Conference League South

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, thus operates in The Midlands, South 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.

Southern Conference League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 Southern Conference League
SportRugby league
Founded2012
No. of teams8
Country England
 Wales
Most recent
champion(s)
Hammersmith Hills Hoists
(2023)
Promotion toLeague 1 (via RFL application)
Relegation toMidlands League
South West League
East League
London and South East League
North Wales Conference
South Wales Premiership
(all via RFL application)
Domestic cup(s)Challenge Cup
Official websiteRFL SCL Page

History

The Conference League South was founded in 2012 following the restructuring of amateur rugby league in Great Britain. Teams competing in the Rugby League Conference National Division in 2011 were moved to the 2012 NCL Division Three season, however many opted to play outside of the National Conference League hence the formation of the Conference League South. Because of this, the 2012 NCL Division Three season and 2012 Conference League South season are the same.

The Conference League South was created for sides outside the rugby league heartlands of the North of England that wanted a higher standard of rugby league than the Midlands Rugby League Premier Division or the South Premier but were not yet ready to join the NCL.

In 2013 the six teams to compete in the Conference League South were,[1] Bristol Sonics, Nottingham Outlaws and St Albans Centurions joined from National Conference League Division 3; Leicester Storm and Northampton Demons were elevated from the premier division of Midlands Rugby League and Sheffield Hallam Eagles joined as a new side after the collapse of the Championship reserve under-23 division.

Northampton Demons and St Albans Centurions were replaced with Oxford Cavaliers and Valley Cougars in 2014 however Oxford Cavaliers failed to complete the season. Bristol Sonics dropped down to the West of England Rugby League in 2015 which allowed four new clubs to join; Gloucestershire Warriors, Coventry Bears Reserves, Torfaen Tigers and Raiders RL alongside the return of Oxford Cavaliers.

London Chargers were promoted to compete in 2016 alongside a new reserve side from University of Gloucestershire All Golds with Gloucestershire Warriors, Leicester Storm, Oxford Cavaliers and Sheffield Hallam Eagles dropping out.

At the end of the 2016 season, it was announced that the Conference League South season would not take place in 2017, and teams would return to their respective regional leagues.[2] In May 2017, the RFL announced plans to introduce a new Southern League competition from 2018 onwards.[3]

The Conference League South was reintroduced for the 2019 season as the Southern Conference League, split into geographic Eastern and Western divisions, with the Hammersmith Hills Hoists winning the first title under the tournament's new name. The 2020 season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the competition resumed in 2021, with a maiden title for Wests Warriors beating local rivals London Chargers 20 points to 10.

For the 2023 season, the geographic split of the league has been removed with all teams in the divisions below being able to apply to enter the competition if they so wish. When the fixture list was released, only 8 teams have entered the division - All Golds, Bedford Tigers, Brentwood Eels, Eastern Rhinos, Hammersmith Hills Hoists, London Chargers, North Herts Crusaders, Wests Warriors.

Clubs

Locations of Conference League South teams in England
Team City Ground
Bristol All Golds Bristol North Bristol RFC[4]
Bedford Tigers Bedford Great Ouse Way[5]
Brentwood Eels Brentwood, Essex Old Brentwoods RFC
Eastern Rhinos Colchester Mill Road Playing Fields[6]
Hammersmith Hills Hoists Chiswick, London Chiswick RFC[7]
London Chargers Chiswick, London Chiswick RFC[8]
North Herts Crusaders Hitchin King George V Playing Fields[9]
Wests Warriors Acton, London Twyford Avenue[10]

Results

Season Grand Final Information
Champions Score Runners-up
2012 Hemel Stags 17–10 Huddersfield Underbank Rangers
2013 Sheffield Hallam Eagles 32–24 Nottingham Outlaws
2014 Valley Cougars 19–10 Sheffield Hallam Eagles
2015 Nottingham Outlaws 39–12 Valley Cougars
2016 London Chargers 42–0 Valley Cougars
2017 Hiatus
2018
2019 Hammersmith Hills Hoists 16–10 London Chargers
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Wests Warriors 20–10 London Chargers
2022 Wests Warriors 20–12[11] London Chargers
2023 Hammersmith Hills Hoists 14–0 Wests Warriors

Winners

Club Wins Winning years
Hammersmith Hills Hoists22019, 2023
Wests Warriors22021, 2022
Hemel Stags12012
Sheffield Hallam Eagles12013
Valley Cougars12014
Nottingham Outlaws12015
London Chargers12016

Tables

2021

Western Conference Eastern Conference
POSCLUBPWLDPFPADIFFPTSPOSCLUBPWLDPFPADIFFPTS
1Swindon St George64201621501281Wests Warriors12120053814639224
2Valley Cougars63301561154152London Chargers12102039620718920
3Devon Sharks62311441251953Hammersmith Hills Hoists128403513084316
4All Golds6231114186-7234North Herts Crusaders125703663264010
Deductions
  • Valley Cougars: 1 points for forfeit
  • All Golds: 2 point for two forfeits
  • Hemel Stags: 1 point for forfeit
  • South London Silverbacks: 1 point for forfeit
5Bedford Tigers11560274298-2410
6Eastern Rhinos12570250344-9410
7Hemel Stags111100139423-2841
8South London Silverbacks100100132394-262-1
Playoffs
  • Preliminary Round
London Chargers 56–18 North Herts Crusaders
Devon Sharks 22–36 Hammersmith Hills Hoists
Swindon St George 24–22 Bedford Tigers
  • Semi Finals
Wests Warriors 36–10 Hammersmith Hills Hoists
Swindon St George 14–52 London Chargers
  • Final
Wests Warriors 20–10 London Chargers

2022

Western Conference Eastern Conference
POSCLUBPWLDPFPADIFFPTSPOSCLUBPWLDPFPADIFFPTS
1All Golds5410138548481London Chargers12120048216431824
2Torfaen Tigers64202281527682Wests Warriors12102046022823220
3Swindon St George6240146188-4233Brentwood Eels12570210316-10610
4Devon Sharks514054172-11824Eastern Rhinos12480238290-528
Deductions
  • Swindon St George: 1 point for forfeit
  • Hammersmith Hills Hoists: 1 point for forfeit
5Bedford Tigers12480220314-948
6North Herts Crusaders12480226392-1668
7Hammersmith Hills Hoists12390228360-1325
Playoffs
  • Preliminary Rounds
Torfaen Tigers 0–24 Brentwood Eels
All Golds 46–6 Eastern Rhinos
  • Semi Finals
All Golds 12–46 Wests Warriors
Brentwood Eels 8–38 London Chargers
  • Final
Wests Warriors 20–12 London Chargers[11]

2023

POSCLUBPWLDPFPADIFFPTS
1Wests Warriors14131069012656426
2Hammersmith Hills Hoists14131047015032026
3London Chargers14104046618428220
4Brentwood Eels147703803463414
5Bristol All Golds14680280424-18412
6Eastern Rhinos144100230458-2288
7North Herts Crusaders142120146502-3563
8Bedford Tigers141130154586-432-1
Deductions
  • Bedford Tigers: 3 points for three forfeits
  • North Herts Crusaders: 1 point for forfeit
Playoffs
  • Semi Finals
Wests Warriors 38–6 Brentwood Eels
Hammersmith Hills Hoists 28–12 London Chargers
  • Final
Wests Warriors 0–14 Hammersmith Hills Hoists

See also

References

  1. "Conference South to launch in April". Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
  2. Hodgson, Phil (15 December 2016). "Goodbye to the Conference League South?". Total Rugby League. League Publications. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  3. "New Southern Rugby League Competition set to launch in 2018". The Rugby Football League. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  4. "Contact | All Golds Rugby League Football Club". allgoldsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  5. "Contact Bedford Tigers RLFC". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  6. "StackPath". www.easternrhinos.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  7. "CONTACT". mysite. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  8. "Contact London Chargers RL". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  9. "North Herts Crusaders Rugby League". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  10. "Contact Wests Warriors Rugby League". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  11. "Wests Warriors Crowned SCL Champions Once Again". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
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