The Rugby League Conference, 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, Scotland, and Wales.
The RLC was founded as the 10-team Southern Conference League in 1997, with teams from the southern midlands and the south east, but subsequently, rebranded and expanded both geographically and numerically to include around 90 teams stretched across almost the whole of Great Britain from Aberdeen in northern Scotland down to Plymouth on the south coast of England.
The aim of the RLC was initially to provide regular fixtures for new clubs based outside the traditional 'heartland' of rugby league in the UK, although as the playing standards increased, it also accepted teams from the 'heartlands'. The hope was that some clubs would eventually progress to become semi-professional.
To date, London Skolars and Coventry Bears both play in the professional structure as have Hemel Stags and Oxford although Hemel reverted to being a solely amateur club after selling its professional license to Cornwall and Oxford folded.
With the top heartlands amateur league, the National Conference League voting to move to a summer season, the 2012 season saw a re-alignment of the amateur game and the Rugby League Conference was replaced with a series of regional leagues.
History
The Southern Conference League was founded as a 10-team competition in 1997. The following season it was rebranded as the Rugby League Conference due to its intentions to include teams from outside the traditional heartlands of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria.
The league steadily expanded over the first few seasons right up to the fringes of the heartlands, before expanding into Wales for the first time in 2001 with the addition of Cardiff Demons. The league expanded into the North East that same season.
In 2003 National League Three was founded including some of the stronger Rugby League Conference clubs and some BARLA clubs. This same season saw massive expansion of the Rugby League Conference including an entire Welsh division. The league also pushed its borders further including more teams from the less rugby league playing areas of the counties considered the heartlands and went as far south west as Somerset.
The league expanded further in 2004 by allowing entry to heartland clubs. For the 2005 season the competition was split into two tiers, with Premier divisions being created for above the existing regional divisions. The next major changes were in 2007 when National League Three (as the National Division) and the Scottish League became integral parts of the Rugby League Conference structure.
The Rugby League Conference celebrated passing the 100 club barrier in 2010.RLC set to expand
2011 was the last season before the league was restructured.
Representative fixtures
The Rugby League Amateur Four Nations was competition for national amateur sides from England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
System
Levelcolspan="9"1 National Division 2Midlands PremierNorth-West PremierSouthern PremierWelsh PremierYorkshire Premier3East RegionalMidlands RegionalNorth-West RegionalScotland RegionalSouth-East RegionalSouth-West RegionalWales RegionalNorth-East RegionalYorkshire Regional
Past winners
Conference National
Year Winners 2003 Woolston Rovers 2004 Coventry Bears 2005 Bradford Dudley Hill 2006 Bramley Buffaloes 2007 Featherstone Lions 2008 Crusaders Colts 2009 Bramley Buffaloes 2010 Warrington Wizards 2011 Huddersfield Underbank Rangers
Conference Premier
Competed for by winners of each premier division. Year Winners Conference1997 North London Skolars Eastern 1998 Crawley JetsSouthern 1999 Chester WolvesNorthern 2000 Crawley JetsSouthern 2001 Teesside SteelersNorth East 2002 Coventry BearsMidlands 2003 Bridgend Blue BullsWelsh 2004 Widnes SaintsNorth West 2005 Bridgend Blue BullsWelsh 2006 South London StormLondon & South 2007 St Albans CenturionsSouthern 2008 Nottingham OutlawsMidlands 2009 West London SharksLondon & South 2010 St Albans CenturionsSouthern 2011 Parkside HawksYorkshire
Conference Regional
Competed for by winners of each regional division.
2005 Wetherby Bulldogs 2006 Liverpool Buccaneers 2007 Widnes Saints 2008 Moorends-Thorne Marauders 2009 Northampton Casuals (now Northampton Demons) 2010 Northampton Demons 2011 Elmbridge Eagles
Premier Divisions Midlands Division
Year Winners 2001Coventry Bears2002Coventry Bears2003Birmingham Bulldogs2004North Nottingham OutlawsSouthLeicester Phoenix2005North Thorne MaraudersWestWolverhampton Wizards2006North Thorne MaraudersWest & SouthGloucestershire Warriors2007Coventry Bears2008Nottingham Outlaws2009Coventry Bears2010Coventry Bears2011Bristol Sonics
North East
Year Winners 2001Teesside Steelers2002Teesside Steelers2003Leeds Akkies2004Newcastle Knights2005Durham Tigers2006200720082009Jarrow Vikings2010Jarrow Vikings2011Peterlee Pumas
North West
Year Winners 1999Chester Wolves2000Manchester Knights2001Rotherham Giants2002Manchester Knights2003Carlisle Centurions2004Widnes Saints2005Rochdale Spotland Rangers2006Carlisle Centurions2007Widnes Saints2008Widnes Saints2009Lymm2010Widnes West Bank2011Accrington & Leyland Bears
London & South
Year Winners 1998Crawley Jets1999Crawley Jets2000North London Skolars2001Crawley Jets2002 North London Skolars2003Crawley Jets2004West London Sharks2005Kingston Warriors2006South London Storm2007St Albans Centurions2008West London Skolars2009West London Sharks2010St Albans Centurions2011Hammersmith Hills Hoists
Yorkshire
Year Winners 2004Leeds Akkies2005Wetherby Bulldogs2006Bridlington Bulls2007Rossington Sharks2008Bridlington Bulls2009Kippax Knights2010East Leeds2011Parkside Hawks
See also British rugby league system Women's Rugby League Conference
Notes
References
External links Official website Unofficial RLC website Club directory on official site Official tables Fixture lists Fixtures and results on leaguenews.co.uk