Rugby union in England has a comprehensive league structure in place, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. The format and competitiveness of the leagues has changed greatly since their beginnings in 1987. The latest widespread restructuring of the leagues was announced in November 2008, for implementation from the 2009–10 season. Under this new structure, the top league remains the 12-team Aviva Premiership. The second tier league has been rebranded and restructured; as the RFU Championship which has replaced the old National Division One. This league also has 12 teams, and like the Premiership, is professional.
Beneath the two professional leagues, the National Leagues have been restructured to include a new 16 team National League 1, 16 team National League 2 South and 16 team National League 2 North. The four top regional leagues are now part of National League 3 at level five. Promotion and relegation remains throughout the system.
This page contains all of the most current EnglandRugby Union templates for the various leagues. This will allow a ready reference for tracking the progress of the season. If you find that a template is out of date, please update it (if a template is pointing to a previous season, use a new template).
The page will update as the season progresses, and will stabilise for a short time during the summer months.
Though not a domestic competition, The Heineken Cup plays an important part in English Rugby. A template showing H-cup information is requested here. (Possibly by templating info on Heineken Cup
Rugby in England is generally attributed to when William Webb Ellis "who with a fine disregard for the rules as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it" in 1823 at the Rugby School, although modern scholars consider this story to be a myth. One of the earliest football clubs formed, some claim it to actually be the first, is the Guy's Hospital Football Club which was founded in 1843 in Guy's Hospital, Southwark, London. The club played an early version of rugby football and was formed by old boys of the Rugby School. Subsequent clubs established in this period include Dublin University Football Club in 1854 and the Blackheath Rugby Club in 1858.
The Union Leagues were a group of men's clubs established during the American Civil War to promote loyalty to the Union, the Republican Party, and the policies of Abraham Lincoln. They were also known as Loyal Leagues. They were composed of upper middle class members who provided financial support for organizations such as the United States Sanitary Commission, which provided medical supplies to treat wounded soldiers after battle. The clubs supported the Republican Party with funding, organizational support, and political activism.
The Union League of Philadelphia, established in 1862, was the first to be formed, and still exists, as do the Union League Clubs of New York and Chicago. Membership in the league is selective, and is comparable in social status to membership in a country club. Union League buildings often serve as private social clubs.
During Reconstruction, Union Leagues were formed across the South after 1867 as working auxiliaries of the Republican Party. They mobilized freedmen to register to vote and to vote Republican. They discussed political issues, promoted civic projects, and mobilized workers opposed to certain employers. Most branches were segregated but there were a few that were racially integrated. The leaders of the all-black units were mostly urban blacks from the North, who had never been slaves. Foner (p.283) says "virtually every Black voter in the South had enrolled".
The move, as first revealed by TelegraphSport, will see Maher join Bristol on a three-month deal in January and she is a blockbuster signing for the English league. The RugbyFootballUnion helped to ...
The move, as first revealed by TelegraphSport, will see Maher join Bristol on a three-month deal in January and she is a blockbuster signing for the English league. The RugbyFootball...
There has been a distinct lack of concern about the formation of a new rebel league in the corridors of power of English rugby ... As well as established names in union, it could also open the door to tapping into the best English talent in rugby league.
Who cares if New Zealand is one of the two greatest rugby ... He could have gone further and reminded English rugby fans that ... Rugby union ... Australia’s £2.6m rugby league convert Suaalii to make union debut.
The second tier of English rugby is set to increase from 12 clubs up to 14, with the RugbyFootballUnion asking interested clubs to submit expressions of interest by October 13... English rugby.".
Kevin Sinfield, English rugby union coach and Rob Burrow's former LeedsRhino teammate, was also tearful at the event this morning ... He always proved people wrong, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI as rugby league legend loses his battle with MND aged just 41.
The Times can reveal that executives who run English club rugby union also intend to move the league’s play-off semi-finals to neutral venues in future, but have signed an agreement with the ...
Having just been promoted into the seventh tier of English rugby union’s league system, Teddington stormed out of the blocks against Hove, only for their opponents to begin sneering.
Of 150 elite rugby players from the two top English rugby divisions, the RFLWomen’s SuperLeague and Premiership Women’s Rugby in union, 90 per cent considered the menstrual cycle to negatively impact performance.
While the EnglishSuperLeague tends to fall into the background when compared to its sister code rugby union in the UK - there's a cult-like following in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester that remains healthier than ever.
... in the tackle height, according to senior coaches in the game, even as English rugby league and world rugby union officials outlaw contact above the armpit.
