South Premier

South Premier
Current season or competition: 2015 South Premier season
Sport	Rugby league
Formerly known as	Rugby League Conference South Premier Division
Instituted	2005
Country	England
Champions	South West London Chargers (2015)
Related competition	London League, London & South East Men's League

The South Premier, also known as the London Premier, is a division in rugby league's tier 4. It was the highest level of amateur rugby league in the South of England until the creation in 2013 of Conference League South. It was first contested in 2005 as the South Premier division of the Rugby League Conference but is currently a standalone league run by London Rugby League.

Many of the clubs run juniors in the London Junior League.

History

The Rugby League Conference was born in 1997 as the Southern Conference.

The Premier Division was 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 new Premier Divisions included the North Premier, the South Premier, the Central Premier and the Welsh Premier.

Prior to the 2005 season National League Three side South London Storm announced that they were joining the South Premier; the other founder members came from the Conference regional divisions.

After the 2006 season with other teams withdrawing from National League Three, St Albans Centurions also decided to join the Premier South.

In 2012 it became a standalone league and St Albans Centurions returned to playing nationally in National Conference League division three

Community game pyramid

• National Conference League
• Conference League South
• South Premier
• East Men's League, London & South East Men's League
• London, South East and East Entrance League

Above the London Premier is the Conference League South and the National Conference League. Below is the London, South East and East Entrance League.

2014 Structure

Club	Founded	Location	RLC Honours
Eastern Rhinos	1992	Colchester, Essex	Eastern Division: 1999, 2001
Hemel Stags A	1981	Hemel Hempstead
London Skolars A	1995	Wood Green, Haringey	Harry Jepson Trophy: 1997 Eastern Division: 1997 RLC Challenge Cup: 2004
St Albans Centurions	1997	St Albans	South Premier 2007, 2010 Harry Jepson Trophy 2007, 2010
South West London Chargers	2013	Clapham Common	South Premier: 2013, 2014 Harry Jepson Trophy: 2013, 2014

• NB: Staines Titans entered but failed to complete the season

Teams play each other on a home-and-away basis. Each Premier division then has its own play-off series to determine the champion with the five divisional winners entering the national play-offs. The winner of the national play-offs is awarded the Harry Jepson Trophy.

• NB: West London Sharks & South London Storm merged to form South West London Chargers

Past League Standings

Teams	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Bedford Tigers	x	x	x	x	6th	x	x	x	x
Eastern Rhinos	3rd	2nd	5th	3rd	4th	4th	3rd	3rd	4th
Elmbridge Eagles ^2	x	5th	6th	7th	9th	x	x	5th	6th
Essex Eels	x	DNF	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Greenwich Admirals	6th	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Hainault Bulldogs	x	x	x	x	8th	6th	DNF	x	x
Hammersmith Hills Hoists	x	x	x	x	x	2nd	1st	2nd	1st
Hemel Stags A	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	5th
Kent Ravens	x	x	7th	DNF	x	x	x	x	x
London Skolars A ^3	4th	4th	3rd	6th	7th	8th	5th^5	1st	3rd
Luton Vipers	5th	DNF	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Portsmouth Navy Seahawks	x	x	x	5th	5th	7th	x	x	x
St Albans Centurions	x	x	1st	4th	3rd	1st	2nd	x	x
South London Storm	1st	1st	2nd	2nd	1st	5th	6th	4th	x
South West London Chargers^4	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	2nd
West London Sharks	2nd	3rd	4th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	DNF	x

• ¹ competed as Ipswich Rhinos between 2005 and 2009
• ² competed as Kingston Warriors between 2005 and 2007 and Elmbridge in 2008.
• ³ competed as Haringey Hornets in 2006
• ⁴ a merger of South London Storm and West London Sharks
• ⁵ midseason replacements for Hainault Bulldogs

Key

DNF	Did not complete the season
x	Did not participate
	Divisional winner
	Qualified for divisional play-off
	Finished bottom

Grand Finals

Year	Winner	Defeated	Score	Venue
2005	South London Storm	West London Sharks	24–8	Storm Park
2006	South London Storm	Ipswich Rhinos	52–10	Storm Park
2007	St Albans Centurions	South London Storm	18–10	Twickenham Stoop
2008	West London Sharks	South London Storm	24–20	Grasshoppers RFC
2009	West London Sharks	South London Storm	26–16	Storm Park
2010	St Albans Centurions	West London Sharks	54–4	Cotlandswick
2011	Hammersmith Hills Hoists	St Albans Centurions	18-16	Hemel Hempstead
2012	Hammersmith Hills Hoists	Eastern Rhinos	46-8
2013	South West London Chargers	Hammersmith Hills Hoists	20-10

Titles

• Hammersmith Hill Hoists: 2
• South London Storm: 2
• St Albans Centurions: 2
• West London Sharks: 2
• South West London Chargers: 3

London Cup

• 2013: South West London Chargers

National Play-offs

Year	Team	Opponent	Result	Game	Venue
2005	South London Storm	Bridgend Blue Bulls	18–34	National Semi-final	Cheltenham
2006	South London Storm	Bridgend Blue Bulls	32–12	National Semi-final	Hemel
2006	South London Storm	East Lancs Lions	30–0	Grand Final	Coventry
2007	St Albans Centurions	Bridgend Blue Bulls	42–16	National Semi-final
2007	St Albans Centurions	Coventry Bears	28–20	Grand Final
2008	West London Sharks	Valley Cougars	32–30	National Semi-final
2008	West London Sharks	Nottingham Outlaws	8–28	Grand Final	Derby

See also

• South London Storm - Season 2009

External links

• London rugby league site