The Midlands Rugby League Division Two is a summer

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 ...

tournament in the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

region of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was previously known as the Midlands Rugby League and the Midlands Merit League. Its season runs from April to August.

History

The ''Midlands Merit League'' was founded in late 2005 to support the growth of rugby league in non-heartland areas. The 2007 season saw the introduction of an informal under-15 league

Midlands Junior League The Midlands Junior League is an age group rugby league development competition for clubs in the English Midlands. It is run by the Midlands Rugby League. Many of the teams taking part also run open-age sides in the Rugby League Conference or Mid ...

based on Merit League principles. In 2008 the junior competition featured under-14 and under-16 divisions. The league was renamed

RL Merit League The Midlands Merit League, was a summer rugby league tournament in England held between 2006 and 2009. It was a feeder league to the Rugby League Conference and had a season that ran from April to August. In its last season of 2009, it was also kn ...

(RLML) for the 2008 season due to its increased geographical spread with teams from 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 ...

taking part. 2009 saw the largest ever entry, with over 30 teams split into two Northern pools; "Yorkshire and Humber" and "North West" and the stand-alone Midlands Rugby League. In 2012, the

Rugby League Conference 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, ...

was replaced by regional leagues and the Midlands Rugby League took control of the RLC Midlands Premier Division and the RLC Midlands regional division. The old Midlands Rugby League continued as Division Two of the new Midlands pyramid.

Community game pyramid

National Conference League The National Conference League (known as the Kingstone Press National Conference League for sponsorship reasons) is the top English amateur rugby league competition in the Rugby Football League pyramid, and as such is the leading amateur rugby l ...

Conference League South The Southern Conference League is a British rugby league division in the Rugby Football League's tier 4. It is the highest level of amateur rugby league in the South of England and South Wales. It was one of the leagues that replaced Rugby Leagu ...

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 ...

Midlands Rugby League Division One The Midlands Men's Division 1 is a rugby league competition for clubs in the English Midlands. It was formerly known as the Rugby League Conference Midlands Division. Many of the clubs run juniors in the Midlands Junior League. History The Ru ...

* Midlands Rugby League Division Two

Participating clubs

The participating clubs in 2012 were:

Participating teams by season

:For information prior to the split see:

History of the RL Merit League The Midlands Merit League was a summer rugby league tournament in England. In its final two years, it was known as the RL Merit League. It was superseded by the Midlands Rugby League, North West Merit League and Yorkshire & Humber Merit League. H ...

*2009: Birmingham Bulldogs A, Burntwood Barbarians, Coventry Bears A, Leamington Royals, Leicester Phoenix A, Northampton Casuals A, North Derbyshire Chargers B, Nottingham Outlaws, Redditch Ravens, Telford Raiders A, Wolverhampton Warlords, Wolverhampton Wizards *2010: Birmingham Bulldogs B, Dronfield Drifters, Leicester Storm A, North Derbyshire Chargers, Northampton Casuals A, Nottingham Outlaws B, Telford Raiders A, Wolverhampton RLFC *2011: Coventry Dragons, Coventry Warriors, Dronfield Drifters, Hope Valley Hawks, Leamington Royals A, Leicester Storm A, NEW Ravens, Nottingham Outlaws B, Sleaford Spartans, Telford Raiders A, Wolverhampton RLFC *2012: Bridgnorth Bulls, Coventry Warriors, Derby City, Dronfield Drifters, Hope Valley Hawks, Leamington Royals A, North Derbyshire Chargers, Telford Raiders A *2013: Coventry Dragons A, Coventry Warriors, Derby City, Leamington Royals, Telford Raiders A, Wolverhampton RLFC *2014: Boston Buccaneers, Buxton Bulls, Coventry Bears A, Coventry Dragons A, Derby City A, Sherwood Wolf Hunt

Teams joining the Rugby League Conference

*2010:

Birmingham Bulldogs Birmingham RLFC are a rugby league team based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. They play in the Midlands Premier division of the Rugby League Conference. History ''Birmingham Bulldogs'' were founded in 1989. The club's first season was in 1989� ...

Coventry Bears 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, ...

Leamington Royals Leamington Royals are a rugby league team based in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. They play in the Midlands Rugby League Division Two. History Leamington Royals were formed in 2009. The club were accepted into the Midlands Rugby L ...

Redditch Ravens North East Worcestershire Ravens, also known as NEW Ravens, are a rugby league club based in opwood Worcestershire. They play in the Midlands Premier division of the Rugby League Conference and Midlands Rugby League attracting players from all ...

*2011:

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 Premi ...

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 ...

Format

The scoring system for 2010 for the Midlands Rugby League men's competition was as follows: Win: 3 points Draw: 2 points Defeat not conceded: 1 point Default on game within three days of fixture: 0 points, with 24-0 score-line awarded to the opposition. The average number of points scored per game, rather than the total, determines positions in the league table. Teams who have played 6 or more games will be placed higher in the table than those who haven't. If the average is the same, total games played followed by points difference will determine the placings. Inter-league games between members of the Midlands Rugby League and the London League or

can be counted as competitive matches, whilst both leagues are in season. These fixtures will need to be confirmed a week in advance to be guaranteed inclusion as regular season games.

Past winners

For the sake of completeness, previous Midlands competitions are included.

Midlands Merit League Championship

Midlands Merit League Shield

Midlands Rugby League

Midlands Rugby League Division Two

*2012

Hope Valley Hawks Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

*2013

External links

Midlands rugby league siteRugby League Conference official site
{{British_Rugby_League_links Rugby League Conference Sports leagues established in 2009 2009 establishments in England