Cumbria Rugby League

Cumbria Rugby League[1] is a series of summer rugby league competitions for amateur teams in Cumbria.

Cumbria Rugby League is part of the Rugby Football League and incorporates what is now called the "Iggesund Cumberland ARL" which has existed since 1899 and one of the few competitions that predates any attempt to organise the amateur game. Along with the Cumberland ARL, Cumbria Rugby League also runs the Barrow and District Leagues (open age and youth) along with the West Cumbria Youth League.[2] The leagues are jointly administered with the British Amateur Rugby League Association.[3]

Cumbria Rugby League itself was formed during the Rugby Football League's 2012 restructuring of amateur rugby league in Great Britain.

History

The Cumberland League has been in existence, in one form or another, since 1899. Millom, in 1897, was the first club in the county to defect from rugby union to Northern Union, they were followed a year later by Workington, Maryport, Whitehaven, Seaton, Brookland Rovers and Wath Brow. The first three named joined with Lancaster and the Furness clubs Barrow, Dalton and Askam to form the North Western League in 1898/99. The first champions were Millom who finished just ahead of Barrow.

On 10 May 1899 the Cumberland clubs met at the Grapes Hotel in Workington and agreed to form a Cumberland Senior League for the following season. They voted W.E. Mason (Whitehaven) to chair the new competition and R. Nixon (Maryport) was elected Hon. Secretary.

The participants in that first season, 1899/1900, were Brookland Rovers, Maryport, Seaton, Whitehaven, Whitehaven Rec and Workington.

In 2024, suggestions were made that the league could return to winter due to a number of fixtures cancellations caused by clubs being unable to field teams in the summer months.[4]

Iggesund Cumberland ARL

Premier Division

Year League Leaders Play Off Final
Winner Result Runner-up
1899/1900 Maryport
1900/01 Maryport
1901/02 Seaton Seaton 5-3 Whitehaven Rec
1902/03 Maryport Maryport 18-0 Seaton
1903/04 Maryport Not played
1904/05 Parton Parton 0-0

5-2

Brookland Rovers
1905/06 Whitehaven Rec
1906/07 Millom Workington 25-3 Millom
1907/08 Workington Workington WO Whitehaven Rec
1908/09 Workington Workington 6-5 Egremont
1909/10 Broughton Moor Broughton Moor 8-0 Brookland Rovers
1910/11 Broughton Moor Brookland Rovers 2-0 Broughton Moor
1911/12 Seaton Seaton 10-5 Brookland Rovers
1912/13 Seaton Seaton 29-0 Fothergill United
1913/14 Seaton Seaton 23-3 Broughton Moor
1914/15 Cancelled due to the First World War
1915/16
1916/17
1917/18
1918/19
1919/20 Brookland Rovers Brookland Rovers 7-5 Broughton Moor
1920/21 Dearham Wanderers 14-4 Seaton
1921/22 Broughton Moor Broughton Moor 7-5 Wath Brow Hornets
1922/23 Brookland Rovers Brookland Rovers 2-0 Aspatria Hornets
1923/24 Glasson Rangers 5-3 Flimby & Fothergill Utd
1924/25 Brookland Rovers 3-0 Flimby & Fothergill Utd
1925/26 Hensingham Hensingham vs. Dearham/Brookland
1926/27 Dearham Wanderers Dearham Wanderers 11-0 Brookland Rovers
1927/28 Dearham Wanderers Dearham Wanderers 20-0 Whitehaven Rec
1928/29 Whitehaven Rec Glasson Rangers 2-0 Whitehaven Rec
1929/30 Great Clifton Glasson Rangers 12-5 Great Clifton
1930/31 Great Clifton Egremont Rangers 5-2 Great Clifton
1931/32 Glasson Rangers Glasson Rangers 2-0 Flimby
1932/33 Flimby Flimby 4-0 Great Clifton
1933/34 Dearham Wanderers Dearham Wanderers 5-2 Kells
1934/35 Kells Flimby 6-0 Kells
1935/36 Glasson Rangers Glasson Rangers 11-3 Maryport
1936/37 Netherton 6-0 Broughton
1937/38 Glasson Rangers 21-0 Maryport
1938/39 Glasson Rangers Glasson Rangers
1939/40 Cancelled due to the Second World War
1940/41
1941/42
1942/43
1943/44
1944/45
1945/46
1946/47
1947/48
1948/49
1949/50
1950/51
1951/52
1952/53
1953/54
1954/55
1955/56
1956/57
1957/58
1958/59
1959/60
1960/61
1961/62
1962/63
1963/64
1964/65
1965/66
1966/67
1967/68
1968/69
1969/70
1970/71
1971/72
1972/73
1973/74 Seaton Rangers
1974/75 Maryport Maryport
1975/76 Wath Brow Hornets
1976/77 Wath Brow Hornets
1977/78
1978/79 Lowca Ellenborough Rangers 14-0 Lowca
1979/80 Lowca
1980/81
1981/82 Kells Glasson Rangers
1982/83 Kells 12-8 Lowca
1983/84 Great Clifton Lions Egremont Rangers def. Great Clifton Lions
1984/85 Egremont Rangers
1985/86
1986/87
1987/88
1988/89 Hensingham
1989/90 Kells
1990/91 Ellenborough Rangers
1991/92 Ellenborough Rangers
1992/93 Ellenborough Rangers
1993/94 Hensingham
1994/95 Hensingham Ellenborough Rangers def. Hensingham
1995/96 Hensingham Wath Brow Hornets
1996/97 Westfield Ellenborough Rangers def. Westfield
1997/98 Wath Brow Hornets Ellenborough Rangers 22-6 Wath Brow Hornets
1998/99 Ellenborough Rangers Ellenborough Rangers 28-12 Wath Brow Hornets
1999/2000 Wath Brow Hornets Hensingham 29-16 Wath Brow Hornets
2000/01 Wath Brow Hornets Wath Brow Hornets 28-18 Ellenborough Rangers
2001/02 Wath Brow Hornets Wath Brow Hornets
2002/03 Hensingham Hensingham
2003/04 Hensingham Seaton Rangers def. Hensingham
2004/05 Seaton Rangers Kells 52-10 Egremont Rangers
2005/06 Seaton Rangers Seaton Rangers def.
2006/07 Seaton Rangers
2007/08 Ellenborough Rangers
2008/09 Kells
2009/10
2010/11
2012 Kells
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019 Distington[5][6]
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022
2023
2024

Division One

Year League Leaders Play Off Final
Winner Result Runner-up

Cumbria Men's League

In 2013, a short lived "Cumbria Men's League" was created for the higher performing teams of the Cumberland ARL competition. Winners are:

  • 2013: Walney Central
  • 2014: Walney Central
  • 2015: Walney Central
  • 2016: Distington ARLFC
  • 2017: Hensingham ARLFC[7]

The competition ceased following the 2017 season.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Competitions".
  2. ^ "Player Stats".
  3. ^ "District Leagues".
  4. ^ https://cumbriacrack.com/2024/08/09/more-rugby-league-games-called-off-this-weekend/ [bare URL]
  5. ^ "Defending champions Distington in form against Glasson". 5 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Action beginning to heat up before Iggesund Cumberland League shuts down". 17 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Hensingham clinch Cumbria Men's League title after beating defending champions Distington". News and Star. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  8. ^ "The Iggesund Cumberland Amateur Rugby League to get under way with a new-look this weekend". 2 March 2018.