Rugby league in Wales
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Rugby league in Great Britain
The Rugby League Conference Welsh Premier, also known as the Welsh conference, is the Welsh domestic league for the sport of rugby league. It also forms a division of the Rugby League Conference competition which covers all of Great Britain.
The Welsh division was first competed for in 2003, since 2005 it has held Premier status within the Rugby League Conference.
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See also: History of the Rugby League Conference |
The Rugby League Conference was founded in 1997 as the Southern Conference, a 10-team pilot league for teams in the South of England and English Midlands. It expanded into Wales for the first time in 2001 when Cardiff Demons joined the South West division. Wales gained its own division for the first time in 2003.
The Premier Division were set up in 2005 for teams who had achieved a certain playing standard and where 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 Welsh Premier division was split into two divisions East Wales and West Wales in 2006, though this decision was reversed for the following season.
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See also: British rugby league system |
The Welsh Premier is the highest level of amateur rugby league in Wales. Above the Welsh Premier is the National Division and below is the Welsh Merit league.
Other Premier divisions are the Midlands, South, Yorkshire and North West.
| Club | Founded | Location | RLC Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackwood Bulldogs | 2006 | Blackwood, Caerphilly | Welsh Premier 2009 |
| Bridgend Blue Bulls | 2003 | Bridgend, Glamorgan | Welsh Premier 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Harry Jepson Trophy 2003, 2005 |
| Cardiff Demons | 1997 | Cardiff | RLC South West 2003 Welsh Shield 2004 East Wales 2006 |
| Dinefwr Sharks | 2006 | Dinefwr, Dyfed | - |
| Neath Port Talbot Steelers | 2003 | Port Talbot, West Glamorgan | - |
| Newport Titans | 2004 | Newport, Monmouthshire | Welsh Shield 2005 Welsh Plate 2009 |
| Torfaen Tigers | 2003 | Pontypool, Monmouthshire | - |
| Valley Cougars | 2001 | Nelson, Caerphilly | Welsh Premier 2008 |
| West Wales Wild Boars | 2009 | St Clears, Carmarthenshire | - |
Teams play each other on a home-and-away basis. Each Premier division then has its own play-off series to determine the champion with the five divisional winners entering the national play-offs. The winner of the national play-offs is awarded the Harry Jepson Trophy.
| Current Teams | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackwood Bulldogs | x | x | x | 1st | ||||
| Bridgend Blue Bulls | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | ||
| Cardiff Demons | x | |||||||
| Dinefwr Sharks 1 | x | x | x | |||||
| Neath Port Talbot Steelers 2 | ||||||||
| Newport Titans | x | |||||||
| Rumney Rhinos | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Swansea Valley Miners 3 | x | x | x | x | ||||
| Torfaen Tigers | 3rd | |||||||
| Valley Cougars 4 | 1st | |||||||
| West Wales Wild Boars | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| DNF | Did not complete the season |
| x | Did not participate |
| Divisional winner | |
| Qualified for divisional play-off | |
| Finished bottom |
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See also: Rugby League Conference trophy winners |
Competed for by the RLC Wales division since 2003
Secondary Welsh competition for teams who do not make the play-offs for the Welsh Premier. It has not been contested since 2005.