List of rugby league competitions

The following is a list of rugby league competitions that are still currently in existence. This includes both international tournaments played by national Test teams and also domestic club and provincial competitions. Throughout the list bold indicates the league is a professional or semi-professional competition.

International tournaments

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The Paul Barrière Trophy of the Rugby League World Cup

Global

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Competition Teams
Rugby League World Cup United Nations All Nations
Rugby League Four Nations  England,  Australia,  New Zealand, Guest

Continental

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Competition Teams
Rugby League European Championship European Union Europe
Rugby League European Championship B
Rugby League European Championship C
Rugby League European Championship D
Rugby League Pacific Championships Oceania
Americas Rugby League Championship North America
South American Rugby League Championship South America
MEA Rugby League Championships African Union Africa and Arab League The Middle East

Regional

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Competition Teams
Asian Cup South East Asia
Balkans Cup The Balkans
Mediterranean Cup Mediterranean Countries
Nordic Cup The Nordic Countries
Caribbean Carnival Cup The Caribbean

Challenge Matches

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Trophy of the Baskerville Shield between England and New Zealand
Competition Teams
Anzac Test  Australia vs  New Zealand
The Ashes  Australia vs  England
Baskerville Shield  Great Britain vs  New Zealand
Polynesian Cup  Samoa vs  Tonga
Melanesian Cup  Fiji vs  Papua New Guinea
Colonial Cup  Canada vs  United States
Griffin Cup  Germany vs  Netherlands
Hayne/Mannah Cup  Fiji vs  Lebanon
(One-off match)
Peter Leitch QSM Challenge  New Zealand vs Any Pacific Island Nations
State of Origin series  Queensland vs  New South Wales
War of the Roses  Lancashire vs  Yorkshire

Domestic Leagues

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Europe

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 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Bosnia & Herzegovina Championship 1 2012 1

 Czech Republic

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
CZRLA First Division 7 2011 1
CZRLA Second Division 4 2011 2

 Denmark

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Danish Rugby League Championship 2 2013 1
Trophy of the Elite One Championship

 France

See also: French rugby league system
Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Super XIII 11 1931 1
Elite 2 9 1982 2
National Division 1 8 1976 3
National Division 2 25 1978 4

United Kingdom Great Britain[a]

See also: British rugby league system
Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Super League[b] 12 1996 1
RFL Championship[c] 14 2003 2
RFL League 1 9 2003 3
National Conference League [d] 1986 4
Conference League South 12 2012

 Ireland

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
RLI Premiership 5 1997 1
RLI Championship 3 ???? 2

 Italy

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Italia Rugby Football League 3 2010 1

 Netherlands

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Dutch Rugby League Competition 5 2014 1

 Norway

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Norge National Championship 5 2010 1

 Russia

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Russian Championship 9 1991 1

 Serbia

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Serbian Championship 8 2002 1

 Spain

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Campeonato Nacional de Liga 6 2014 1
Catalan Rugby League Championship 9 2009 2

 Sweden

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Sweden Super League 3 2011 1

 Ukraine

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Ukraine Super League 7 2012 1

Multinational

Competition Teams Instituted Criteria
Balkan Super League 6
(Lv 1)
7
(Lv 2) 		2018 Balkan nations

Asia - Pacific

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The NRL Grand Final trophy

 Australia

Main article: List of rugby league competitions in Australia
Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Australia National Rugby League[e] 17 1998 1
New South Wales New South Wales Cup 14 1908 2
Queensland Queensland Cup[f] 14 1996
Victoria (state) Melbourne Rugby League 17 2001
South Australia NRL South Australia 5 1952
Western Australia NRL Western Australia 14 1948
Northern Territory Northern Territory Rugby league 6 1951
Ron Massey Cup[g] 3
NSW North Coast Division
NSW Greater Northern Division
NSW Riverina and Monaro Division
NSW Western Division
NSW Greater Southern Division
NSW Newcastle and Central Coast Division
Queensland Rugby League Central Division
Queensland Rugby League Northern Division
Queensland Rugby League South East Queensland Division
Sunraysia-Riverlands Rugby League
Limestone Coast Rugby League
Pilbara Rugby League

 Cook Islands

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Cook Islands League 7 1994 1

 Fiji

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Fiji National Rugby League 14 2010 1

 New Zealand

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
NZRL National Competition 7 2010 1

 Papua New Guinea

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Papua New Guinea National Rugby League 12 1990 1

 Philippines

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Philippines National Rugby League 4 2013 1

 Thailand

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Thailand Rugby League Premiership 6 2014 1

 Tonga

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Tongan National Rugby League 12 1988 1

Middle East - Africa

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 Ghana

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Ghana 13s Championship 4 2015 1

 Kenya

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Kenya Rugby League Premiership 8 2017 1

 Lebanon

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Lebanon Championship 10 2002 1

 Nigeria

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Nigeria Rugby League 10 2019 1

 South Africa

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Rhino Cup 8 2011 1
Protea Cup 4 2013 2
Western Province Rugby League 5 2012 3
Jan Prinsloo Cup ? 2019

The Americas

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 Brazil

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
TOP 1 - Brazilian Rugby League 13-a-side Championship 8 2019 1
TOP 2 - Brazilian Rugby League 13-a-side Second Division Championship 4 2019 2

 Canada

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
British Columbia British Columbia Rugby League 6 2012 2
Ontario Ontario Rugby League Competition 3 2010
Alberta Alberta Rugby League Competition 3 2019

 Jamaica

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Jamaica National League 8 2005 1

 United States

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
New England North East Rugby League[h] 4 2011[i][j] 1
Florida Florida Rugby League[h] 4 2014[k] 1
California Pacific Coast Rugby League[h] 6 2018[l] 1
Utah Utah Rugby League[h] 4 2024 1

Multinational

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Toronto Wolfpack Canada Cup 10 2023 1

Domestic Cups

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The former trophy of the World Club Challenge

 Australia/United Kingdom Great Britain

Competition Teams Instituted Criteria
World Club Challenge 2 1976 Champions of NRL and Super League

 Australia

Competition Teams Instituted Criteria
NRL State Championship 2 2014 Champions of New South Wales Cup and Queensland Cup
The Lord Derby Cup trophy

 France

Competition Teams Instituted Criteria
Lord Derby Cup 1934
The Challenge Cup trophy

United Kingdom Great Britain

Competition Teams Instituted Criteria
Challenge Cup[m] 80 1896 All Teams
1895 Cup 20 2019 Tiers 2 and 3
Conference Challenge Trophy 58 ???? Tier 4
BARLA National Cup ? 1973 Amateur Clubs
Scottish Cup 4 ???? Scottish National League

 Serbia

Competition Teams Instituted Criteria
Serbian Cup 2001

 Spain

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
Copa España 6 2013 1

Women's Rugby League

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International tournaments

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International

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Competition Criteria
Women's Rugby League World Cup Global

Continental

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Competition Teams
Women's Rugby League European Championship Europe
Women's Rugby League European Championship B
Americas Rugby League Championship North America
South American Rugby League Championship South America

Challenge Matches

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Competition Teams
The Ashes  Australia vs  England

Domestic Leagues

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 Australia

Main article: Women's rugby league in Australia
Competition Teams Instituted Tier
NRL Women's Premiership 6 2018 1
Brisbane and District Women's Rugby League 12 2004 2
Nellie Doherty Cup 2 1999 1
Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League 12 2005 2
Tarsha Gale Nines 12 2016 3
Women's All Stars Match 2 2011 1

United Kingdom Great Britain

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
RFL Women's Super League 8 2017 1
RFL Women's Championship 2017 2

 Ireland

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
RLI Women's Premiership 3 2021 1

 Papua New Guinea

Competition Teams Instituted Tier
PNG Womens Rugby League 10 1990 1

Domestic Cups

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United Kingdom Great Britain

Competition Teams Instituted Criteria
RFL Women's Challenge Cup All Teams

Wheelchair Rugby League

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International tournaments

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Main article: Wheelchair rugby league § International competitions

Domestic Leagues and Cups

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Main article: Wheelchair rugby league § Domestic competitions

Nines tournaments

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International

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Global
Regional

Domestic

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Super League and lower division are British competitions ran by the RFL. Despite this foreign teams do compete in these competition. For a list of Non-British clubs that currently compete in these competition see here.
  2. ^ Successor to Rugby Football League Championship First Division instituted in 1895.
  3. ^ Successor to Rugby Football League Championship Second Division instituted in 1902.
  4. ^ 4 divisions: 12 in Premier Division, Division One, and Division Two. 14 in Division Three.
  5. ^ The National Rugby League is an Australian competitions ran by the ARL. Despite this a foreign team does compete in this competition – New Zealand's New Zealand Warriors.
  6. ^ The Queensland Cup is an Australian competitions ran by the QRL, a state governing body within the ARL. Despite this a foreign team does compete in this competition – Papua New Guinea's Papua New Guinea Hunters.
  7. ^ The Ron Massey Cup is an Sydney based competitions ran by the NSWRL and CRL. Despite this a foreign team does compete in this competition from Fiji.
  8. ^ a b c d Winner of each region enters playoff to decide the champion of the USARL competition
  9. ^ New England Rugby League was the entire USARL competition until 2014, and as such was call simply "USARL". From 2014, and the formation of Florida Rugby League, until 2023 the competition was called "USARL Northern Conference".
  10. ^ Not active in 2023
  11. ^ Called "USARL Southern Conference" from 2014 to 2023
  12. ^ Not integrated into the USARL competition until 2024
  13. ^ The Challenge Cup has also seen teams from Ireland, France, Russia, and Serbia compete in the competition.
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