The Southern Conference League is a British

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

division in the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisat ...

's tier 4. It is the highest level of amateur

in the South of England and

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. It was one of the leagues that replaced Rugby League Conference. The competition was first played between 2012 and 2016, and was relaunched in 2019 after a two-year hiatus.

History

The Conference League South was founded in 2012 as a result of restructuring of the community game which saw the Rugby League Conference (RLC) broken up into regional leagues covering Britain and the heartlands National Conference League (NCL) move to a summer season. Some RLC sides joined a newly formed National Conference League Division 3 for a single season and applied for full membership of the NCL the following season. The Conference League South was created for sides outside the rugby league heartlands of the

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

that wanted a higher standard of rugby league than the

Midlands Rugby League Premier Division The Midlands Rugby League Premier Division is the highest level of amateur rugby league in the English Midlands. It was previously the Midlands Premier Division of the Rugby League Conference. Many of the clubs run juniors in the Midlands Junio ...

or the

South Premier The South Premier, also known as the London Premier, is a division in rugby league's tier 4. It was the highest level of amateur rugby league in the South of England until the creation in 2013 of Conference League South. It was first contested ...

but were not yet ready to join the NCL. In 2013 the six teams to compete in the Conference League South wer

Bristol Sonics Bristol Sonics are a rugby league club based in Bristol in the South West of England. The Sonics' first team plays in the Conference League South competition, having previously played in the now defunct Rugby League Conference Midlands Premie ...

, Nottingham Outlaws and

St Albans Centurions 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. Founded in 1996, they first played in various loca ...

joined from National Conference League Division 3;

Leicester Storm Leicester Storm are an amateur community rugby league football club based in Leicester, England. They compete in the Conference League South and their Academy Team compete in the 3v Sport Midlands Rugby League. The club's home is Phoenix Park w ...

and

Northampton Demons Northampton Demons is a rugby league club based in Duston, Northampton. They play in the RFL Midlands Rugby League Men's South Division. History Background - Nene Valley and Northampton Knights ''Nene Valley'' were set up in 1989 and they trai ...

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.

and

were replaced with

Oxford Cavaliers Oxford Cavaliers Rugby League Football Club is the first amateur rugby league club formed in Oxford in the summer era. Over 16 years the Cavaliers have coached and developed several players who have gone on to play the game both professionally a ...

and

Valley Cougars Valley Cougars are a rugby league team based in Treharris. They play in the Wales Premier League, which they won in 2017 after defeating the Torfaen Tigers in the league's Grand Final. History They were founded in 2001 as Cynon Valley Cougars an ...

in 2014 however

failed to complete the season.

dropped down to the

West of England Rugby League The South West Rugby League (SWRL) also known as the ''South West Men's League'', is a rugby league competition for teams in the South West of England. It was formerly part of the Rugby League Conference. The SWRL is a semi-autonomous league w ...

in 2015 which allowed four new clubs to join;

Gloucestershire Warriors Gloucestershire Warriors RLFC are a rugby league team from the county of Gloucestershire in England. They play in the Conference League South and in 2006 made their debut in the Challenge Cup. History ''Cheltenham Warriors'' were formed in 199 ...

Coventry Bears Reserves The Midlands Hurricanes are a semi-professional rugby league club jointly based in Birmingham and Coventry, West Midlands, England. They were founded as the Coventry Bears in 1998 and entered the third tier of the British rugby league system ...

Torfaen Tigers Torfaen Tigers are a rugby league team based in Pontypool, Torfaen, Wales. They play in the Southern Conference League division, which is the 4th tier in the Rugby league pyramid Torfaen Tigers runs 4 junior teams U12’s,14’s,16’s and 19� ...

and Raiders RL alongside the return of

. London Chargers were promoted to compete in 2016 alongside a new reserve side from University of Gloucestershire All Golds with

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. In May 2017, the RFL announced plans to introduce a new Southern League competition from 2018 onwards. 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, but the competition resumed in 2021, with a maiden title for Wests Warriors beating local rivals

London Chargers London Chargers R.L.F.C. are a rugby league side based in South West London who currently (2022) compete in the Southern Conference League, a tier 4 competition. They were known as the South West London Chargers up until November 2015. They ...

20 points to 10.

Clubs

Results

Winners

References

External links