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 Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

. 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, 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 South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...

. The club finishing in first place is automatically promoted to

National League 2 West National League 2 West is a new rugby union league at level four in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in the Midlands and South West England. The remainder of England is covered by two other r ...

. Relegated teams drop down to either Regional 2 South West or

Regional 2 Severn Regional 2 Severn is a level six league in the English rugby union system, one of twelve leagues, at this level. The twelve teams are based in counties near the River Severn, i.e. Gloucestershire and Somerset, with two from Wiltshire. The clu ...

depending on location.

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

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

(formerly

National League 2 South National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) was a level four league in the English rugby union system until the end of season 2021–22. It was one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, ...

). 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 were promoted to

, while Newbury and Bracknell were both relegated to

South West 1 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 si ...

. Maidenhead have been level transferred to

London & South East Premier 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. ...

. The teams coming into this seasons competition are Old Redcliffians and Bournemouth, both relegated from

in 15th and 16th position respectively. Teams promoted into this seasons competition are Hornets, 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 in Eng ...

, and two teams from

, Royal Wootton Bassett and Old Centralians (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 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 ...

and the RFU used a best playing record formula to decide the final table. Barnstaple 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 Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based in the town (east and west) ...

. Bournemouth were promoted to

, while relegated sides included

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the So ...

and Cleve (both

), and Old Patesians (

). Initially, Bromsgrove were due to be level transferred from

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

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 Barnstaple, who were relegated from

, and by three promoted sides;

Drybrook Drybrook is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire, England. Location It lies in the North West edge of the Royal Forest, bordering with Herefordshire, about three miles from Cinderford, and about two miles ...

and Old Patesians. Dings Crusaders (last seasons champions) were promoted to National League 2 South, while Hornets and

Lydney Lydney is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the west bank of the River Severn in the Forest of Dean District, and is 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Gloucester. The town has been bypassed by the A48 road since 199 ...

were both relegated to

, and Newbury Blues relegated to

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 Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the 5th most populous settlement in Devon. Histo ...

, who were relegated from

, and by three promoted sides;

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...

, Maidenhead and Newbury Blues. Old Redcliffians (champions) were promoted to National League 2 South, while Launceston were relegated to (

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

to (

) and Bromsgrove to (

Midlands 1 West Midlands 1 West is an English level 6 rugby union regional league for rugby clubs in the western region of the Midlands, including sides from Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Birmingham and the West Midlands, Worceste ...

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 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 and

(champions) and Barnstaple (play-off) were promoted to National League 2 South, while Chippenham were relegated to

, and Old Patesians and Old Centralians to South West 1 East. To address a league imbalance due to only one team coming down from National League 2 South, both Bromsgrove and Bracknell 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 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. ...

, 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, 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 and

to play in South West 1 West, and Oxford Harlequins to South West 1 East. Bracknell, 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 Avonmouth Old Boys Rugby Football Club is an England, English rugby union team based in Shirehampton in Bristol. The club run three men senior teams, a vets side, a ladies team, a colts side and a youth section featuring the full range of age-gro ...

* Barnstaple * Bracknell (promoted from

) * Brixham * Chippenham *

(relegated from

) *

* Old Centralians (promoted from

) * Old Patesians * Old Redcliffians (promoted from

) * Redingensians *

Worcester Wanderers Worcester Wanderers are an English rugby union team and part of the club known as Worcester Rugby Football Club. The club was born in 1871 and from it rose former English Premiership (rugby union), Gallagher Premiership team Worcester Warriors. ...

(promoted from

)

League winners

(promoted to

)

Relegated

(relegated to

) * Chippenham (relegated to

) *

(relegated to

)

Transferred

* Amersham & Chiltern RFC (transferred to

)

Final league table

2012–13

* Amersham & Chiltern RFC *

* Barnstaple * Brixham * Chippenham *

* London Irish Amateur (transferred from

) * Maidenhead (promoted from

) * Malvern *

* Old Patesians * Oxford Harlequins * Redingensians *

2011–12

* Amersham & Chiltern RFC * Barnstaple * Bournemouth * Bridgwater & Albion *

Chinnor Chinnor is a large village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire about southeast of Thame, close to the border with Buckinghamshire. The village is a spring line settlement on the Icknield Way below the Chiltern escarpment. Since 1932 the ci ...

* Chippenham *

* Newbury Blues (relegated from

) *

* Old Patesians * Old Redcliffians * Oxford Harlequins * Redingensians *

2010–11

* Barnstaple * Bournemouth * Bridgwater & Albion * Cheltenham *

* Cleve * Coney Hill *

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

* Old Patesians * Oxford Harlequins * Redingensians *

2009–10

The first season as a national league * Barnstaple * Bournemouth *

* Chippenham * Cleve * Coney Hill *

* Maidenhead (promoted from

) * Old Patesians * Oxford Harlequins *

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

* Redingensians *

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

2007–08

Final league table

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams: * Bournemouth * Bridgwater & Albion * Clifton *

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

* Maidenhead * Redruth * St Ives *

* Torquay Athletic *

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 and Berkshire in the east to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

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

and

South West 1 (1993–96)

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

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 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

(formerly National League 3 South) and relegation to either

(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

and relegation to either

Promotion play-offs

From 2000–01 season there has been a promotion play-off game between the runners-up of

and South West Premier for the third and final promotion place to

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

Number of league titles

* Bournemouth (2) *

(2) * Clifton (2) * Dings Crusaders (2) *

(2) * Barnstaple (1) * Berry Hill (1) * Bracknell (1) * Bridgwater & Albion (1) * Cheltenham (1) *

Cinderford Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census. The town came into existence in the 19th century, following the rapid expansion of Cinde ...

(1) *

(1) * Henley (1) *

(1) * Launceston (1) * London Irish Amateur (1) *

(1) * Maidenhead (1) *

Mounts Bay Mount's Bay or Mounts Bay may refer to: *Mount's Bay, Cornwall UK * Mounts Bay RFC, a defunct rugby club formerly based in Penzance * Mounts Bay Road, Perth, Western Australia *Mounts Bay, in the Swan River Estuary, Perth, see Swan River (Western A ...

(1) * Newbury (1) * Old Patesians (1) * Old Redcliffians (1) * Penzance & Newlyn (1) * Redingensians (1) * Redruth (1) *

(1) *

(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