Counties 1 Western West (formerly known as Western Counties West for sponsorship reasons) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

league. Originally a single division called Western Counties, in 1996 the division split into two regional leagues called

Western Counties North Western Counties North (known as Tribute Western Counties North for sponsorship purposes) is an England, English rugby union league. Originally a single division called Western Counties, in 1996 the division split into two regional leagues cal ...

and Western Counties West. Western Counties West is currently a seventh tier league for clubs based in the south-west of England; mainly

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 ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. The champions are promoted to

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 the runner-up plays the second team in

, with the winning team also gaining promotion. The number of teams relegated depends on feedback following promotion and relegation in the leagues above, but is usually two or three to either the Cornwall/Devon League or

Somerset Premier Somerset Premier (known as Tribute Somerset Premier for sponsorship reasons) is an English rugby union league which sits at the eighth level of league rugby union in England involving teams based in the county of Somerset as well as some teams ...

, depending on location. Each year two Western Counties West sides take part in the

RFU Intermediate Cup The RFU Intermediate Cup is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by teams at level 7 of the English rugby union system. While the competition is a national one, it is howeve ...

(a level 7 national competition) – one affiliated with the Cornwall RFU, the other with the Devon RFU.

Format

The champions are promoted to Regional 2 South West (formerly South West 1 West), while the last two teams, depending on their location, are relegated to Counties 2 Cornwall, Counties 2 Devon or Counties 2 Somerset. In previous seasons teams were relegated to the Cornwall/Devon league. The season runs from September to April 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 location

2021–21

Participating teams and location

League table

2020–21

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 season was cancelled.

2019–20

Participating teams and location

League table

2018–19

Participating teams and location

League table

Promotion play-off

In the play-off for promotion, Crediton played Midsomer Norton from Western Counties North for promotion to South West 1 West. Midsomer Norton had the best playing record and hosted the match, losing 15 – 19. This was the first time either team had participated in the play-offs, at this level, and Crediton's win was the sixth time the away team had won match. Teams from Western Counties North lead 10–9 in the nineteen play-off matches played since 2001.

2017–18

Participating teams and location

The 2017–18 Western Counties West League consists of fourteen teams; seven from Devon, five from Cornwall and two from Somerset. The season started on 2 September 2017 and finished on 21 April 2018. Ten of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. The 2016–17 champions, Exeter University were promoted to South West 1 West, along with the play-off winners Cullompton, while Chard (12th place) and Kingsbridge (13th) were relegated from that league. Bude and Wellington were relegated to the Cornwall/Devon League and were replaced by Falmouth (champions) and Paignton (runner-up).

League table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in Western Counties West and Western Counties North, participate in a play-off for promotion to South West 1 West. The team with the best playing record, in this case Chew Valley, host the match, and for the second successive season they lost, this time to Devonport Services 12 – 22. It is the first time Devonport Services are promoted to a level six league. This match was the eighteenth play-off for promotion; the northern sides lead with ten victories to the west's eight and the home teams are leading thirteen to five.

2016–17

Participating teams and location

The 2016–17 Western Counties West League consists of fourteen teams; seven from Devon, five from Cornwall and two from Somerset. The season began on 3 September 2016 and finished on 22 April 2017. Ten of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition, the 2015–16 champions, Okehampton were promoted to South West 1 West, along with the play-off winners Kingsbridge. Two Cornish teams, Penryn and Saltash were relegated to the Cornwall/Devon League and were replaced by Bude (champions) and St Ives (runner-up). The three relegated teams from South West One were all allocated places in Western Counties North so the two most westerly teams from that division, Burnham and Wellington were transferred to this league to bring the number of teams to fourteen.

League table

Promotion play-off

2015–16

The 2015–16 Western Counties West League consists of fourteen teams; nine from Devon and five from Cornwall. The seasons started on 5 September 2015 and the last matches were played on 30 April 2016.

Participating teams and location

Ten of the fourteen teams participated in last season's competition. The 2014–15 champions Teignmouth were promoted to South West 1 West and Tavistock and St Ives were relegated to the Cornwall/Devon League. The only team from

, Wellington, was transferred to Western Counties North.

League table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in Western Counties North and Western Counties West, participate in a play-off for promotion to South West 1 West. The team with the best playing record, in this case Kingsbridge, hosted the match against Keynsham and won 16 – 10.

2014–15

Participating teams and location

The 2014–15 Western Counties West consisted of fourteen teams; nine from Devon, four from Cornwall and one from Somerset. The season started on 6 September 2014 and finished on 18 April 2015. Teignmouth became champions with two matches to play after Exeter University had fifty points deducted for playing ineligible players. Teignmouth were promoted to

, while the second place team, Kingsbridge, lost to the runner-up of

, Newent in the play-off for promotion. The last two teams, Tavistock and St Ives were relegated to Cornwall/Devon.

League table

Promotion play-off

Each season, the runners-up in

and Western Counties West, participate in a play-off for promotion to

. The team with the best playing record, in this case Newent, hosted the match; their opponents were Kingsbridge who lost the match 26 – 28 to a stoppage time penalty.

2013–14

Bude Bude (; kw, Porthbud) is a seaside town in north east Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as Bude Haven.''Corn ...

*Burnham-on-Sea * Devonport Services *

Ivybridge Ivybridge is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Hams, in Devon, England. It lies about east of Andy Hughes’ new house in Ivybridge now he’s forgotten Ugborough. It is at the southern extremity of Dartmoor, a N ...

*Kingsbridge *

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) ...

* Paignton Saxons * Penryn * St Ives *Tavistock *

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at th ...

* Torquay Athletic *

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

*Wellington

2009–10

* Camborne * Devonport Services *Kingsbridge *Minehead Barbarians *Newquay Hornets *North Petherton *

* Penryn *Tavistock * Tiverton *

Wadebridge Camels Wadebridge Camels RFC is a rugby union club based in Wadebridge, Cornwall which has been in existence since 1955. They play at Molesworth Field. History Wadebridge played in the Tribute South West 1 West, for four seasons having won promotion ...

*Withycombe

2007–08

Original teams

When league rugby began in 1987 this division (known as Western Counties) contained the following teams: * Avon & Somerset Police *

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 ...

* Gordon League * Matson *

Newquay Hornets Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...

* Old Redcliffians *

Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 12,569 in 2011, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town h ...

* Tiverton *

Western Counties honours

In the first season of the English rugby union league pyramid, sponsored by Courage, there was ten, tier seven leagues. The Western Counties League was for teams based in the south-west of England from Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucester and Somerset. Each team played one match against each of the other teams with the winning team awarded two points, and there was one point for each team in a drawn match. This system prevailed for five seasons, and in 1992–93 the number of teams increased from eleven to thirteen. The following season Western Counties League was renamed Courage South West 2 League, and three seasons later in 1996–97 a major reorganisation occurred with South West 2 being split into two regional leagues: # Courage Western Counties North consisted of sixteen teams based in Bristol, Gloucestershire and Somerset, and each team continued to play the others once # Courage Western Counties West consisted of eleven teams based in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, and each team played the other twice.

Western Counties (1987–1993)

Originally

and Western Counties West was a single division called Western Counties (sponsored by Courage), involving teams based in the south-west of England including

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and

. Each team played one match against each of the other teams with the winning team awarded two points, and there was one point for each team in a drawn match. It was a tier 7 league with promotion up to South West 2 and relegation to either Cornwall/Devon or Gloucestershire/Somerset.

Western Counties (1993–1996)

At the end of the 1992–93 season the top six teams from London Division 1 and the top six from South West Division 1 were combined to create National 5 South. This meant that Western Counties dropped from a tier 7 league to a tier 8 league for the years that National 5 South was active. Promotion continued to South West 2 and relegation down to either Cornwall/Devon or Gloucestershire/Somerset. The league continued to be sponsored by Courage.

Western Counties West (1996–2009)

Major restructuring by the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the 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 (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

at the end of the 1995–96 season saw Western Counties split into two separate leagues,

and Western Counties West, which reverted to tier 7 leagues due to the cancellation of National 5 South. Promotion from Western Counties West was now to the new South West 2 West division (formerly South West 2) while relegation was now to Cornwall/Devon. From the 2008–09 season the league sponsor is

Tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

Western Counties West (2009–present)

Despite widespread league restructuring by the

, Western Counties West continued as a tier 7 league, with promotion to

(formerly South West 2 West) and relegation to Cornwall/Devon.

continued to sponsor the league.

Promotion play-offs

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

and Western Counties West for the third and final promotion place to

. The team with the superior league record has home advantage in the tie. As of the end of the 2019–20 season the northern sides have been the more successful with ten victories to the west's nine while the home team has won thirteen times compared to the away teams six.

Number of league titles

* Penryn (3) * Camborne (2) *

(2) *

(2) * St Austell (2) * Barnstaple (1) *

(1) * Coombe Down (1) * Crediton (1) *

Cullompton Cullompton () is a town and civil parish in the district of Mid Devon and the county of Devon, England. It is north-east of Exeter and lies on the River Culm. In 2011 the parish as a whole had a population of 8,499 while the built-up area of ...

(1) * Dings Crusaders (1) *

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 , ...

(1) *

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 ...

(1) * Gloucester Old Boys (1) * Gordon League (1) * Launceston (1) * Matson (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) *

North Petherton North Petherton is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includ ...

(1) * Old Patesians (1) *

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

(1) *

(1) * St Ives (1) *

(1) * Torquay Athletic (1) *

(1) *

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

(1)

Summary of tier seven format since 1987

Sponsorship

The Western Counties League was part of the Courage Clubs Championship and was sponsored by

Courage Brewery Courage Brewery was an English brewery, founded by John Courage in 1787 in London, England. History Courage & Co Ltd was started by John Courage at the Anchor Brewhouse in Horsleydown, Bermondsey in 1787. He was a Scottish shipping agent of Fr ...

from the first season, 1987–88 to season 1996–97. The league was unsponsored until season 2007–08 when

St Austell Brewery St Austell Brewery is a brewery founded in 1851 by Walter Hicks in St Austell, Cornwall, England. History Originally named ''Walter Hicks & Co: brewers and wine merchants'', the brewery company was renamed St Austell Brewery and significa ...

sponsored South-west based leagues under the Tribute Ale label.

Notes

References

External links

Tribute Western Counties West
{{DEFAULTSORT:Western Counties West Recurring sporting events established in 1987 7 1 Rugby union in Devon Rugby union in Somerset Sports leagues established in 1987

Format

Current season

Participating teams and location

2021–21

Participating teams and location

League table

2020–21

2019–20

Participating teams and location

League table

2018–19

Participating teams and location

League table

Promotion play-off

2017–18

Participating teams and location

League table

Promotion play-off

2016–17

Participating teams and location

League table

Promotion play-off

2015–16

Participating teams and location

League table

Promotion play-off

2014–15

Participating teams and location

League table

Promotion play-off

2013–14

2009–10

2007–08

Original teams

Western Counties honours

Western Counties (1987–1993)

Western Counties (1993–1996)

Western Counties West (1996–2009)

Western Counties West (2009–present)

Promotion play-offs

Number of league titles

Summary of tier seven format since 1987

Sponsorship

Notes

See also

References

External links