English rugby union system
Rugby union in England has a comprehensive league structure in place, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. The format and competitiveness of the leagues has changed greatly since their beginnings in 1987. The latest widespread restructuring of the leagues was announced in November 2008, for implementation from the 2009–10 season. Under this new structure, the top league remains the 12-team Aviva Premiership. The second tier league has been rebranded and restructured; as the RFU Championship which has replaced the old National Division One. This league also has 12 teams, and like the Premiership, is 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 16 team National League 2 North. The four top regional leagues are now part of National League 3 at level five. Promotion and relegation remains throughout the system.
English Rugby Union Leagues 2009–10
Guinness Premiership
Season: 2009/2010
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
(C)-Champions (Q)-Qualified for home play-off. (q)-Qualified for away play-off. (F)-Losing Finalists (R)-Relegated to Championship
RFU Championship
Season: 2009/2010
National League 1
Season: 2009/2010
National League 2
National League 2 North
Season: 2009/2010
Season: 2009/2010
Template:2009-10 National League 2 South Table
English Rugby Union Leagues 2008–09
This page contains all of the most current England Rugby Union templates for the various leagues. This will allow a ready reference for tracking the progress of the season. If you find that a template is out of date, please update it (if a template is pointing to a previous season, use a new template).
The page will update as the season progresses, and will stabilise for a short time during the summer months.
Guinness Premiership
Season: 2008/2009
National Division One
Season: 2008/2009
National Division Two
Season: 2008/2009
National Division Three
National Division Three North
Season: 2007/2008
National Division Three South
Season: 2008/2009
Northern Division
North 1
North 2 East
Midland Division
Midlands 1
Season: 2007/2008
Template:Midlands 1 2007-2008 Table
Midlands 6 East (NW)
Season: 2008/2009
European Cups
Though not a domestic competition, The Heineken Cup plays an important part in English Rugby. A template showing H-cup information is requested here. (Possibly by templating info on Heineken Cup
Rugby union in England
Rugby union is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports in England. In 1871 the RFU was formed by 21 clubs and the first international match, which involved England, was played in Scotland. The English national team compete annually in the Six Nations Championship, and are former world champions after winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The top domestic club competition is the Aviva Premiership, and English clubs also compete in international competitions such as the European Rugby Champions Cup.
History
Rugby School and foundation of early clubs
Rugby in England is generally attributed to when William Webb Ellis "who with a fine disregard for the rules as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it" in 1823 at the Rugby School, although modern scholars consider this story to be a myth. One of the earliest football clubs formed, some claim it to actually be the first, is the Guy's Hospital Football Club which was founded in 1843 in Guy's Hospital, Southwark, London. The club played an early version of rugby football and was formed by old boys of the Rugby School. Subsequent clubs established in this period include Dublin University Football Club in 1854 and the Blackheath Rugby Club in 1858.
Union League
The Union Leagues were a group of men's clubs established during the American Civil War to promote loyalty to the Union, the Republican Party, and the policies of Abraham Lincoln. They were also known as Loyal Leagues. They were composed of upper middle class members who provided financial support for organizations such as the United States Sanitary Commission, which provided medical supplies to treat wounded soldiers after battle. The clubs supported the Republican Party with funding, organizational support, and political activism.
The Union League of Philadelphia, established in 1862, was the first to be formed, and still exists, as do the Union League Clubs of New York and Chicago. Membership in the league is selective, and is comparable in social status to membership in a country club. Union League buildings often serve as private social clubs.
During Reconstruction, Union Leagues were formed across the South after 1867 as working auxiliaries of the Republican Party. They mobilized freedmen to register to vote and to vote Republican. They discussed political issues, promoted civic projects, and mobilized workers opposed to certain employers. Most branches were segregated but there were a few that were racially integrated. The leaders of the all-black units were mostly urban blacks from the North, who had never been slaves. Foner (p. 283) says "virtually every Black voter in the South had enrolled".
