The Southern Conference League is the fourth tier of the British rugby league system. It is 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.
The Conference League South was founded in 2012 following the restructuring of amateur rugby league in Great Britain. Teams competing in the Rugby League Conference National Division in 2011 were moved to the 2012 NCL Division Three season, however many opted to play outside of the National Conference League hence the formation of the Conference League South. Because of this, the 2012 NCL Division Three season and 2012 Conference League South season are the same.
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 to join the NCL.
In 2013 the six teams to compete in the Conference League South were,[1] Bristol Sonics, Nottingham Outlaws and St Albans Centurions joined 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.[2] In May 2017, the RFL announced plans to introduce a new Southern League competition from 2018 onwards.[3]
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.
