Conference League South

[London Drifter]

Just a shame Skolars and Hemel couldn't enter a side as they might not even have London Premier under the old format to enter.

Rumour has it both Skolars & Hemel have pulled their 'A' teams from all competitions and are only running their League One teams - can't see how that helps anyone?

[bowes]

No not at all. Shame they couldn't find somewhere to play. Hemel abolished all juniors last season.

Skolars ran three teams last season at open age plus U19

[Jasper]

Rumour has it both Skolars & Hemel have pulled their 'A' teams from all competitions and are only running their League One teams - can't see how that helps anyone?

 

Hope its not true, that's probably the end of the London Prem League if it is.

Just been on to both their websites and under 'squads', Hemel show just a first team and Skolars show a first team and an U19's.

[bowes]

London premier league is already dead with or without them IMO. 4 clubs left and noone close to their standard left. Sad though. Not sure who Skolars U19 hope to play.

Incidentally wonder if Broncos running a more local team and no longer providing dual registered players is a factor?

[bbfaz]

Hope its not true, that's probably the end of the London Prem League if it is.

Just been on to both their websites and under 'squads', Hemel show just a first team and Skolars show a first team and an U19's.

 

To be fair, this is nothing new.  They've not acknowledged them on either website for some time.

[bowes]

Be interesting to see what South West London Chargers do, guess Eastern Rhinos will have little choice but to return to East Premier but Chargers have in the long run struggle to attract the same calibre of player if they're playing in the same division as say Wests Warriors or Beckenham Bears

[audois]

Be interesting to see what South West London Chargers do, guess Eastern Rhinos will have little choice but to return to East Premier but Chargers have in the long run struggle to attract the same calibre of player if they're playing in the same division as say Wests Warriors or Beckenham Bears

 Where are Medway Dragons at the moment. Plans for League 1 place down the line. Thought something like CLS could be a building block.

[bbfaz]

I'm not having a go at Medway, they are very earnest in their desire to go semi-professional, but they're a millions miles away from it right now.  I was speaking to one of the guys involved at their club when we played them last years and apparently there are tunnels and/or underground storage underneath the pitch.  To build a semi-pro level ground on the site, they'd need to dig down many metres to clear all of that out, which sounded like a two year job on its own.  On the field, they won their league last season and I know they've told the RFL in the past they're interested in CLS but who in their right mind from the South East of England would want to play in a league like that?  You can't be asking amateur players to travel to Cwmbran, Merthyr or Llanelli (or wherever these Welsh teams play), when they need to work a full-time job and spend time with their family.  It's a ridiculous league and its existence is barely viable in its current form.  The fact that any team with aspirations to get into the pro ranks has to go through this shambles of a league is, frankly, lunacy.

[MidlandsRugbyLeague]

I'm not having a go at Medway, they are very earnest in their desire to go semi-professional, but they're a millions miles away from it right now. I was speaking to one of the guys involved at their club when we played them last years and apparently there are tunnels and/or underground storage underneath the pitch. To build a semi-pro level ground on the site, they'd need to dig down many metres to clear all of that out, which sounded like a two year job on its own. On the field, they won their league last season and I know they've told the RFL in the past they're interested in CLS but who in their right mind from the South East of England would want to play in a league like that? You can't be asking amateur players to travel to Cwmbran, Merthyr or Llanelli (or wherever these Welsh teams play), when they need to work a full-time job and spend time with their family. It's a ridiculous league and its existence is barely viable in its current form. The fact that any team with aspirations to get into the pro ranks has to go through this shambles of a league is, frankly, lunacy.

Teams travel week in week out from Hull to West Cumbria in the NCL, which is longer than a trip from Kent to Cwmbran.

[bowes]

I'm not having a go at Medway, they are very earnest in their desire to go semi-professional, but they're a millions miles away from it right now. I was speaking to one of the guys involved at their club when we played them last years and apparently there are tunnels and/or underground storage underneath the pitch. To build a semi-pro level ground on the site, they'd need to dig down many metres to clear all of that out, which sounded like a two year job on its own. On the field, they won their league last season and I know they've told the RFL in the past they're interested in CLS but who in their right mind from the South East of England would want to play in a league like that? You can't be asking amateur players to travel to Cwmbran, Merthyr or Llanelli (or wherever these Welsh teams play), when they need to work a full-time job and spend time with their family. It's a ridiculous league and its existence is barely viable in its current form. The fact that any team with aspirations to get into the pro ranks has to go through this shambles of a league is, frankly, lunacy.

Not sure the way round that as there's no local league remotely close to supporting many of the clubs in CLS but some of the sides are of questionable sustainability. Maybe eventually when there's more clubs they can have one division for the South West and South Wales and another for the Midlands and east (which you may be able to take Medway into if they're serious) but really the game in London and South East has always isolated itself (except for from the east) and now they can't support an elite community division it's kind of tough luck unfortunately. It may be that the east premier expands naturally into a rival to CLS though

[bbfaz]

Teams travel week in week out from Hull to West Cumbria in the NCL, which is longer than a trip from Kent to Cwmbran.

First of all, not really. Secondly, that doesn't justify the CLS, it just makes the NCL just as ridiculous, if not more so.

[bbfaz]

Not sure the way round that as there's no local league remotely close to supporting many of the clubs in CLS but some of the sides are of questionable sustainability. Maybe eventually when there's more clubs they can have one division for the South West and South Wales and another for the Midlands and east (which you may be able to take Medway into if they're serious) but really the game in London and South East has always isolated itself (except for from the east) and now they can't support an elite community division it's kind of tough luck unfortunately. It may be that the east premier expands naturally into a rival to CLS though

I think the RFL has isolated London because they wanted to have smaller, regional leagues that would feed Conference League South. The real problem is nobody has anywhere to play. Fix that, we might have something.

[bowes]

I think the RFL has isolated London because they wanted to have smaller, regional leagues that would feed Conference League South. The real problem is nobody has anywhere to play. Fix that, we might have something.

I'd say it's the opposite, the RFL were keen to involve the better London and South East clubs in the CLS from the start but clubs held out with their regional premier that crumbled to dust, though to an extent lack of support killed things. I think the consolidation of London playing resources into only 2 premier division teams and the vast improvement of the game in the east were straws that killed the camel's back. There were proposals to include a hand full of Midlands clubs in a London and east centric CLS for years when the game had a different centre down south but the likes of South London and West London would have none of it, much to the annoyance of St Albans and the then Ipswich Rhinos. We did get accepted by ourselves one year but had to pull out when half our team joined Hemel for the season. I think if CLS folded tomorrow then Nottingham and Leicester would have no choice but to look to play NCL or Yorkshire Men's League as they couldn't play in the Midlands premier without the whole division collapsing to dust over a couple of seasons. Not sure what we'd do with our reserves in that scenario but I would guess a joint West of England/South Wales division would be set up for the others.

[bbfaz]

I'm talking in the last three years. There's been a conscious move to three regions. The current situation has been precipitated by wanting to create a zone 1-6 league, whilst pushing everybody north of London into the east and south of London into the South East.

[audois]

I see West London Chargers are in the Challenge Cup draw ; which league wil they be playing in come 2015?

[bowes]

I see West London Chargers are in the Challenge Cup draw ; which league wil they be playing in come 2015?

Nothing's decided but I think a combined London and South East division is most likely as neither London division nor even a combined London division is likely to have enough clubs to run IMO

[bbfaz]

London Premier or what remains of it come 2015...

[bowes]

London Premier or what remains of it come 2015...

Can't see there being anything but them left

[bbfaz]

We don't know what's what right now, it's all just gossip and rumours. The only things confirmed are St Albans have gone east.

[London Drifter]

How can it be called CL "South" when a team from Sheffield is in the comp?

As it being the same as NCL - let's be honest it's NCL Div 3 or Div 2 at best. I would expect the NCL Prem & Div 1 to at least travel that far.

I hear that Cornish Rebels expressed an interest for future years. So you could possibly have teams as far as Cornwall, West Wales, Eastern Rhinos, Medway & Sheffield ... That would be the biggest league in the country.

We need to focus on larger premier leagues with smaller regional leagues underneath, like it was with the confrence.

I know a couple of clubs this year tried to reach out to other teams in neighbouring comps with the idea to creat a more East / South East CLS equivalent .... Oxford, Northampton, Bedford, North Herts, Skolars A, Eastern Rhinos, Hemel A, SW London, Wests Warriors, Medway, Southampton ... With little or no interest from other clubs.

People are happy to put their head in the sand while the comps around them crumble.

It's time for all the leagues South of the M62 (and wales) to come together and form a managing group that overseas all those comps and outlines the plans as a whole ... Then each league can focus on their own management with the common goal in mind.

Do you think your club/league would go for something like that?

[MidlandsRugbyLeague]

South of the M62.... like Sheffield, an hour south of the M62?

[MidlandsRugbyLeague]

The priority needs to be playing a longer season and breaking the May to August mould.

[London Drifter]

I can at least agree with you on that!!

[bowes]

How can it be called CL "South" when a team from Sheffield is in the comp?

As it being the same as NCL - let's be honest it's NCL Div 3 or Div 2 at best. I would expect the NCL Prem & Div 1 to at least travel that far.

I hear that Cornish Rebels expressed an interest for future years. So you could possibly have teams as far as Cornwall, West Wales, Eastern Rhinos, Medway & Sheffield ... That would be the biggest league in the country.

We need to focus on larger premier leagues with smaller regional leagues underneath, like it was with the confrence.

I know a couple of clubs this year tried to reach out to other teams in neighbouring comps with the idea to creat a more East / South East CLS equivalent .... Oxford, Northampton, Bedford, North Herts, Skolars A, Eastern Rhinos, Hemel A, SW London, Wests Warriors, Medway, Southampton ... With little or no interest from other clubs.

People are happy to put their head in the sand while the comps around them crumble.

It's time for all the leagues South of the M62 (and wales) to come together and form a managing group that overseas all those comps and outlines the plans as a whole ... Then each league can focus on their own management with the common goal in mind.

Do you think your club/league would go for something like that?

I'd say that Nottingham are about the same standard as bottom half division 3 having seen both. Leicester may be on a par with Peterlee or similar. Sheffield Hallam Eagles are better but wouldn't meet NCL criteria. Valley Cougars would only be good enough outside the RU season.

As for league structure yes but the problem is only Eastern Rhinos really want something more from the clubs in east, London and south east so not sure how you'd structure it. The proposal for an expanded east, south east and London division would be good but unfortunately too many clubs would be against it. May instead need a split to west country/south Wales and midlands/east in future that Skolars A or Medway can tag onto if they ever want to

[tim2]

The priority needs to be playing a longer season and breaking the May to August mould.

 

It seems you can only do that if you play at the standard of Sheffield Eagles Reserves. Any club south of (for the sake of drawing a line) Nottingham that wanted to play a full March-October season with inexperienced players has nowhere to play. The existing summer premier leagues are still mainly RU players, just ramming 16 games in where there used to be 12. I would guess 90% + of the players in those leagues see their Union club as their priority. All at the expense of long term development?

 

The danger of throwing the summer "RU fitness" leagues to the wolves is that it is where some of the most succesful development clubs started life - are we expecting fully formed clubs to appear out of nowhere in future? I appreciate the limited resources have to be spent wisely but there is a danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.