East Rugby League

The East Rugby League is a tier 5 amateur rugby league competition structure with sides from the East of England. It was previously the East Division of the Rugby League Conference, which was set up in 1997.

Structure

The East Rugby League consists of three divisions of competition. Premier, Division 1 and Entry league.
The East Premier was set up for the 2013 season with an East Entry League below this for emerging clubs and second teams. 2013 is also the inaugural year for the East Cup. The competition operates for all tier 4 clubs in the Eastern Counties of England.
In 2014, a new division between the Premier and Entry level was formed and named East Division 1. It provides a more structured level for teams who cannot compete with the standard of the established East Premier. Promotion and relegation between the two competitions begins in 2015.

History

The Rugby League Conference was founded in 1997 as the Southern Conference, a 10-team pilot league for teams in the South of England and the English Midlands. The initial line-up of divisions included an Eastern Division and this has been a feature of the Conference ever since.
The Premier Divisions were set up in 2005 for teams who had achieved a certain playing standard and were able to travel further afield to find stronger opposition.
The Eastern Division became the East Division in 2009.
The RFL restructured amateur rugby league in 2012 and the Eastern region became rebranded as the "East RL"

Community game pyramid

National Conference League
Conference League South
East Premier League
East Division 1
East Entry League

The East Merit League is the lowest level on the pyramid for clubs in the East of England.

Representative Side

From 2015, the East will have a representative side at the end of each season. The side will be made up of the best players from clubs within the East RL. They are likely to play other representative sides from other regions as well as services such as the Police, Fire brigade, Army etc.

Participating teams by season

Eastern Division (1997-2008)

1997: Bedford Swifts, Ipswich Rhinos, Kingston, North London Skolars, West London
1998: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Ipswich Rhinos, Northampton, South Norfolk Saints
1999: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Hemel Stags, Ipswich Rhinos, South Norfolk Saints
2000: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Hemel Stags, Ipswich Rhinos, South Norfolk Saints, St Albans Centurions
2001: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Ipswich Rhinos, South Norfolk Saints, St Albans Centurions
2002: Bedford Swifts, Cambridge Eagles, Ipswich Rhinos, Luton Vipers, St Albans Centurions
2003: Cambridge Eagles, Essex Eels, Ipswich Rhinos, Luton Vipers, South Norfolk Saints, St Ives Roosters
2004: Cambridge Eagles, Hemel Stags 'A', Ipswich Rhinos, Luton Vipers, Middlesex Lions, North London Skolars 'A', South Norfolk Saints, St Ives Roosters
2005: Bedford Tigers, Cambridge Eagles, Luton Vipers 'A', South Norfolk Saints, St Albans Centurions 'A', St Ives Roosters
2006: Bedford Tigers, Cambridge Eagles, Colchester Romans, South Norfolk Saints, St Ives Roosters
2007: Bedford Tigers, Cambridge Eagles, Colchester Romans, Greenwich Admirals, St Ives Roosters, Thetford Titans
2008: Cambridge Eagles, Colchester Romans, Greenwich Admirals, Hainault Bulldogs, Northampton Casuals, St Ives Roosters, Thetford Titans
East Division (2009-2011)
2009: Bury Titans, Cambridge Eagles, Colchester Romans, Hainault Bulldogs A, St Ives Roosters, Northampton Casuals, Norwich City Saxons
2010: Bedford Tigers, Bury Titans, Northampton Casuals, Norwich City Saxons, St Albans Centurions A, St Ives Roosters
2011: Bedford Tigers, Bury Titans, Northampton Demons A, Norwich City Saxons, St Ives Roosters, Sudbury Gladiators
East RL (2012- )

East Premier League

2012: Bedford Tigers, Bury Titans, King's Lynn Black Knights, Milton Keynes Wolves, North Herts Crusaders, St Ives Roosters
2013: Bedford Tigers, King's Lynn Black Knights, Milton Keynes Wolves, North Herts Crusaders, St Ives Roosters
2014: Bedford Tigers, King's Lynn Black Knights, Milton Keynes Wolves, North Herts Crusaders, Southend Spartans, St Ives Roosters
2015: Bedford Tigers, King's Lynn Black Knights, Milton Keynes Wolves, North Herts Crusaders, St Albans Centurions, St Ives Roosters
2016: Bedford Tigers, Brentwood Eels, Hemel Stags, NH Crusaders, St Albans Centurions, St Ives Roosters
East Division 1
2014: Bedford Tigers 'A', Brentwood Eels, Cambridge Lions, North Herts Crusaders 'A'

NB: Bovingdon Bulldogs failed to start the season and were replaced by North Herts Crusaders 'A'

2015: Brentwood Eels, Cambridge Lions, North Herts Knights, Southend Spartans
2016: Breckland Spartans, Cambridge Lions, King's Lynn Black Knights, MK Wolves, Southend Spartans
East Entry League
2012: Bedford Tigers 'A', Hemel Stags 'A', North Herts Crusaders 'A', St Albans Centurions 'A'
2013: Bedford Tigers 'A', Cambridge Lions, North Herts Crusaders 'A', St Ives Roosters 'A', Wymondham Trojans
2014: Did not run
2015: Bedford Tigers 'A', Cambridge Lions 'A', Milton Keynes Wolves, St Albans Centurions 'A'
Winners