Student Rugby League
Encyclopedia
The Student Rugby League is the organisation which administrates university and college rugby league
in the United Kingdom
, on behalf of the Rugby Football League
and BUCS.
Rugby league in universities has been an important vehicle for expansion of the game as players from outside the heartlands often first began to play at university level. Many continue to play after leaving university and this has led to the creation of teams in non-traditional areas such as London Skolars
.
, other teams soon joined in areas of the United Kingdom
which lay outside of the games traditional heartlands. The first university game was between Leeds and Liverpool in 1968. A year later the Universities and Colleges Rugby League was formed after student pioneers fought hard to get the sport recognised in higher education. Portsmouth and Swansea were early non-traditional areas to accept the game.
Rugby league reached Oxford University in 1976 and the first Varsity fixture against Cambridge University took place in 1981. The varsity match has 'discretionary full blue
' status.
Student Rugby League reached Scotland in 1989 when a group of students at Aberdeen University established a team and formed the first Scotland Students squad
The Pioneers were formed in 2005 and made their inaugural tour that year to Estonia. In the following four years, development tours visited the Czech Republic, Latvia, Ukraine and Norway.
By 2006, the Student Rugby League had over 70 member clubs playing in 9 leagues, club locations ranging from Napier in Scotland to Exeter in the south of England.
The elite Super 8
competition was formed as the Super 6 in 2008.
The Super 8
competition is the elite student league. Five matches from the 2011 Super 8 including the inaugural Grand Final were televised live and free-to-view
on Premier Sports
. The BUSA Competition is split into nine playing leagues with the Premier North and the Premier South being supported by seven regional leagues. The fixtures run from October until March leading up to the Championship play-off series.
The U19’s College Competition is split into three leagues, the North West, Yorkshire and the Premier Division. The College leagues play from September until March culminating in a top four play-off series. The Carnegie Champion Colleges
is the knock-out competition for the Further Education sector.
Alongside SRL competitions, the top university sides can qualify for the Challenge Cup
.
The 'Pioneers' are a representative team that undertake rugby league development tours to emerging nations.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, on behalf of the Rugby Football League
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
and BUCS.
Rugby league in universities has been an important vehicle for expansion of the game as players from outside the heartlands often first began to play at university level. Many continue to play after leaving university and this has led to the creation of teams in non-traditional areas such as London Skolars
London Skolars
London Skolars are a rugby league club based at the New River Stadium, Wood Green, Haringey in North London. They were founded in 1995 and have been semi-professional since 2003, operating in Championship One...
.
History
Founded in 1967 when a team was created at Leeds University by Andrew Cudbertson, Jack Abernathy and Cec ThompsonCec Thompson
Cec Thompson was a British professional rugby league footballer of the 1940s, '50s and '60s.He was born in County Durham, the son of a mother from Durham and a Trinidadian father. His father died when he was very young and his childhood was spent in a succession of orphanages.Thompson took up...
, other teams soon joined in areas of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
which lay outside of the games traditional heartlands. The first university game was between Leeds and Liverpool in 1968. A year later the Universities and Colleges Rugby League was formed after student pioneers fought hard to get the sport recognised in higher education. Portsmouth and Swansea were early non-traditional areas to accept the game.
Rugby league reached Oxford University in 1976 and the first Varsity fixture against Cambridge University took place in 1981. The varsity match has 'discretionary full blue
University Sporting Blue
A Blue is an award earned by sportsmen and women at a university and some schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of Blues began at Oxford and Cambridge Universities...
' status.
Student Rugby League reached Scotland in 1989 when a group of students at Aberdeen University established a team and formed the first Scotland Students squad
The Pioneers were formed in 2005 and made their inaugural tour that year to Estonia. In the following four years, development tours visited the Czech Republic, Latvia, Ukraine and Norway.
By 2006, the Student Rugby League had over 70 member clubs playing in 9 leagues, club locations ranging from Napier in Scotland to Exeter in the south of England.
The elite Super 8
Super 8 (SRL)
The Super 8 is the highest Student Rugby League competition in the United Kingdom.The Super 8 competition features the strongest university teams in the UK...
competition was formed as the Super 6 in 2008.
Student Rugby League Pyramid
- Super 8Super 8 (SRL)The Super 8 is the highest Student Rugby League competition in the United Kingdom.The Super 8 competition features the strongest university teams in the UK...
- National North & National South
- Lancashire, Midlands, North, North West, South, Wales & West
- Midlands A, North 2
The Super 8
Super 8 (SRL)
The Super 8 is the highest Student Rugby League competition in the United Kingdom.The Super 8 competition features the strongest university teams in the UK...
competition is the elite student league. Five matches from the 2011 Super 8 including the inaugural Grand Final were televised live and free-to-view
Free-to-view
Free-to-view is a term used for free of charge and encrypted audio and/or video contents transmission that do not require any form of continual subscription...
on Premier Sports
Premier Sports
Premier Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels, operated by the Luxembourg registered Premier Media S.à r.l., broadcasting in United Kingdom.-History:...
. The BUSA Competition is split into nine playing leagues with the Premier North and the Premier South being supported by seven regional leagues. The fixtures run from October until March leading up to the Championship play-off series.
The U19’s College Competition is split into three leagues, the North West, Yorkshire and the Premier Division. The College leagues play from September until March culminating in a top four play-off series. The Carnegie Champion Colleges
Champion Colleges
Carnegie Champion Colleges is a rugby league competition administered by the Student Rugby League. It is open to teams in the 12-13 year groups at Sixth Forms and FE Colleges in the UK...
is the knock-out competition for the Further Education sector.
Alongside SRL competitions, the top university sides can qualify for the Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
.
Representative teams
Regional and 4 Nations Championships that take place annually and form the basis of the Great Britain and Ireland Academic Lions squad. This squad takes on the Australian Universities and competes for the Academic Ashes.The 'Pioneers' are a representative team that undertake rugby league development tours to emerging nations.
See also
- Tertiary Student Rugby League World CupTertiary Student Rugby League World CupThe Tertiary Student Rugby League World Cup, also known as the University Rugby League World Cup, first took place in 1986 in New Zealand, when the then five test nations each entered a side in what was the first non-first grade World Cup hosted by the Rugby League International Federation.The...
- Rugby league in EnglandRugby league in EnglandRugby league football is a team sport in England. The sport receives funding from Sport England as an "English priority" sport. The top-level competition in England—called Super League—is not an entirely all-English affair, as it includes a team from France, and also featured a team from Wales from...
- Rugby league in ScotlandRugby league in ScotlandRugby league is comparatively minor sport in Scotland, dwarfed by the popularity of association football, and to a lesser extent sports such as rugby union, curling and shinty...
- Rugby league in WalesRugby league in WalesRugby league is a sport played in Wales. The governing body of the game in Wales is the Wales Rugby League.There is a long but sporadic history of rugby league in Wales. Over the decades many hundreds of players have "gone north" to play for the leading English clubs...
- British Amateur Rugby League AssociationBritish Amateur Rugby League AssociationThe British Amateur Rugby League Association is the governing body for social and recreational rugby league in the United Kingdom...
- BUCS
- Rugby League Varsity MatchRugby League Varsity MatchThe Rugby League Varsity Match is an annual rugby league match between Cambridge University and Oxford University. It is played at Twickenham Stoop in London, England, usually in the first week of March. The 2010 match took place on Thursday 4 March. Oxford, the winners of the match, received the...