The Rugby League Conference North West Premier 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 ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

. It was first contested in 2008 following the break-up of the previous North Premier into the North West and Yorkshire Premiers.

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 ...

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. The Premier Division 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. The new Premier Divisions included the North Premier, the South Premier, the Central Premier and the Welsh Premier. The Central Premier had two Midlands clubs and the rest of the clubs were from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

whilst the North Premier had clubs from the

North East of England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...

and

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

. The Premier divisions saw a change in boundaries in 2006 leaving the North Premier division covering a larger area to give the Midlands clubs their own premier division. The North West Premier came into existence in 2009 when the North Premier was replaced by the North West and Yorkshire Premiers.

Rugby League Conference Pyramid

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

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 ...

Above the North West Premier is the National Division and below is the North West regional division followed by the

. Other Premier divisions are the South, Welsh, Midlands and

2011 structure

Accrington & Leyland Warriors Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to " ...

* East Lancashire Vikings * Liverpool Buccaneers *

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 ...

* Widnes West Bank *

Wigan Riversiders Wigan Riversiders are a rugby league team based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The first team play in the North West Premier division of the Rugby League Conference; the second team play in the North West regional division under the name ...

League standings

Key

Titles

Predecessor competitions

*2005 North Premier: West Cumbria Crusaders *2005 Central Premier: Leeds Akkies *2006 North Premier: East Lancashire Lions *2007 North Premier: Carlisle Centurions *2008 North Premier: Carlisle Centurions

North West Premier

*2009 Lymm RL *2010 Widnes West Bank Bears

External links

Official website

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