The Rugby League Conference North West Division is a division in 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, ...

for teams in the

North West of England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,052,000 in 2011. It is the th ...

History

The

was born in 1997 as the Southern Conference, a 10-team pilot league for teams in the

South of England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes Gr ...

and

English 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 ...

. The first North West team to join the new league were the Chester Wolves; more teams from the North West joined the following season and a Northern Division was set up with teams from the North West and the North Midlands. Following a big expansion to the

in 2003, the North West got its own regional division. In the 2005 season, there were enough Cumbrian teams to have a separate Cumbrian division. The Premier Divisions were set up in 2005 for teams who had achieved a certain playing standard and were able to travel further afield to find stronger opposition. In 2006, the RLC North West was renamed the Cheshire division as many Lancastrian and Cumbrian teams joined the Premiers, leaving a division dominated by teams based in Cheshire. Between 2007 and 2008, there were enough teams in the North West of England to run a Cheshire division alongside the North West Division. The North West Premier came into existence in 2009, when the North Premier was replaced by the North West and Yorkshire Premiers; the creation of a separate North West Premier division meant that there were not enough teams to run a North West regional division that year, but the regional division made a comeback in 2010. North West-based teams had been playing in the

Midlands 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 ...

and

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 ...

since 2007, but the North West got its own

North West Merit League The North West Merit League is a rugby league competition for clubs in the North West of England. It is a feeder league for the Rugby League Conference. History The Midlands Merit League was founded in late 2005 to support the growth of rugby ...

in 2010 to create a three-tier Premier, regional and merit league structure.

Rugby League Conference Pyramid

* RLC National * RLC North West Premier * RLC North West *

Above the North West division is the RLC North West Premier and the National Division and below is the

2011 structure

Blackpool Sea Eagles Blackpool Sea Eagles are a rugby league team based in Blackpool, Lancashire. History ''Blackpool Sea Eagles RLFC'' were founded in 2002 by Chris Aylen who was convinced Blackpool was the ideal place for summer rugby . With help from Dave Gavag ...

Cadishead Rhinos Cadishead is a village in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 10,739 in 2014. Within the historic county of Lancashire. History The earliest record of Cadishead date to 1212, and show that the whole of Ca ...

Chester Gladiators Chester Gladiators Rugby League Football Club is a rugby league club in Chester, England. They play in the North West Division of the Rugby League Conference, North West Counties and the North West Merit League. History Previous clubs in Ch ...

Chorley Panthers Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

Crewe & Nantwich Steamers Crewe & Nantwich Steamers is a rugby league club in Nantwich, Cheshire. They play in the North West Division of the Rugby League Conference and run a second team in the North West Merit League. History Crewe Wolves entered the Northern Div ...

Rochdale Cobras Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough o ...

Titles

*2003

Carlisle Centurions East Cumbria Crusaders is a rugby league club based in Carlisle, Cumbria. They play in the North East Division of the Rugby League Conference. Their home ground is Creighton RUFC. History The club were founded in 2003 as Carlisle Centurions by ...

(now East Cumbria Crusaders) *2004

Widnes Saints Widnes Saints are a rugby league team based in Widnes, Cheshire. They play in the North West Premier Division of the Rugby League Conference. History Widnes Saints were formed in 2004 operating from the Widnes St Maries premises. The club joi ...

*2004 Penrith Pumas (Cumbrian Division) *2005 Rochdale Spotland Rangers *2006 Liverpool Buccaneers (Cheshire Division) *2007

*2007 Macclesfield Titans (Cheshire Division) *2008

*2008 Northwich Stags (Cheshire Division) *2010

Mancunians RL Mancunians is Manchester's rugby league and sports club fielding several rugby and handball teams across the city at various age groups. The club is a Sports Club Community Mutual (Co-operative) and carries out development work across the city ...

*2011

External links

Official website
{{British_Rugby_League_links Rugby League Conference Rugby league in Cheshire Rugby league in Lancashire Rugby league in Greater Manchester