The Rugby Football League Women's Super League South (known as the Betfred Women's Super League South due to sponsorship) is one of two top-level club competitions in

women's rugby league Women's rugby league is the female-only version of Rugby league. There are women's clubs in Australia, Great Britain, and New Zealand, overseen internationally by the Women & Girls Rugby League. Australia, France, England and New Zealand co ...

in southern England and South Wales. It was originally intended to start in 2020, but was delayed due to the

coronavirus 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 identifie ...

. The inaugural season started in mid-June 2021 and ended on 29 August.

History

On 30 April 2021, 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 organisati ...

(RFL) announced the establishment of a new "Super League South" competition, which runs in parallel to the existing

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

competition in the north of England, rather than directly expand it and is the top level of club competition in southern England and South Wales. The inaugural Super League south season started in June 2021, competed for by six teams, divided into two conferences of three teams each. On 31 January 2023, the RFL announced a new pyramid for the women's game, and in doing so confirmed that the 2023 season would be the Super League South's last. The competition would be replaced by the Regional League South and become a second tier competition with opportunity for promotion to the

RFL Women's Super League The Rugby Football League Women's Super League (known as the Betfred Women's Super League due to sponsorship) is the elite women's rugby league club competition in England. Originally competed between four teams in the 2017 season, the league has ...

. Regional League South would run parallel with a North, Roses, and Midlands league.

Clubs

:''Italics'' indicates no longer in competition.

Structure

For the inaugural season in 2021, the three teams in each conference played each other twice home and away, for a total of six games each. At the conclusion of these matches, the semi-finals saw the winner of each conference playing the runner-up of the other. The winners of those two games thus played in the Grand Final, with the

Cardiff Demons The Cardiff Demons RLFC name has been used multiple times over the years. Firstly for a now-defunct men's rugby league side, and subsequently for a women's rugby league side who began in 2021. The men's sids played out of St. Peters RFC in the ...

winning 30–26 over the

British Army Rugby League The British Army Rugby League team is the official rugby league team representing the British Army. The team was founded in 1994 when the Army first recognised rugby league as an official sport and lifted a ban on it. The new team was able to pla ...

side. A

League Leaders Shield The League Leaders' Shield is a shield awarded to the team finishing the season top of Super League in the sport of rugby league football. Currently, and for most of Super League's history, the championship is decided on the basis of a play-off se ...

was not awarded, and players in the competition were not eligible for the Woman of Steel award. Starting from the 2022 edition of the tournament, clubs are eligible to play in the

Women's Challenge Cup The Women's Challenge Cup is a rugby league knockout competition organised by the Rugby Football League. The competition started in 2012. History 2012–2016: Foundations The Women's Challenge Cup was set up in 2012 to run alongside the men's c ...

under the same eligibility requirements as clubs from the existing Women's Championship and League 1 competitions.

Champions

Sponsorship

Bookmakers

Betfred Betfred is a bookmaker based in the United Kingdom, founded by Fred Done.Pronounced to rhyme with "bone". It was first established as a single betting shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967. Its turnover in 2004 was reported to be more than £3.5 bi ...

were announced in 2021 as being the inaugural sponsors of this new competition, as well as continuing their sponsorship of Women's Super League beyond 2021.

References

External links

* {{British Rugby League links Super League Women's Women's rugby league competitions in England 2017 establishments in England Sports leagues established in 2017

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 11 ...

Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom