The Rugby League Conference Wales are two Welsh domestic leagues for the sport of rugby league. They form divisions of the Rugby League Conference competition which covers all of Great Britain.

For the 2010 season there is the Premier division and the Championship division. There was also due to be a Championship division for North Wales but this never materialised.

History

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.

After two years of just one club in South Wales, the RFL saw that it was time to expand, letting in six more open-aged sides to form the new Welsh Conference and Wales gained its own division for the first time.

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.

The Welsh Conference Junior League began in 2009.

Due to the growth of the sport in Wales, in 2010 a separate Championship division was formed which would function at one tier lower than the present Premier division. This Championship division featured teams from South Wales, but another Championship division featuring teams from North Wales was meant to be contested, but it didn't materialise and a rugby league nines tournament was played instead.

The South Wales Rugby League Championship was given a re-structure following four West Wales clubs not fulfilling fixtures. Amman Valley Rhinos, Dinefwr Sharks, Swansea/Llanelli Dragons and West Wales Wild Boars were omitted and replaced with newly formed Dyffryn Devils.

Rugby League Conference Pyramid

• RLC National
• RLC Welsh Premier
• RLC Welsh Championship

The Welsh Premier is the highest level of amateur rugby league in Wales. Above the Welsh Premier is the National Division which sides from around the UK are able to join and below the Welsh Premier is the Welsh regional division. There will also be a North Wales League in 2010.

Other Premier divisions are the Midlands, South, Yorkshire and North West.

2010

Teams

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.

Tables

Matches

Premier Play Off Elimination Round

Premier Grand Final

South Championship Grand Final

League standings

• ¹ competed as West Wales Sharks between 2006 and 2008
• ² competed as Aberavon Fighting Irish between 2003 and 2006
• ³ competed as Swansea Bulls in 2003
• ⁴ competed as Cynon Valley Cougars in 2003

Key

Winners

Competed for by the RLC Wales division since 2003

• 2003 Bridgend Blue Bulls
• 2004 Bridgend Blue Bulls
• 2005 Bridgend Blue Bulls
• 2006 Bridgend Blue Bulls
• 2007 Bridgend Blue Bulls
• 2008 Valley Cougars
• 2009 Blackwood Bulldogs 38 Bridgend Blue Bulls 22
• 2010 Valley Cougars

Welsh Shield

Secondary Welsh competition for teams who do not make the play-offs for the Welsh Premier. It has not been contested since 2005.

• 2004 Cardiff Demons
• 2005 Newport Titans

Plate Final

• 2009 Newport Titans 32 Dinefwr Sharks 24

South Championship

• 2010 Neath Port Talbot Steelers

Junior league

Welsh teams also compete at under-17; under-15 and under-13 age groups.