THE Rugby Football League have, as the regular season approaches its final stages, confirmed the promotion and relegation formulae between the National Premier Division and Division One – and between Division One and the various National Conference Leagues (Cumbria, North West, South, Yorkshire A and Yorkshire B).
The competitions have, other than Conference South, replaced the National Conference League, which was due to celebrate its 40th birthday this year.
Inclusion in the National Premier or National Division One is dependant on eligibility, i.e. meeting similar minimum criteria standards to those that previously applied in the National Conference League (NCL).
Those, for many years, included having more than one open-age side, a strong youth and junior structure and a fenced-off pitch adjacent to the clubhouse.
As such it is recognised that not all National Conference South teams will currently be eligible for inclusion in the top two sections.
However, most if not all clubs in the Cumbrian, the North West and the Yorkshire Conferences are likely to have previously met the required off-field standards.
The top six teams in the National Premier Division will play off for the championship – a system that also pertained in the NCL.
The bottom two sides will be relegated and will be replaced by the Division One champions, together with the winners of top-six play-offs (if the Division One champions also win the play-offs, the team finishing second in the table will be promoted with them).
Wakefield Trinity will host the Premier Division and Division One Grand Finals in a double-header on Saturday, October 24, following qualifying and elimination semi-finals on Saturday 10 and Saturday 17.
Meanwhile the bottom two teams in National Division One will be relegated to the appropriate regional National Conference (Cumbria, North West or Yorkshire).
They will be replaced by the two survivors of a play-off process involving leading eligible teams in those Conferences.
RFL official Tim White reminded clubs: “As outlined at the start of the season, all National Conference teams will participate in either the Championship cross-conference play-offs or the Shield cross-conference play-offs (CCPOs), ensuring every team have the opportunity to continue competing following the completion of the regular league programme.
“Neither of the CCPOs are optional. They are a crucial part of the season, reflecting feedback from the majority of clubs in respect of the total number of fixtures required and the desire to play teams from a wider area.
“The Championship CCPOs will determine the two teams promoted to National Division One for the 2027 season. The competition will comprise 16 teams, drawn into four groups of four, with each team playing three group fixtures before progressing to the knockout stages.”
If no National Conference South sides meet the off-field minimum standards required in the National Premier or National Division One, those 16 teams will comprise the top four in each of the National Conference Cumbria, North West, Yorkshire A or Yorkshire B leagues.
However White said: “Where an eligible National Conference South team qualifies and elects to participate, the Championship qualifiers will comprise one South team (finishing first or second in that section), four from the North West and three each from Cumbria, Yorkshire A and Yorkshire B. Two additional places will be awarded to the two highest-ranked fourth-placed teams across Cumbria, Yorkshire A and Yorkshire B.”
He stressed: “In both scenarios, the groups will be constructed using the following principles: teams from the same conference will not be drawn into the same group; finishing positions will be distributed as evenly as possible to achieve balanced groups; each team will play three group fixtures, with a minimum of one home fixture; and the top two teams from each group will progress to the knockout stages. The two teams reaching the Championship final will be promoted to National Division One.”
White further explained: “All remaining eligible teams from the National Conferences (Cumbria, North West, Yorkshire A and Yorkshire B) who do not qualify for the Championship CCPOs will compete in the Shield CCPOs, the final format of which will be dependent upon the applicable Championship qualification scenario, as this determines the number of participating teams.
“Once the Championship qualifiers have been confirmed, teams will be allocated into groups of three or four, with the competition structure confirmed at the same time as the group allocations.”
Championship and Shield cross-conference play-off group fixtures will be played on Saturday, September 5, Saturday 12 and Saturday 19.
In the knockout stages, the quarter-finals will be on Saturday 26, the semi-finals on Saturday, October 10 and the finals on Saturday 17.
“Venues for the semi-finals and finals will be confirmed in due course,” said White, who added: “Immediately following the completion of the regular season and confirmation of the final league standings, we will publish the applicable Championship qualification scenario, the Championship CCPO group allocations, the Shield CCPO group allocations, the fixture schedule for the group games and confirmation of the applicable knockout qualification format.
“We appreciate clubs will already be planning for the end of the season and hope this information provides greater clarity around the qualification process and competition structure.”