Midlands Rugby League

Midlands Rugby League
Sport	Rugby league football
Formerly known as	Midlands Merit League, RL Merit League
Inaugural season	2009
Chair	Tim Fellows
Number of teams	13
Country	England
Champions	Leicester Storm A (2010)
Website	midlandsrugbyleague.co.uk
Related competition	Midlands Junior League

The 3vSport.com Midlands Rugby League is a summer rugby league tournament in the Midlands region of England. It is a feeder league to the Rugby League Conference and a successor league to the Midlands Merit League. Its season runs from April to August.

The Midlands Rugby League is also the name of the organisation that controls the Midlands Junior League and the Midlands Rugby League open-age competition as well as the RL Merit League.

History

See also: History of the Midlands Merit League

The Midlands Merit League was founded in late 2005 to support the growth of rugby league in non-heartland areas. The 2007 season saw the introduction of an informal under-15 league Midlands Junior League based on Merit League principles. In 2008 the junior competition featured under-14 and under-16 divisions.

The league was renamed RL Merit League (RLML) for the 2008 season due to its increased geographical spread with teams from the North of England taking part. 2009 saw the largest ever entry, with over 30 teams split into two Northern pools; "Yorkshire and Humber" and "North West" and the stand-alone Midlands Rugby League.

Rugby League Conference Pyramid

See also: British rugby league system

• RLC National
• RLC Midlands Premier
• RLC Yorkshire & Lincolnshire and RLC Midlands
• Midlands Rugby League

The Midlands Rugby League is the lowest level on the Rugby League Conference pyramid for clubs in the Midlands.

Participating clubs

The anticipated line-up for 2011 is:

2011 Midlands Rugby League Coventry Dragons Coventry Warriors Dronfield Drifters Hope Valley Hawks Leamington Royals A Leicester Storm A NEW Ravens Nottingham Outlaws B Sleaford Spartans Telford Raiders A Wolverhampton RLFC

Participating teams by season

• 2009: Birmingham Bulldogs A, Burntwood Barbarians, Coventry Bears A, Leamington Royals, Leicester Phoenix A, Northampton Casuals A, North Derbyshire Chargers, Nottingham Outlaws, Redditch Ravens, Telford Raiders A, Wolverhampton Warlords, Wolverhampton Wizards

• For information prior to the split see: History of the RL Merit League

Teams joining the Rugby League Conference

See also: History of the Rugby League Conference

• 2010: Birmingham Bulldogs A, Coventry Bears A, Leamington Royals, Redditch Ravens
• 2011: Bristol Sonics A, Northampton Demons A

Format

The scoring system for 2010 for the Midlands Rugby League men's competition was as follows:

Win: 3 points

Draw: 2 points

Defeat not conceded: 1 point

Default on game within three days of fixture: 0 points, with 24-0 score-line awarded to the opposition.

The average number of points scored per game, rather than the total, determines positions in the league table. Teams who have played 6 or more games will be placed higher in the table than those who haven't. If the average is the same, total games played followed by points difference will determine the placings.

Inter-league games between members of the Midlands Rugby League and the London League or RL Merit League can be counted as competitive matches, whilst both leagues are in season. These fixtures will need to be confirmed a week in advance to be guaranteed inclusion as regular season games.

Past winners

For the sake of completeness, previous Midlands competitions are included.

Midlands Merit League Championship

2006	South Humber Rabbitohs	42-18	Nottingham Outlaws Academy
2007	St Helens Wild Boars	46-22	German Exiles
2008	Moorends-Thorne Marauders ML	28-18	Wigan Riversiders

Midlands Merit League Shield

2007	East Riding RLC	32-26	Nottingham Outlaws Academy
2008	Nottingham Outlaws Academy	34-32	Sheffield Forgers

Midlands Rugby League

2009	Birmingham Bulldogs A	26-12	North Derbyshire Chargers
2010	Leicester Storm A	24-22	North Derbyshire Chargers
2011	Hope Valley Hawks	72-32	Sleaford Spartans

See also

• British rugby league system‎
• RL Merit League
• London League (rugby league)
• Rugby League Conference

External links

• Midlands rugby league site
• Rugby League Conference official site
• Coventry Dragons