Rugby League European Nations Cup

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The European Nations Cup (formerly known as the European Championship) is a rugby league tournament for European nations. The tournament was first started in 1935, with England, Wales and France each playing each other once. Unlike the Tri-Nations series, there was no final; the team finishing at the top of the group was deemed the winner.

It is run by the Rugby League European Federation.

[edit] History

The tournament was initially played annually, with the exception of the years of the Second World War. In 1946-47, the tournament was altered, with each team playing each other twice, at home and away. The 1949-50 season saw a return to playing only once, but a new team, "Other Nationalities", was added. This team consisted of players who were not English, Welsh, or French playing in the British and French leagues: Australian, New Zealanders, Scots, Irish players and others all played for this new side.

The 1955-56 tournament had no Welsh team, though Welsh players featured for Other Nationalities. The tournament was not played again until 1969-70. It was revived in 1975, with the three-team format of England, Wales and France playing each other team only once being made standard. The tournament was cancelled after 1981, but it was revived under the same format for 1995 and 1996.

The tournament was revamped for 2003, with Scotland, Ireland and Russia all joining. The new structure saw two groups of three, with the winner of each group meeting in a final. This structure was continued for the 2004 tournament.

From 2004 Scotland, Ireland and Wales had to have at least four 'home grown' players from their domestic competitions (in the case of Wales this means Welsh clubs playing in the TotalRLConference) in their squad. Effectively this means that at least one home grown player is guaranteed a start.

The 2005 tournament did not include England as a participant; England will instead play matches against France and New Zealand, giving the European Nations Cup a more level playing field. Georgia won the first ever European Nations qualifying tournament in 2005, beating both Serbia and the Netherlands to win a spot in the tournament.

[edit] Past tournaments

Season Winner
1935 England
1935-36 Wales
1936-37 Wales
1938 Wales
1938-39 France
1945-46 England
1946-47 England
1947-48 England
1948-49 France
1949-50 England
1950-51 France
1951-52 France
1952-53 Other Nationalities
1953-54 England
1955-56 Other Nationalities
1969-70 England
1975 England
1977 France
1978 England
1979 England
1980 England
1981 France
1995 Wales
1996 England
2003 England
2004 England
2005 France

[edit] See also


European Nations Cup

1935 | 1935-36 | 1936-37 | 1938 | 1938-39 | 1945-46 | 1946-47 | 1947-48 | 1948-49 | 1949-50 | 1950-51 | 1951-52 | 1952-53 | 1953-54 | 1955-56 | 1969-70 | 1975 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1995 | 1996 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005


 
European rugby league links
Flag of Europe

Rugby League European Federation

Competitions
European Nations Cup | Super League | Challenge Cup |

Test nations
France | Great Britain | Russia

Non-test Nations
England | Georgia | Greece | Ireland | Italy | Lebanon | Malta | Moldova | Morocco | Netherlands | Serbia | Scotland | Wales

In other languages