England has a comprehensive league structure in place, including national fully professional leagues to amateur regional leagues.
The format and competitiveness of the leagues have changed greatly since their beginnings in 1987. The latest widespread restructuring of the leagues were announced in November 2008, for implementation from 2009-2010.
Under this structure, the top league remains the 12-team Aviva Premiership. The second tier league has been rebranded and restructured; the RFU Championship has replaced the old National Division One. The league also has 12 teams, and like the Premiership, will be fully 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 National League 2 North. The four top regional leagues are now part of National League 3.
The changes also mean that level 6 have become the eight top regional leagues. Promotion and relegation throughout the system remains.
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The Aviva Premiership will remain the top level league in the country, containing the best 12 fully professional clubs. The premiership will still include strict facility criteria and a salary cap that must be met by all participants.
Promotion and relegation will remain with the new RFU Championship with the bottom side being relegated at the end of the season. The promoted club will no longer simply be the Championship champions but will be decided by play-off, which is hoped will bring an end to a select number of clubs bouncing between the leagues. (For example, each season between 2005–06 and 2008–09 saw the club relegated to National Division One earning promotion to the Premiership the following season, and also either the promotion or relegation of Leeds Carnegie.) Debate still continues over the question of promotion and relegation, but with the strict criteria and now a fully professional championship providing the replacement financial fears are reduced.
The new RFU Championship was formed in 2009-10 to provide a second tier of professional competition. The former National Division One was decreased from 16 clubs to 12 to accommodate a new fixture structure. This includes:
The new National League structure includes:
The former National Division Two was renamed and increased from 14 to 16 teams. This resulted in a 30-game season on a home and away basis. The champions are promoted to the Championship and the three bottom sides are relegated to National League 2 level.
The previous National Division Three leagues became National League 2, keeping the same structure as previous except for being increased to 16 teams each. The two league champions are promoted, with the two runners-up meeting in a promotion play-off to decide the third promoted team. The bottom three in each league are relegated to their respective regional division. A new element is that the champions will meet in a National Final.
The former top regional leagues became the lowest level of the national league structure, increasing in size from 12 to 14 teams. The leagues are:
The 4 champions are promoted, the 4 runners up enter play-offs to decide the other 2 promoted sides. The 4 champions also meet in a knock-out national finals competition.
With the restructurings, levels 6-12 became the new regional system. There are now 8 regional Division 1 leagues, which are connected to the national leagues by promotion and relegation.
The table below shows the current structure of the system. For each division, its official name, sponsorship name (which differs from its historic name) and number of clubs is given. At levels 1-3, each division promotes to the national division(s) that lie directly above it and relegates to the national division(s) that lie directly below it. Below that level, clubs relegate to the nearest local league.
Historically there were no leagues allowed as these were seen as a sign of professionalism. In the 1970s the RFU allowed the creation of regional merit leagues with the most significant ones being the North, Midlands, South West and London merit leagues. In 1984 the RFU approved the creation of two national merit tables where clubs had to play a minimum of eight games against the clubs in their division. 1985 saw the creation of a third national merit league. In 1987 this was formed into a true national league system.
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Level |
League(s)/Division(s) |
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1 |
Aviva Premiership |
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2 |
RFU Championship |
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3 |
National League 1 |
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4 |
National League 2 North |
National League 2 South |
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5 |
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6 |
North 1 West |
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7 |
Midlands 2 West (North) |
North Lancs/Cumbria |
London 2 North East |
Tribute Western Counties North |
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8 |
Midlands 3 West (North) |
North Lancs 1 |
London 3 North East |
Tribute Somerset Premier |
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9 |
Midlands 4 West (North) |
North Lancs 2 |
Eastern Counties 1 |
Tribute Somerset 1 |
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10 |
Midlands 5 West (North) |
South Lancs/Cheshire 4 |
Eastern Counties 2 |
Tribute Somerset 2 North |
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11 |
n/a |
Yorkshire 5A |
Essex 3 |
Tribute Somerset 3 North |
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12 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
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