Welsh Premier Division

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For the football league, see Welsh Premier League.
Welsh Premier Division Logo
Welsh Premier Division Logo

The Welsh Premier Division (also called the Principality Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented for the 1990/91 season.

For the 2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons it was renamed the Welsh-Scottish League with the addition of Edinburgh and Glasgow alongside the Welsh teams.

Originally at the top tier of rugby in Wales, the league lost this status in 2003 with the implementation of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU)'s "Regional Rugby" plan, by which the country would be represented in top-level competitions (i.e., the Magners League and Heineken Cup) by five (now four) regionally-based sides. The clubs in the Premier Division became largely developmental sides for the regional teams.

Over succeeding years the league structure was to be changed in order to strengthen the structure of the semi-pro sides feeding the regions. Under the WRU's plan, playing records and facilities will be the main criteria in determining which clubs would stay in the Premiership.

In the 2005-2006 season the Welsh Premier Division consisted of 16 clubs. Division One Champions Maesteg and runners-up Glamorgan Wanderers were promoted from Division 1 to join 14 clubs who played Premiership rugby the previous season. The clubs relegated down to Division 1 were Caerphilly, Llanharan and Newbridge, thus, reducing the division from 17 to 16 clubs.

For the 2006-2007 season, the Welsh Premier Division was reduced once more to 14 teams. The 2006-2007 league was won by Neath RFC, making it three wins in three years.

For the 2007-2008 season, a new points system was adopted, following the same system used in the Magners League, where teams earn 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw and can earn bonus points for either scoring 4 tries or losing by less than 7 points.[1]

Contents

[edit] 2007/2008 Season

[edit] 2007/2008 Table

2007-2008 Principality Welsh Premiership League Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points difference Bonus Points Points
Neath RFC 26 19 1 6 697 381 +316 15 93
Cardiff RFC 26 18 1 7 544 449 +95 6 80
Pontypridd RFC 26 16 1 9 523 411 +112 11 77
Swansea RFC 26 16 2 8 547 487 +60 8 76
Ebbw Vale RFC 26 15 2 9 499 430 +69 10 74
Aberavon RFC 26 15 1 10 591 571 +20 10 72
Newport RFC 26 12 0 14 441 462 −21 12 60
Bedwas RFC 26 11 2 13 499 474 +25 12 60
Llanelli RFC 26 10 4 12 527 468 +59 12 60
Glamorgan Wanderers 26 10 2 14 439 451 −12 11 55
Cross Keys RFC 26 10 1 15 430 475 −45 9 51
Bridgend Ravens 26 9 1 16 397 515 −118 9 47
Llandovery RFC 26 7 0 19 384 684 −300 5 33
Maesteg RFC 26 4 2 20 415 674 −259 6 26
Correct as of 2008-05-18


[edit] 2006/2007 Season

[edit] 2006/2007 Table

2006-07 Principality Welsh Premiership League Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points
Neath RFC 26 17 2 7 704 473 53
Ebbw Vale RFC 26 16 3 7 557 503 51
Newport RFC 26 16 2 8 619 480 50
Pontypridd RFC 26 16 1 9 543 504 49
Llanelli RFC 26 12 2 12 629 509 38
Glamorgan Wanderers 26 12 2 12 577 602 38
Aberavon RFC 26 12 2 12 603 615 38
Cardiff RFC 26 12 1 13 601 580 37
Swansea RFC 26 12 0 14 487 611 36
Bedwas RFC 26 11 1 14 446 524 34
Bridgend Ravens 26 11 0 15 461 508 33
Maesteg RFC 26 10 0 16 531 596 30
Cross Keys RFC 26 9 2 15 485 528 29
Llandovery RFC 26 7 0 19 482 692 21
Correct as of 2007-04-18


[edit] Past winners

1990/91 Neath

1991/92 Swansea

1992/93 Llanelli

1993/94 Swansea

1994/95 Cardiff

1995/96 Neath

1996/97 Pontypridd

1997/98 Swansea

1998/99 Llanelli

1999/2000 Cardiff

2000/01 Swansea

2001/02 Llanelli

2002/03 Bridgend

2003/04 Newport

2004/05 Neath

2005/06 Neath

2006/07 Neath

2007/08 Neath

[edit] Wins by club

  • Neath (6 times)
  • Swansea (4 times)
  • Llanelli (3 times)
  • Cardiff (twice)
  • Pontypridd (once)
  • Bridgend (once)
  • Newport (once)

[edit] References

  1. ^ WRU: Rules & Regulations: WRU National League Rules: Season 2007-2008

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Welsh Premier Division 2007-08
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