Rugby Football League Championship Third Division

RFL Championship Third Division
Founded 1991-1993 (as Third Division)
1995-1998 (as Division Two)
2003-2007 (as National League Two)
2008-2014 (as Championship 1)
2015-present (as League 1)
Country  England
Other club(s) from  Wales
 France
 Canada
Number of teams 16
Level on pyramid 3
Promotion to Second Division
Relegation to National Conference League
Elite One Championship
USARL
Domestic cup(s) Challenge Cup
Current champions
Toronto Wolfpack (1st Tiltle)
Most championships
Hunslet (3 Titles)
TV partners Sky Sports
Website

The Rugby Football League Championship Third Division was founded in 1991 and is the third tier of professional rugby league in the UK.

There is no automatic promotion and relegation between the National Conference League, Conference League South, French Elite One or any other league but teams can apply to compete in the Third Division and be relegated by the RFL.

History

The RFL Championship Third Division was founded in 1991 to make the top two divisions more competitive. The competition ran for two seasons until it was scrapped in 1993. The third division was resurrected in 1995 and ran for another three seasons although there was no promotion in 1995-96. In 1999 the Third and Second Divisions were merged to create the Northern Ford Premiership, the third division was recreated again in 2003.

In 2003 rugby league beneath Super League were completely re-organised into the Rugby League National Leagues. The Tird Division was renamed National League Two; a National League Three ran between 2003 and 2006 with the view to eventually have promition and relegation between National League Two and Three although this never happened.

The Third Divisions name was changed again in 2009 when the National Leagues were renamed the Championships with National League Two becoming Championship 1. Between 2009 and 2014 the structure and number of teams in the league changed frequently.

Since 2012 the Third Division has been the entry league for new teams joining the professional ranks with the RFL previously having allowed teams to enter straight into the Super League and Championship.

In 2015 the Third Division was rebranded again, becoming League 1 to distinguish itself from the Championship.

Results

Year Champions[1] Promoted Wooden Spoon
1991-92
Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Bramley
Nottingham City
1992-93
Keighley
Keighley
Workington Town
Chorley Borough
Blackpool Gladiators
Nottingham City
1993-1995: No Third Division
1995-96
Hull Kingston Rovers
No Promotion
Liverpool Stanley
1996
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers
Swinton
Liverpool Stanley
1997
Hunslet
Hunslet
Rochdale
Leigh
Liverpool Stanley
1998
Chorley
No Promotion
Doncaster
1999-2002: No Third Division
2003
Keighley
Keighley
London Skolars
2004
Barrow
Barrow
Newcastle
2005
York
York
Blackpool
2006
Dewsbury
Dewsbury
Sheffield
Blackpool
2007
Crusaders
Crusaders
Featherstone Rovers
Blackpool
2008
Gateshead
Gateshead
Barrow
Doncaster
Hunslet
2009
Dewsbury
Dewsbury
Keighley
London Skolars
2010
Hunslet
Hunslet
York
Newcastle
2011
Swinton
Swinton
Keighley
Newcastle
2012
Doncaster
Doncaster
Barrow
Whitehaven
Workington Town
Newcastle
2013
North Wales
North Wales
Rochdale
Gloucestershire
2014
Hunslet
Hunslet
South Wales
2015
Oldham
Oldham
Swinton
South Wales
2016
Rochdale
Rochdale
Toulouse
Hemel
2017
Toronto
Toronto
Barrow
Hemel
2018
York
York
Bradford
West Wales

Winners

Club Wins Winning years
1 Hunslet31997, 2010, 2014
2 Keighley Cougars21992-93, 2003
3 Hull Kingston Rovers21995-96, 1996
4 Dewsbury Rams22006, 2009
5 York City Knights22005, 2018
6 Huddersfield Giants11991-92
5 Chorley §11998
6 Barrow Raiders12004
7 Celtic Crusaders §12007
8 Newcastle Thunder12008
9 Swinton Lions12011
10 Doncaster12012
11 North Wales Crusaders12013
12 Oldham12015
13 Rochdale Hornets12016
14 Toronto Wolfpack12017

See also

References

  1. "Third Tier Champions". 13 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009.
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