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Southern Conference League
British rugby league
British rugby league
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Southern Conference League |
| pixels | 200px |
| founded | 2012 |
| folded | 2025 |
| replaced | National Conference Southern |
| teams | 8 |
| countrytag | Country |
| country | |
| championtag | Champions |
| champion | Hammersmith Hills Hoists |
| season | 2025 |
| most_champs | Hammersmith Hills Hoists (4) |
The Southern Conference League was the fourth tier of the British rugby league system. It was the highest level of amateur rugby league outside of the heartlands in Northern England, operating in The Midlands, Southern England, and Wales.
It was one of the many leagues that replaced the Rugby League Conference. The competition was first played between 2012 and 2016, and was relaunched in 2019 after a two-year hiatus.
For the 2026 season the league was incorporated into the National Community Rugby League following a wider restructure of amateur rugby league in the United Kingdom.
History
The Southern Conference League was founded in 2013 as the Conference League South following the restructuring of amateur rugby league in Great Britain. Teams that had competed in the Rugby League Conference National Division in 2011 were moved to the newly formed and BARLA administered NCL Division Three with clubs drawn from all across England. However at the end of the inaugural season many southern and midlands clubs opted to leave the National Conference League structure and join the newly formed Conference League South for the 2013 season.
The Conference League South was created for sides outside the rugby league heartlands of the North of England that wanted a higher standard of rugby league than the Midlands Rugby League Premier Division or the South Premier but were not yet ready for the NCL. In 2013, the six teams to compete in the Conference League South were, Bristol Sonics, Nottingham Outlaws and St Albans Centurions from National Conference League Division 3; Leicester Storm and Northampton Demons were elevated from the premier division of Midlands Rugby League and Sheffield Hallam Eagles joined as a new side after the collapse of the Championship reserve under-23 division.
Northampton Demons and St Albans Centurions were replaced with Oxford Cavaliers and Valley Cougars in 2014 however Oxford Cavaliers failed to complete the season. Bristol Sonics dropped down to the West of England Rugby League in 2015 which allowed four new clubs to join; Gloucestershire Warriors, Coventry Bears Reserves, Torfaen Tigers and Raiders RL alongside the return of Oxford Cavaliers.
London Chargers were promoted to compete in 2016 alongside a new reserve side from University of Gloucestershire All Golds with Gloucestershire Warriors, Leicester Storm, Oxford Cavaliers and Sheffield Hallam Eagles dropping out.
At the end of the 2016 season, it was announced that the Conference League South season would not take place in 2017, and teams would return to their respective regional leagues. In May 2017, the RFL announced plans to introduce a new Southern League competition from 2018 onwards.
The Conference League South was reintroduced for the 2019 season as the Southern Conference League, split into geographic Eastern and Western divisions, with the Hammersmith Hills Hoists winning the first title under the tournament's new name. The 2020 season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the competition resumed in 2021, with a maiden title for Wests Warriors beating local rivals London Chargers 20 points to 10.
For the 2023 season, the geographic split of the league has been removed with all teams in the divisions below being able to apply to enter the competition if they so wish. When the fixture list was released, only 8 teams have entered the division - All Golds, Bedford Tigers, Brentwood Eels, Eastern Rhinos, Hammersmith Hills Hoists, London Chargers, North Herts Crusaders, Wests Warriors.
Clubs
Results
The 2012 results refer to National Conference League 3.
| Season | Grand Final Information | Champions | Score | Runners-up | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Hemel Stags | 17–10 | Huddersfield Underbank Rangers | |||||
| 2013 | Sheffield Hallam Eagles | 32–24 | Nottingham Outlaws | |||||
| 2014 | Valley Cougars | 19–10 | Sheffield Hallam Eagles | |||||
| 2015 | Nottingham Outlaws | 39–12 | Valley Cougars | |||||
| 2016 | London Chargers | 42–0 | Valley Cougars | |||||
| 2017 | Hiatus}} | |||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||
| 2019 | Hammersmith Hills Hoists | 16–10 | London Chargers | |||||
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic}} | |||||||
| 2021 | Wests Warriors | 20–10 | London Chargers | |||||
| 2022 | Wests Warriors | title=Wests Warriors Crowned SCL Champions Once Again | url=https://www.rugby-league.com/article/60987/wests-warriors-crowned-scl-champions-once-again | access-date=2023-04-21 | website=www.rugby-league.com | language=en}} | London Chargers | |
| 2023 | Hammersmith Hills Hoists | 14–0 | Wests Warriors | |||||
| 2024 | Hammersmith Hills Hoists | 12-6 | Wests Warriors | |||||
| 2025 | Hammersmith Hills Hoists | 20-12 | Wests Warriors |
Winners
| Club | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Hammersmith Hills Hoists | 4 | 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| Wests Warriors | 2 | 2021, 2022 |
| Hemel Stags | 1 | 2012 |
| Sheffield Hallam Eagles | 1 | 2013 |
| Valley Cougars | 1 | 2014 |
| Nottingham Outlaws | 1 | 2015 |
| London Chargers | 1 | 2016 |
Tables
2021
| 8 | South London Silverbacks | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 132 | 394 | -262 | -1 |
|---|
Play Off
| RD1-seed1 = W3 | RD1-team1 = Devon Sharks | RD1-score1 = 22 | RD1-seed2 = E3 | RD1-team2 = Hammersmith Hills Hoists | RD1-score2 = 36
| RD1-seed3 = W1 | RD1-team3 = Swindon St George | RD1-score3 = 24 | RD1-seed4 = E5 | RD1-team4 = Bedford Tigers | RD1-score4 = 22
| RD1-seed5 = E2 | RD1-team5 = London Chargers | RD1-score5 = 56 | RD1-seed6 = E4 | RD1-team6 = North Herts Crusaders | RD1-score6 = 18
| RD2-seed1 = E1 | RD2-team1 = Wests Warriors | RD2-score1 = 36 | RD2-seed2 = E3 | RD2-team2 = Hammersmith Hills Hoists | RD2-score2 = 10
| RD2-seed3 = W1 | RD2-team3 = Swindon St George | RD2-score3 = 14 | RD2-seed4 = E2 | RD2-team4 = London Chargers | RD2-score4 = 52
| RD3-seed1 = E1 | RD3-team1 = Wests Warriors | RD3-score1 = 20 | RD3-seed2 = E2 | RD3-team2 = London Chargers | RD3-score2 = 10
2022
| 7 | Hammersmith Hills Hoists | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 228 | 360 | -132 | 5 |
|---|
;Playoffs
Play Off
| RD1-seed1 = W2 | RD1-team1 = Torfaen Tigers | RD1-score1 = 0 | RD1-seed2 = E3 | RD1-team2 = Brentwood Eels | RD1-score2 = 24
| RD1-seed3 = W1 | RD1-team3 = Bristol All Golds | RD1-score3 = 46 | RD1-seed4 = E4 | RD1-team4 = Eastern Rhinos | RD1-score4 = 6
| RD2-seed1 = E1 | RD2-team1 = London Chargers | RD2-score1 = 38 | RD2-seed2 = E3 | RD2-team2 = Brentwood Eels | RD2-score2 = 8
| RD2-seed3 = E2 | RD2-team3 = Wests Warriors | RD2-score3 = 46 | RD2-seed4 = W1 | RD2-team4 = Bristol All Golds | RD2-score4 = 12
| RD3-seed1 = E1 | RD3-team1 = London Chargers | RD3-score1 = 12 | RD3-seed2 = E2 | RD3-team2 = Wests Warriors | RD3-score2 = 20
2023
Play Off
| RD1-seed1 = 1 | RD1-team1 = Wests Warriors | RD1-score1 = 38 | RD1-seed2 = 4 | RD1-team2 = Brentwood Eels | RD1-score2 = 6
| RD1-seed3 = 2 | RD1-team3 = Hammersmith Hills Hoists | RD1-score3 = 28 | RD1-seed4 = 3 | RD1-team4 = London Chargers | RD1-score4 = 12
| RD2-seed1 = | RD2-team1 = Wests Warriors | RD2-score1 = 0 | RD2-seed2 = | RD2-team2 = Hammersmith Hills Hoists | RD2-score2 = 14
2024
| 9 | London Skolars | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 74 | 476 | -402 | 0 |
|---|
;Deductions
- London Skolars: Withdrew partway into season. All remaining fixtures rewarded 24-0 to opponents.
Play Off
| RD1-seed1 = 1 | RD1-team1 = Hammersmith Hills Hoists | RD1-score1 = 64 | RD1-seed2 = 4 | RD1-team2 = Bristol All Golds | RD1-score2 = 4
| RD1-seed3 = 2 | RD1-team3 = Wests Warriors | RD1-score3 = 26 | RD1-seed4 = 3 | RD1-team4 = London Chargers | RD1-score4 = 8
| RD2-seed1 = | RD2-team1 = Hammersmith Hills Hoists | RD2-score1 = 12 | RD2-seed2 = | RD2-team2 = Wests Warriors | RD2-score2 = 6
2025
| 8 | North Herts Crusaders | 14 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 216 | 478 | -262 | 2 |
|---|
;Deductions
- North Herts Crusaders: 1 points, Forfeit
- North Herts Crusaders: 1 points, Forfeit
- North Herts Crusaders: 1 points, Forfeit
- Brentwood Eels: 1 points, Forfeit
Play Off
| RD1-seed1 = 1 | RD1-team1 = Wests Warriors | RD1-score1 = 60 | RD1-seed2 = 4 | RD1-team2 = London Chargers | RD1-score2 = 6
| RD1-seed3 = 2 | RD1-team3 = Hammersmith Hills Hoists | RD1-score3 = 30 | RD1-seed4 = 3 | RD1-team4 = Bedford Tigers | RD1-score4 = 10
| RD2-seed1 = 1 | RD2-team1 = Wests Warriors | RD2-score1 = 12 | RD2-seed2 = 2 | RD2-team2 = Hammersmith Hills Hoists | RD2-score2 = 20
References
References
- "Conference South to launch in April".
- (15 December 2016). "Goodbye to the Conference League South?". League Publications.
- (26 May 2017). "New Southern Rugby League Competition set to launch in 2018". The Rugby Football League.
- "Contact {{!}} All Golds Rugby League Football Club".
- "Contact Bedford Tigers RLFC".
- "StackPath".
- "CONTACT".
- "Contact London Chargers RL".
- "North Herts Crusaders Rugby League".
- "Contact Wests Warriors Rugby League".
- "Wests Warriors Crowned SCL Champions Once Again".
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