Japan Rugby League One is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the Japan Company Rugby Football Championship, to drive up the overall standard and popularity of the sport and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team. The chief architect of the league was Hiroaki Shukuzawa who strongly felt the urgency of improving Japanese domestic company rugby to a professional level which would allow Japan to compete more convincingly at Rugby World Cups.
The Welsh Premier Division, known for sponsorship reasons as the Indigo Group Premiership, is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season.
The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League.
Domestic club rugby union within Scotland remains a predominantly amateur sport; however, semi-professional and professional outfits have been created in recent decades to participate in cross-border competitions.
Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system.
The Scottish Regional Leagues are the lowest levels of the Scottish rugby union system. They consist of three regions:
Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions worldwide. The clubs play each other home and away then they enter into a play-off series culminating with a Grand Final. The competition is the continuation and first division of the French Rugby League Championship, which has been in existence since 1934.
The French rugby league system is a four tiered structure with the major national club competition being the Elite One Championship. Below this is the Elite Two Championship and a number of regional leagues. The teams in each competition can change each year depending on final standings and relegation/promotion.
Elite 2 is the second tier semi-professional rugby league competition in France below Elite 1, but above the National Division 1. The season runs from September to April. The clubs play each other home and away before entering into a series of play-off matches resulting in a Grand Final. The winners can gain promotion to Elite 1 providing they meet a minimum criteria. Occasionally the runners-up could be offered promotion.
National Division 2 is the fourth tier of rugby league in France, below the National Division 1. The season runs from September to April. The Division is split into 5 regional leagues, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees, Aquitaine, Ile de France and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA). Clubs play each other home and away in their respective regional league with the top clubs progressing into a series of play-off matches to determine the champions. The champions can apply for promotion to the National Division 1. This tier was formerly known as the Federal Championship.
La Réole XIII are a semi-professional Rugby league club based in La Réole, Gironde in the Aquitaine region in the south of France. They were founded in 1938. From 2016-17 they will play in the National Division 2 Aquitaine Regional Competition. The club plays its home matches at the Stade Municipal La Reole and are currently coached by New Zealander Scott Hurrell
Counties 1 Western North 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 North was renamed Counties 1 Western North prior to the 2022–23 season and is currently a seventh tier league for clubs based in the south-west of England; mainly Bristol, Gloucestershire and Somerset. The champions are promoted to South West 1 West and the runner-up plays the second team in Western Counties West, with the winning team gaining promotion. The number of teams relegated depends on feedback following promotion and relegation in the leagues above, but is usually two or three to Gloucester Premier and Somerset Premier. Although 2nd XV rugby is part of the Somerset regional league system, only 1st XV teams are allowed in Tribute Western Counties North.
Rugby union in New Zealand is structured into four tiers. The top tier is composed of the national representative teams, with the men's team – known as the All Blacks – and the women's team - known as the Black Ferns, at the top, followed by other representative sides such as the Junior All Blacks and Māori All Blacks. These national sides are administered by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU). Below this level is Super Rugby, where there are five New Zealand sides, each representing a different region of the country. Below this level is provincial rugby, the third tier – each province has a representative side that plays in either the semi-professional Bunnings Warehouse NPC, or amateur Heartland Championship. These provincial sides are selected of Super Rugby players, and club players from within the province. Club rugby is the fourth and lowest tier, and consists of clubs competing in local leagues organised by a provincial union.
South West 1 East is an English, level six, rugby union league in south and south-west England; mainly Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Gloucester, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. Originally a single division known as South West 2, since 1996 the division has been split into two regional leagues – South West 1 East and South West 1 West.
Midlands 2 East (North) is a level 7 English Rugby Union league and level 2 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the northern part of the East Midlands region including clubs from Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the occasional team from Leicestershire, with home and away matches played throughout the season. When this division began in 1992 it was known as Midlands East 1, until it was split into two regional divisions called Midlands 3 East (North) and Midlands 3 East (South) ahead of the 2000–01 season. Further restructuring of the Midlands leagues ahead of the 2009–10 season, led to the current name of Midlands 2 East (North).
The 2012 Rugby Football League Championship, also known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group, was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in the UK, one tier below the first tier Super League. The two worst performing teams during the season usually are relegated to Championship 1, however for the 2012 season, no relegation took place, due to the expansion of the Championship to 14 teams in 2013. The winners of the division is decided by a play-off system involving the top 6 teams at the end of the regular season with two teams eventually progressing to the Grand Final. The final was won by Sheffield Eagles, who beat Featherstone Rovers 20–16 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
The 2016 Rugby Football League Championship, known as Kingstone Press Championship due to sponsorship by Kingstone Press Cider, was a rugby league football competition played in the UK, one tier below the first tier Super League. The 2016 season was the second to consist of a new structure combining the championship and super league divisions three quarters of the way through the season.
The 2016 County Championship Plate, also known as Bill Beaumont Cup Division 2, was the 15th version of the annual English rugby union, County Championship organised by the RFU for the tier 2 English counties. Each county drew its players from rugby union clubs from the third tier and below of the English rugby union league system. The counties were divided into two regional pools (north/south) with four teams in each and the winners of each pool meet in the final to be held at Twickenham Stadium. New counties to the division included Kent and Durham County who were relegated from the 2015 Bill Beaumont Cup while Leicestershire were promoted as the winners of the 2015 County Championship Shield.
The 2017 Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 was the 117th version of the annual, English rugby union, County Championship organised by the RFU for the top tier English counties. This was the first season it would be officially known as Bill Beaumont Division 1 having previously been known as the Bill Beaumont Cup. Each county drew its players from rugby union clubs from the third tier and below of the English rugby union league system. The counties were divided into two regional sections with the winners of each meeting in the final held at Twickenham Stadium. Cornwall were the defending champions.
France 
