensingham
1994/95 Hensingham Ellenborough Rangersdef. Hensingham
1995/96 Hensingham Wath Brow Hornets
1996/97WestfieldEllenborough Rangersdef.Westfield
1997/98Wath Brow HornetsEllenborough Rangers22-6 Wath Brow Hornets
1998/99Ellenborough RangersEllenborough Rangers28-12 Wath Brow Hornets
1999/2000 Wath Brow Hornets Hensingham 29-16 Wath Brow Hornets
2000/01 Wath Brow Hornets Wath Brow Hornets 28-18Ellenborough Rangers
2001/02 Wath Brow Hornets Wath Brow Hornets
2002/03 Hensingham Hensingham
2003/04 Hensingham Seaton Rangersdef. Hensingham
2004/05Seaton RangersKells52-10Egremont Rangers
2005/06Seaton RangersSeaton Rangersdef.
2006/07Seaton Rangers
2007/08Ellenborough Rangers
2008/09Kells
2009/10
2010/11
2012Kells
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019Distington [5] [6]
2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022
2023
2024

Division One

YearLeague LeadersPlay Off Final
WinnerResultRunner-up

Cumbria Men's League

In 2013, a short lived "Cumbria Men's League" was created for the higher performing teams of the Cumberland ARL competition. Winners are:

The competition ceased following the 2017 season. [8]

See also

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References

  1. "Competitions".
  2. "Player Stats".
  3. "District Leagues".
  4. https://cumbriacrack.com/2024/08/09/more-rugby-league-games-called-off-this-weekend/ [ bare URL ]
  5. "Defending champions Distington in form against Glasson". 5 September 2021.
  6. "Action beginning to heat up before Iggesund Cumberland League shuts down". 17 March 2020.
  7. "Hensingham clinch Cumbria Men's League title after beating defending champions Distington". News and Star. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  8. "The Iggesund Cumberland Amateur Rugby League to get under way with a new-look this weekend". 2 March 2018.