Welsh rugby union system - Misplaced Pages

A rugby league structure

The top level of competition in the Welsh rugby union system is the United Rugby Championship (formerly the Celtic League, PRO12 and PRO14) which is a league of professional teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa. Wales currently has four entries in the URC: Cardiff Rugby, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.

United Rugby Championship

This is a closed league with no promotion or relegation; teams are effectively franchises. The teams also compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) and the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

2021-22 league system

Level	League(s)/Division(s)
1	Welsh Premiership 12 clubs - 1 relegation
2	Welsh Championship 14 clubs - 1 promotion, 4 relegations
3	WRU Division 1 East 12 clubs - 1 qualification for promotion finals and 2 relegations	WRU Division 1 Central East 12 clubs - 1 qualification for promotion finals and 2 relegations	WRU Division 1 West 12 clubs - 1 qualification for promotion finals and 2 relegations	WRU Division 1 Central West 12 clubs - 1 qualification for promotion finals and 2 relegations	WRU Division 1 North 12 clubs - No promotion and 2 relegations
4	WRU Division 2 East 12 clubs - 2 promotions and 2 relegations	WRU Division 2 Central East 12 clubs - 2 promotions and 2 relegations	WRU Division 2 West 12 clubs - 2 promotions and 2 relegations	WRU Division 2 Central West 12 clubs - 2 promotions and 2 relegations	WRU Division 2 North 12 clubs - 2 promotions and 2 relegations
5	WRU Division 3 East 12 clubs - Teams divided into 4 groups 2 promotions after promotion finals	WRU Division 3 Central East 12 clubs - Teams divided into 3 groups 2 promotions after promotion finals	WRU Division 3 West 12 clubs - Teams divided into 2 groups 2 promotions after promotion finals	WRU Division 3 Central West 12 clubs - Teams divided into 3 groups 2 promotions after promotion finals	WRU Division 3 North 12 clubs - 1 group, 2 promotions

2013-14 league system

Level	League(s)/Division(s)
1	Welsh Premier Division 20 clubs – 3 relegations
2	Welsh Championship 24 clubs – 3 promotions, 3 relegations
3	WRU Division One East 24 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations		WRU Division One West 24 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations		WRU Division One North 24 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations
4	WRU Division Two East 24 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations		WRU Division Two North 24 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations		WRU Division Two West 24 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations
5	WRU Division Three East 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Three North 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Three South East 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Three South West 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Three West 24 clubs – 2p, 3r
6	WRU Division Four East 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Four South East 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Four South West 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Four West 22 clubs – 2p, 2r
7	WRU Division Five East 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Five South Central 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Five South East 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Five South West 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Five West 24 clubs – 2p, 3r
8	WRU Division Six Central 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Six East 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Six South East 22 clubs – 2p, 2r	WRU Division Six West 22 clubs – 2p, 2r

AFC	Afghanistan Australia Bahrain Bangladesh China East Timor Guam Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Japan Jordan South Korea Kuwait Lebanon Macau Malaysia Mongolia Myanmar Northern Mariana Islands Pakistan Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Vietnam
CAF	Algeria Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Comoros Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Ghana Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Madagascar Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Nigeria Réunion São Tomé and Príncipe Seychelles Somalia South Africa Tunisia
CONCACAF	Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Canada Cayman Islands Costa Rica Cuba Curaçao Dominican Republic El Salvador French Guiana Guadeloupe Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Martinique Mexico Montserrat Nicaragua Panama Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Martin Sint Maarten Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States United States Virgin Islands
CONMEBOL	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay Venezuela
OFC	French Polynesia New Caledonia New Zealand Papua New Guinea Tuvalu
UEFA	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England (women's) Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Georgia Germany (women's) Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey (women's) Ukraine Wales