Rugby League Conference National Division
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Formerly known as | National League Three |
| Instituted | 2003 |
| Inaugural season | 2003 |
| Ceased | 2011 |
| Replaced by | National Conference League Division Three |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Countries |  England Wales |
| Most titles | Bramley Buffaloes (2 titles) |
The Rugby League Conference National Division (formally known as the National League Three) was the fourth division of the British rugby league system.
In 2012, the winter amateur competition, the National Conference League announced it was switching to a summer season and the Rugby League Conference would become part of the NCL.
History
2003-2006: National League Three
Leading up to the 2003 season the RFL rebranded its lower divisions as the National Leagues and reintroduced a third division, National League Two.
The RFL also planned for two more divisions to be added, a National League Three and National League Four. National League Three would be made up of British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) teams wishing to play in the summer whilst National League Four would have been made up of clubs from the Rugby League Conference. [1]. Promotion and relegation between National League Three and the semi-professional National League Two would have been gradually introduced. [2] However, due to an insufficient number of applicants, National League Four was never founded.
In the end, a ten team National League Three was founded, with six coming from the
The 2004 season saw an expansion to fourteen teams with
The league was reduced back to 10 teams for the 2005 season.
Ahead of the 2006 season
2007-2011: Rugby League Conference National Division
In 2007 the National League Three was abolished with the remaining seven club entered into the Rugby League Conference, creating a new league; the Rugby League Conference National Division which would be the top level of amateur summer rugby. Three teams from the Conference North Premier (Leeds Akkies, Cottingham Phoenix and East Lancashire Lions) were entered.
The new National Division was much more based around the
In 2008, Super League team, Crusaders entered their academy team after missing the deadline for entering the reserves league. Liverpool Buccaneers also joined the league while Leeds Akkies dropped down to the Conference Premier North. Bramley finished top of the league but the Colts won the Grand Final. During this season there were no withdrawals from the league and like the previous season a high fixture fulfilment rate.
In 2009, the league saw its first significant expansion since its rebrand in 2007, with
After winning the Yorkshire Premier title in 2009, Kippax Knights enter red the National Fivision in 2010 while Gateshead Storm resigned to merged with Newcastle Knights in the North East league and East Lancashire Lions taking a season’s sabbatical to secure a new home base (they resurfaced as Accrington & Leyland Lions in the North West Premier Division in 2011). Carlisle Centurions and Liverpool Buccaneers failed to complete the season in 2010.
2011 was the National Leagues final season.
2012: Merger with National Conference League
In 2011, members of the National Conference League voted to switch to play from winter to summer. This meant both major amateur competitions would be playing at the same time of year.
It was decided that the Rugby League Conference would be abolished and replaced by four summer regional leagues; Cumbria League, North West League, North East League and Yorkshire League.
The RLC National League would become the fourth tier of the National Conference League being rebranded as NCL Division Three.
The new division was a one season trial to see how amateur clubs coped with traveling with NCL Division Three being the most geographically spread league in the NCL. During the 2012 season there would be no promotion due to minimum standards.
Ahead of the new season Dewsbury Celtic and Featherstone Lions rejoined the National Conference League in Division Two, with the eight remaining clubs being joined by two clubs, Bristol Sonics and St Albans Centurions, stepping up from the Confernce Premier. Valley Cougars dropped back to the Welsh League after the teams were announced and were replaced by
At the end of the season it was announced Division Three would not continue in the same format. Winners,
Results
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-up | League Leaders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woolston Rovers | 42-6 | Teesside Steelers | Bradford Dudley Hill | |
Coventry Bears
|
48-24 | Woolston Rovers | Coventry Bears
| |
| Bradford Dudley Hill | 28-26 | Bramley Buffaloes | Bradford Dudley Hill | |
| Bramley Buffaloes | 30-8 | Hemel Stags | Bramley Buffaloes | |
2007
|
Featherstone Lions | Bramley Buffaloes | ||
2008
|
Crusaders Colts
|
Bramley Buffaloes | ||
2009
|
Bramley Buffaloes | Bramley Buffaloes | ||
2010
|
Warrington Wizards
|
Bramley Buffaloes | Bramley Buffaloes | |
2011
|
Huddersfield Underbank Rangers
|
Huddersfield Underbank Rangers
|
See also
- Rugby League Conference
- National Conference League
- Conference League South
References
- ^ "Code13 Rugby League". Archived from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ "Article -". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ http://www.bramleybuffs.com/storm/414-conference-call-kills-off-bramley-dream [dead link]
External links
- Official website Archived 14 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- Unofficial RLC website