Regional 1 South West (formerly South West Premier and National League 3 South West) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. When this division began in 1987 it was known as South West Division 1. The format of the league was changed at the beginning of the 2009–10 season following reorganisation by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

, and the name change from National League 3 to South West Premier was introduced for the 2017–18 season by the RFU in order to lessen confusion for what is a series of regional leagues. Regional 1 South West, is the highest regional rugby union league covering South West England. The club finishing in first place is automatically promoted to National League 2 West. Relegated teams drop down to either

Regional 2 South West In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

or Regional 2 Severn depending on location. Exeter University are the current champions.

Format

The season runs from September to May and comprises twenty-two rounds of matches, with each club playing each of its rivals, home and away. The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows: * 4 points are awarded for a win * 2 points are awarded for a draw * 0 points are awarded for a loss, however * 1 losing (bonus) point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer * 1 additional (bonus) point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match

Current season

Participating teams and locations

2021–22

The first matches were played on 4 September 2021 and the final league matches on 23 April 2022. Exeter University (as champions), Old Redcliffians (as runner-up) and Hornets (3rd) are all promoted to National League 2 West (formerly National League 2 South). The RFU will announce the format of the tier 5 leagues during the summer of 2022.

Participating teams

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in the previous competition (2019–20). The champions,

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

were promoted to National League 2 South, while Newbury and

Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Bracknell Forest, Borough of Bracknell Forest. It l ...

were both relegated to South West 1 East.

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

have been level transferred to London & South East Premier. The teams coming into this seasons competition are

Old Redcliffians Old Redcliffians Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Brislington, a suburb of Bristol. The club runs four senior sides and a sevens team as well as a ladies side and the full range of junior teams. The first XV currently ...

and

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, both relegated from National League 2 South in 15th and 16th position respectively. Teams promoted into this seasons competition are

Hornets Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...

, champions of

South West 1 West Regional 2 South West, (formerly known as South West 1 West) is an English, level six, rugby union league for clubs based in the south-west of England; i.e. Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset. It is one of twelve leagues at this level ...

, and two teams from South West 1 East, Royal Wootton Bassett and

Old Centralians Old Centralians Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based at Saintbridge Sports Center in Gloucester. The club operates three senior sides with the first XV playing in South West Premier, a level five league in the English rugby u ...

(1st and 2nd respectively).

Final league table

2020–21

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the 2020–21 season was cancelled.

2019–20

The season ended before all the matches were completed because of the coronavirus pandemic and the RFU used a best playing record formula to decide the final table.

are the champions.

Participating teams

Ten of the thirteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by three promoted sides; Launceston, Newbury Blues and Okehampton.

were promoted to National League 2 South, while relegated sides included Newton Abbot and Cleve (both

), and Old Patesians ( South West 1 East). Initially,

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in the ...

were due to be level transferred from Midlands Premier but the withdrawal of Birmingham & Solihull from the league system meant that they stayed put, leaving South West Premier with just thirteen teams.

Final league table

2018–19

Participating teams

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by

, who were relegated from National League 2 South, and by three promoted sides; Drybrook, Exeter University and Old Patesians. Dings Crusaders (last seasons champions) were promoted to National League 2 South, while

and Lydney were both relegated to

, and Newbury Blues relegated to South West 1 East.

Final league table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the South West Premier (formerly National League 3 South West) and London & South East Premier (National League 3 London & South East) participate in a play-off for the third promotion place to National League 2 South. The team with the best playing record, in this case Westcliff, hosted the match and beat their opponents Barnstaple 44 – 5 to win promotion to National League 2 South for the first time. This was Westcliff's first appearance in the play-offs and Barnstaple's second; in 2016 Barnstaple beat Tonbridge Juddians 31 – 30 at Tonbridge. The home team have won fifteen out of 19 play-off matches and the south-east team have won the play-off thirteen times. ----

2017–18

Participating teams

Ten of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition (when it was known as National League 3 South West). They are joined by Exmouth, who were relegated from National League 2 South, and by three promoted sides; Weston-super-Mare,

and Newbury Blues.

(champions) were promoted to National League 2 South, while Launceston were relegated to (

), Salisbury to ( South West 1 East) and

to ( Midlands 1 West).

Final league table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the South West Premier (formerly National League 3 South West) and London & South East Premier (formerly National League 3 London & SE) participate in a play-off for the third promotion place to National League 2 South. The team with the best playing record, in this case Guernsey, hosted the match and beat their opponents Bournemouth 38 – 23 to win promotion. This was Guernsey's first appearance in the play-offs and Bournemouth's second. Bournemouth's previous appearance was in 2011 when they lost to

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

23 – 22. ----

2016–17

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by Launceston who were relegated from National League 2 South, and by two promoted sides:

Camborne Camborne ( kw, Kammbronn) is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth and Deadman's Cove. Camborne was formerl ...

and Salisbury. Exmouth (champions) and

(play-off) were promoted to National League 2 South, while

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

were relegated to

, and Old Patesians and

to South West 1 East. To address a league imbalance due to only one team coming down from National League 2 South, both

and

have been level transferred into the league from National League 3 Midlands and National League 3 London & SE respectively, Bromsgrove having finished 9th and Bracknell 11th.

Final league table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the National League 3 London & SE, and National League 3 South West participate in a play-off for the third promotion place to National League 2 South. The team with the best playing record, in this case

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, hosted the match and destroyed their opponents Dings Crusaders 55 – 5 to win promotion. ----

2015–16

Nine of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. They are joined by two teams relegated from National League 2 South, Dings Crusaders and Lydney; and by three promoted teams Cleve, Chippenham and Ivybridge. The teams leaving the league were the 2014–15 champions, Redingensians who were promoted to National League 2 South and the relegated teams,

Chard Chard or Swiss chard (; ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'', Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; ...

and Weston-super-Mare to play in South West 1 West, and Oxford Harlequins to South West 1 East.

, who finished 3rd last season, transferred to National League 3 London and SE.

Participating teams

Final league table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the National League 3 London and SE, and National League 3 South West participate in a play-off for promotion to National League 2 South. The team with the best playing record, in this case Tonbridge Juddians, host the match and their opponents were Barnstaple, who won the match 30 – 31, scoring the winning points with a penalty in the last seconds of the match. ---- ----

2014–15

Participating teams

Final league table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in the National League 3 London and SE, and National League 3 South West participate in a play-off for promotion to National League 2 South. The team with the best playing record, in this case Exmouth, hosts the match; their opponents were Barnes and the match was played on 25 April 2015. At the end of full-time the match score was 22 – 22, and Barnes scored the only points in extra-time, to win the match 27– 22. After extra time (80 mins: 22 – 22)

2013–14

* Amersham & Chiltern RFC * Avonmouth Old Boys *

(promoted from South West 1 East) *

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fish ...

* Lydney (relegated from National League 2 South) * Newton Abbot *

(promoted from South West 1 East) * Old Patesians *

(promoted from

) * Redingensians * Weston-super-Mare * Worcester Wanderers (promoted from Midlands 1 West)

League winners

* Lydney (promoted to National League 2 South)

Relegated

* Avonmouth Old Boys (relegated to

) *

(relegated to South West 1 East) * Worcester Wanderers (relegated to Midlands 1 West)

Transferred

* Amersham & Chiltern RFC (transferred to National League 3 London & SE)

Final league table

2012–13

* Amersham & Chiltern RFC * Avonmouth Old Boys *

* Exmouth *

London Irish Amateur London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club, also known as London Irish Wild Geese, is an amateur English rugby union club based in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, who play their rugby in Regional 2 Thames – a league at tier 6 of the English rugby ...

(transferred from National League 3 London & SE) *

(promoted from South West 1 East) *

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

* Newton Abbot * Old Patesians * Oxford Harlequins * Redingensians * Weston-super-Mare

2011–12

* Amersham & Chiltern RFC *

Bridgwater & Albion Bridgwater & Albion Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Bridgwater, Somerset and run two senior teams, a newly formed senior women's team, a colts side and a youth section featuring the full range of age-groups. The first ...

* Chinnor *

* Exmouth * Newbury Blues (relegated from National League 2 South) * Newton Abbot * Old Patesians *

* Oxford Harlequins * Redingensians * Weston-super-Mare

2010–11

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

* Chinnor * Cleve * Coney Hill * Exmouth * Hartpury College * Newton Abbot * Old Patesians * Oxford Harlequins * Redingensians * Weston-super-Mare

2009–10

The first season as a national league *

* Chinnor *

* Cleve * Coney Hill * Exmouth *

(promoted from South West 1 East) * Old Patesians * Oxford Harlequins * Reading * Redingensians * Taunton * Weston-super-Mare

2007–08

Final league table

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams: *

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

* High Wycombe * Oxford *

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

* St Ives * Taunton * Torquay Athletic * Weston-super-Mare

South West Premier honours

In the first season of the English rugby union league pyramid, sponsored by Courage, there was four, tier five leagues. The geographical area for teams in South West Division One covered an area of south-west England from

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

and

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

in the east to Cornwall in the west. There were eleven teams in the league and they played each team once, giving each team ten matches. The other tier five leagues were London 1, Midlands 1 and North 1. This system prevailed for five seasons, and in 1992–93 the number of teams increased from eleven to thirteen. The following season (1993–94) the league was reorganised and the four tier five leagues became two; National 5 North and National 5 South. After three seasons, in 1996–97, a further reorganisation occurred, and there was a return to four, tier five leagues; with South West Division One covering the area of south-west England from Berkshire westwards. This system prevailed until 2009–10 when the number of teams was increased from twelve to fourteen and renamed National League Three South West. There was a name change for the beginning of season 2017–18 when the division was renamed the South West Premier.

South West 1 (1987–1993)

The original South West 1 was a tier 5 league with promotion up to Area League 2 South and relegation down to South West 2 (presently split into two leagues known as South West 1 East and

South West 1 (1993–96)

The top six teams from South West 1 and the top six from

London 1 Regional 1 South East (up until 2022-23 known as London & South East Premier and up until 2016-17 known as National League 3 London & South East) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level ...

were combined to create National 5 South. South West 1 dropped to become a tier six league and was one of two feeder leagues for National 5 South. Relegation continued to South West 2 (currently South West 1 East and

South West 1 (1996–2009)

At the end of the 1995–96 season National 5 South was discontinued and South West 1 returned to being a tier 5 league. Promotion was up to National 4 South (now known as National League 2 South), while the splitting of South West 2 into two regional divisions, meant that relegation was now down to either

South West 2 East South West 1 East is an English, level six, rugby union league in south and south-west England; mainly Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Gloucester, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. Originally a single ...

or South West 2 West (currently South West 1 East / South West 1 West).

National League 3 South West (2009–2017)

The division was renamed National League 3 South West following a restructuring of the national leagues which led to changes at all levels. It remained a tier 5 league with promotion up to National League 2 South (formerly National League 3 South) and relegation to either South West 1 East or

(formerly South West 2 East / South West 2 West).

South West Premier (2017–2022)

For the 2017–18 season all divisions at tier 5 were renamed from National League 3 to Premier meaning that National League 3 South West became known as South West Premier. Promotion continued to National League 2 South and relegation to either South West 1 East or

Promotion play-offs

From 2000–01 season there has been a promotion play-off game between the runners-up of London & South East Premier and South West Premier for the third and final promotion place to National League 2 South, with the team with the superior league record having home advantage. As of the 2018–19 season, the London and south-east teams have been most successful with thirteen wins to the south-west teams six, while the home side have won fifteen of the nineteen ties. The last play-off was in 2018–19, with the next two seasons cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...

and following the increase of leagues at this level to three, only the champions are promoted.

Number of league titles

(2) * Chinnor (2) *

(2) * Dings Crusaders (2) * Reading (2) *

(1) * Berry Hill (1) *

(1) *

(1) * Cinderford (1) * Exeter University (1) * Exmouth (1) * Hartpury College (1) *

Henley Henley may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Henley, Dorset, a location * Henley, Gloucestershire, a location * Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England ** Henley (UK Parliament constituency) ** Henley Rural District, a former ru ...

(1) * High Wycombe (1) * Launceston (1) *

(1) * Lydney (1) *

(1) * Mounts Bay (1) * Newbury (1) * Old Patesians (1) *

(1) * Penzance & Newlyn (1) * Redingensians (1) *

(1) * Taunton (1) * Weston-super-Mare (1)

Note

References

External links

Rugby union in the South West

South West Premier fixtures at the RFU
{{Rugby union in England 5 Recurring sporting events established in 1987 Sports leagues established in 1987

Format

Current season

Participating teams and locations

2021–22

Participating teams

Final league table

2020–21

2019–20

Participating teams

Final league table

2018–19

Participating teams

Final league table

Promotion play-off

2017–18

Participating teams

Final league table

Promotion play-off

2016–17

Final league table

Promotion play-off

2015–16

Participating teams

Final league table

Promotion play-off

2014–15

Participating teams

Final league table

Promotion play-off

2013–14

League winners

Relegated

Transferred

Final league table

2012–13

2011–12

2010–11

2009–10

2007–08

Final league table

Original teams

South West Premier honours

South West 1 (1987–1993)

South West 1 (1993–96)

South West 1 (1996–2009)

National League 3 South West (2009–2017)

South West Premier (2017–2022)

Promotion play-offs

Number of league titles

Note

See also

References

External links