East Rugby League

Last updated

East Rugby League
Founded1997;27 years ago (1997)
CountryFlag of England.svg  England
Number of teams11
Level on pyramid9
Domestic cup(s) Community Challenge Cup
Current champions Bedford Tigers A

The East Rugby League is a summer rugby league competition for amateur teams from the East of England. The competition was formed in 1997 as one of the two founding divisions of the Rugby League Conference. It ended its time in the conference as the RLC East Regional before being know by its current name from 2012 with restructure of amateur rugby league in Great Britain.

Contents

History

The Rugby League Conference was founded in 1997 as the Southern Conference, a 10-team pilot league for teams in the South of England and the English Midlands. The initial line-up of divisions included an Eastern Division and this has been a feature of the Conference ever since.

The Premier Divisions were set up in 2005 for teams who had achieved a certain playing standard and were able to travel further afield to find stronger opposition.

The Eastern Division became the East Division in 2009.

The RFL restructured amateur rugby league in 2012 and the Eastern region became rebranded as East Rugby League.

The East Premier was set up for the 2013 season with an East Entry League below this for emerging clubs and second teams. 2013 is also the inaugural year for the East Cup. The competition operates for all tier 4 clubs in the Eastern Counties of England. (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk & Suffolk)

In 2014, a new division between the Premier and Entry level was formed and named East Division 1. It provides a more structured level for teams who cannot compete with the standard of the established East Premier. Promotion and relegation between the two competitions begins in 2015.

Position in Pyramid

Participating teams by season

Premier Division (1997–present)

RLC era (1997–2011)

  • 1997: Bedford Swifts, Ipswich Rhinos, Kingston, North London Skolars, West London
  • 1998: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Ipswich Rhinos, Northampton (failed to start season), South Norfolk Saints
  • 1999: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Hemel Stags, Ipswich Rhinos, South Norfolk Saints
  • 2000: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Hemel Stags, Ipswich Rhinos, South Norfolk Saints, St Albans Centurions
  • 2001: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Ipswich Rhinos, South Norfolk Saints, St Albans Centurions
  • 2002: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Ipswich Rhinos, Luton Vipers, St Albans Centurions
  • 2003: Cambridge Eagles, Essex Eels, Ipswich Rhinos, Luton Vipers, South Norfolk Saints, St Ives Roosters
  • 2004: Cambridge Eagles, Hemel Stags 'A', Ipswich Rhinos, Luton Vipers, Middlesex Lions, North London Skolars 'A', South Norfolk Saints, St Ives Roosters
  • 2005: Bedford Tigers, Cambridge Eagles, Luton Vipers 'A', South Norfolk Saints, St Albans Centurions 'A', St Ives Roosters (Luton Vipers A failed to complete the season) [1]
  • 2006: Bedford Tigers, Cambridge Eagles, Colchester Romans, South Norfolk Saints, St Ives Roosters (Northampton failed to start the season)
  • 2007: Bedford Tigers, Cambridge Eagles, Colchester Romans, Greenwich Admirals, St Ives Roosters, Thetford Titans [2]
  • 2008: Cambridge Eagles, Colchester Romans, Greenwich Admirals, Hainault Bulldogs, Northampton Casuals, St Ives Roosters, Thetford Titans
  • 2009: Bury Titans, Cambridge Eagles, Colchester Romans, Hainault Bulldogs A, St Ives Roosters, Northampton Casuals, Norwich City Saxons (Cambridge Eagles and Hainault Bulldogs A failed to complete the season)
  • 2010: Bedford Tigers, Bury Titans, Northampton Casuals, Norwich City Saxons, St Albans Centurions A, St Ives Roosters (St Albans Centurions A failed to complete the season) [3]
  • 2011: Bedford Tigers, Bury Titans, Northampton Demons A, Norwich City Saxons, St Ives Roosters, Sudbury Gladiators (Northampton Demons A and Norwich City Saxons failed to complete the season)

East RL era (2012–)

  • 2012: Bedford Tigers, Bury Titans, King's Lynn Black Knights, Milton Keynes Wolves, North Herts Crusaders, St Ives Roosters
  • 2013: Bedford Tigers, King's Lynn Black Knights, Milton Keynes Wolves, North Herts Crusaders, St Ives Roosters (Stowmarket Titans failed to complete the season)
  • 2014: Bedford Tigers, King's Lynn Black Knights, Milton Keynes Wolves, North Herts Crusaders, Southend Spartans, St Ives Roosters
  • 2015: Bedford Tigers, King's Lynn Black Knights, Milton Keynes Wolves, North Herts Crusaders, St Albans Centurions, St Ives Roosters
  • 2016: Bedford Tigers, Brentwood Eels, Hemel Stags (community), NH Crusaders, St Albans Centurions, St Ives Roosters

East Division 1 (2014–2018)

NB: Bovingdon Bulldogs failed to start the season and were replaced by North Herts Crusaders 'A'

East Entry League (2013–2016)

Winners

[4]

YearPremier DivisionDivision OneEntry LeagueCommunity Challenge CupCommunity Challenge ShieldCommunity Challenge Vase9sWomen's Championship
1997North London Skolars (now London Skolars)———————
1998South Norfolk Saints (now Bury Titans)
1999Ipswich Rhinos (now Eastern Rhinos)
2000Hemel Stags
2001Ipswich Rhinos (now Eastern Rhinos)
2002Luton Vipers
2003South Norfolk Saints (now Bury Titans)
2004Ipswich Rhinos (now Eastern Rhinos)
2005St Albans Centurions A
2006Bedford Tigers (Beat St Ives Roosters)
2007Bedford Tigers (Beat St Ives Roosters)
2008Hainault Bulldogs
2009Northampton Casuals (Beat Bury Titans)
2010Northampton Demons
2011Sudbury Gladiators (Beat Bury Titans)
2012North Herts Crusaders (Beat St Ives Roosters)
2013North Herts Crusaders (Beat St Ives Roosters)Bedford Tigers ANorth Herts Crusaders (Beat Bedford Tigers)St Ives Roosers (Beat MK Wolves)King's Lynn Black Knights
2014St Ives Roosters (Beat Bedford Tigers)Brentwood Eels—North Herts Crusaders (Beat Bedford Tigers)King's Lynn Black Knights (Beat Brentwood Eels)MK Wolves
2015Bedford Tigers (Beat St Ives Roosters)Brentwood EelsHemel Stags ABedford Tigers (Beat King's Lynn Black Knights 46–4) - MOM Paul RyderSt Ives Roosters (Beat NH Crusaders)Southend Spartans (Beat NH Knights)Bedford Tigers
2016Hemel Stags (Beat Bedford Tigers)MK WolvesBedford Tigers ABedford Tigers (Beat Hemel Stags 22–16) [5] Brentwood Eels (Beat NH Crusaders 32–26) [5] King's Lynn Black Knights (Beat Eastern Rhinos A 36–16) [5] Bedford Tigers
2017Hemel Stags (Beat Bedford Tigers)Luton Vipers—Bedford Tigers (St Albans Centurions 38–12)NH Crusaders (Beat Hemel Stags)Luton Vipers (Beat Hemel Stags A)St Albans Centurions
2018North Herts Crusaders (Beat Bedford Tigers)North Herts KnightsBedford Tigers (NH Crusaders 24–14) - MOM Ollie PetersSt Ives Roosters (Southend Sharks unable to attend match)—NH Crusaders
2019Brentwood Eels (Beat St Ives Roosters 18–16)—St Albans Centurions (Brentwood Eels 30–28) - MOM Kristian Naylor—Bedford Tigers
2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic —
2021Brentwood Eels (Beat Bedford Tigers A 40–18)————
2022St Albans Centurions (beat Bedford Tigers A)Canvey Knights (Beat NH Knights) 22-18 (Player of the Match Brett Smith 'Canvey Knights')
2023Bedford Tigers A (Beat Anglian Vipers 38–28) MOM Scott AspinallBedford Tigers (Beat Hemel Stags 54–20) - MOM Ryan Litchfield—Bedford Tigers A (Beat Anglian Vipers 20–18) MVP Zoe Booth

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertfordshire</span> County of England

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Watford, and the county town is Hertford.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South London Storm</span> English amateur rugby league club, based in Croydon, South London

South London Storm was a rugby league club who played and trained at Archbishop Lanfranc School in the London Borough of Croydon. They competed in the London and South East Merit League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedford Tigers</span> English amateur rugby league club

Bedford Tigers RLFC is a rugby league club based in Bedford, England. The first team plays in the Southern Conference, with a second team in the East Premier League. As a club, Bedford Tigers have moved to their own ground in 2018 and have two senior sides as well as two junior sides, a satellite programme and proposed schools program too.

The 2006 National Leagues are the second, third and fourth divisions of rugby league in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Albans Centurions</span> English amateur rugby league club

The St Albans Centurions are a rugby league club based in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The club plays their home games at Toulmin Drive, St Albans and their clubhouse is in High Oaks, St Albans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemel Stags</span> Defunct English rugby league club

The Hemel Stags are an amateur rugby league club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. They were semi-professional and played in Betfred League 1 from 2013 until 2018. They withdrew from the professional system when their licence was purchased by Eric Perez and permission was granted by the RFL to relocate it, this would ultimately lead to Cornwall R.L.F.C. entering League 1. The extensive community rugby league teams at Hemel Stags were unaffected As such, Hemel Stags still ran an amateur team at the Southern Conference League East Division in the 2021 season

St Ives Roosters are a rugby league club from St Ives in Cambridgeshire. They were founded in 1991 as one of the first rugby league clubs in East Anglia. Currently they play in the Rugby League Conference East Division.

The Rugby League Conference (RLC), 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 London and South East Rugby League is a summer rugby league competition for amateur teams in London and the surrounding area. The competition was formed in 2005 as the RLC Southern Premier. Its name changed following the 2012 restructure of amateur rugby league in Great Britain.

The Rugby League Conference National Division was the fourth division of the British rugby league system.

The Rugby League Conference (RLC), also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from the Co-operative Group, is a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland, and Wales.

The National Conference League is the top league in the pyramid of amateur rugby leagues. It was formerly run by the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) in winter but now forms tier 3 of the RFL's pyramid in summer Archived 2012-01-19 at the Wayback Machine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Titans</span> English amateur rugby league club

Plymouth Rugby League Football Club is a rugby league club based in Plymouth.

The Southern Conference League is the fourth tier of the British rugby league system. It is the highest level of amateur rugby league outside of the heartlands in Northern England, operating in The Midlands, Southern England, and Wales. It was one of the many leagues that replaced the Rugby League Conference. The competition was first played between 2012 and 2016, and was relaunched in 2019 after a two-year hiatus.

Zane Banton is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker for National League South club St Albans City.

MK Wolves are an amateur rugby league team based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. They compete in the East RL division of the RFL's Regional Leagues. They train at Emerson Valley Sports Pavilion which also serves as their home pitch, and is also home to Milton Keynes RUFC (MK RUFC). They are currently ranked club No. 175 by Pitchero.

References

  1. ↑ "Conference set for further expansion". Warrington Guardian. 31 January 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Perfect Ten for RL Conference". Love Rugby League. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "RL Conference breaks 100 team barrier". Love Rugby League. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. ↑ https://www.rugby-league.com/competitions/community-leagues/east-rugby-league [ bare URL ]
  5. 1 2 3 "Bedford Tigers retain East RL Cup after second-half fightback". RFL. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.