Rugby League European Cup

European Cup
Current season or competition: 2015 European Cup
Sport	Rugby league
Formerly known as	European Championship European Nations Cup
Inaugural season	1935
Region	Europe (RLEF)
Holders	Wales (7th Title)
Most titles	England (14 titles)
Website	rlef.eu.com
Related competitions	European Shield European Bowl Euro-Med Challenge Nordic Cup

The European Cup (formerly known as the European Championship and European Nations Cup) is a rugby league football tournament for European national teams that was first held in 1935.

Originally, the European Cup had three teams, with England, Wales and France each playing each other once. Unlike the Tri-Nations series, there was no final; the team finishing at the top of the group was deemed the winner. From 1949 to 1956, a fourth Other Nationalities team entered the European Cup.

From 2003 to 2009, the tournament featured six teams, including Ireland and Scotland. Since 2014, the European Cup is contested with four teams and the most recent was held in 2015.^[1] It is run by the Rugby League European Federation.

History

The tournament was initially played annually, with the exception of the years of the Second World War. In 1946–47, the tournament was altered, with each team playing each other twice, at home and away. The 1949–50 season saw a return to playing only once, but a new team, "Other Nationalities", was added. This team consisted of players who were not English, Welsh, or French playing in the British and French leagues: Australian, New Zealand, Scottish, Irish players, and others all played for this new side.

The 1955–56 tournament had no Welsh team, though Welsh players featured for Other Nationalities. The tournament was not played again until 1969–70. It was revived in 1975, with the three-team format of England, Wales and France playing each other team only once being made standard. The tournament was cancelled after 1981, but it was revived under the same format for 1995 and 1996.

The tournament was revamped for 2003, with Scotland, Ireland and Russia all joining. The new structure saw two groups of three, with the winner of each group meeting in a final. This structure was continued for the 2004 tournament.

From 2004 Scotland, Ireland and Wales had to have at least four 'home grown' players from their domestic competitions (in the case of Wales this means Welsh clubs playing in the TotalRLConference) in their squad. Effectively this means that at least one home grown player is guaranteed a start.

The 2005 tournament did not include England as a participant; England will instead play matches against France and New Zealand, giving the European Nations Cup a more level playing field. Georgia won the first ever European Nations qualifying tournament in 2005, beating both Serbia and the Netherlands to win a spot in the tournament.

Starting from 2010 the tournament will be used to choose the team that compete with Australia, New Zealand and England in the Four Nations.

Participants

Team	Appearances	1st Appearance	Last Appearance
England	29	1935	2012*
France	31	1935	2015
Ireland	8	2003	2015
Lebanon	1	2009	2009
Other Nationalities	6	1949	1956
Russia	3	2003	2005
Scotland	8	2003	2015
Wales	31	1935	2015

• England Knights competed in 2012
• Bold- team still competes

Results

Year		Winner	Runner-up		Third place	Fourth place		Number of teams
1935		England	France		Wales	-		3
1935–36		Wales	England		France	-		3
1936-37		Wales	England		France	-		3
1938		Wales	England		France	-		3
1938-39		France	Wales		England	-		3
1945-46		England	France		Wales	-		3
1946-47		England	Wales		France	-		3
1947-48		England	France		Wales	-		3
1948-49		France	England		Wales	-		3
1949-50		England	Other Nationalities		Wales	France		4
1950-51		France	Other Nationalities		England	Wales		4
1951-52		France	England		Other Nationalities	Wales		4
1952-53		Other Nationalities	Wales		England	France		4
1953-54		England	Other Nationalities		France	Wales		4
1955-56		Other Nationalities	France		England	-		3
1969-70		England	France		Wales	-		3
1975		England	Wales		France	-		3
1977		France	Wales		England	-		3
1978		England	Wales		France	-		3
1979		England	France		Wales	-		3
1980		England	France		Wales	-		3
1981		France	England		Wales	-		3
1995		Wales	England		France	-		3
1996		England	Wales		France	-		3

Year		Winner	Score	Runner-up		Number of teams
2003		England	68-6	France		6
2004		England	36-12	Ireland		6
2005		France	38-16	Wales		6
2009		Wales	28-16	Scotland		6

Year		Winner	Runner-up		Third place	Fourth place		Number of teams
2010		Wales*	France		Scotland	Ireland		4
2012		England	Ireland		Scotland	-		3
2014		Scotland*	France		Ireland	Wales		4
2015		Wales	France		Ireland	Scotland		4

• Wales qualified for the 2011 Four Nations.
• Scotland qualified for the 2016 Four Nations.

Total wins

Winners	Count	Years
England Knights	15	1935, 1945-46, 1946-47, 1947-48, 1949-50, 1953-54, 1969-70, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2012
France	8	1938-39, 1948-49, 1950-51, 1951-52, 1977, 1981, 2005, 2011
Wales	7	1935-36, 1936-37, 1938, 1995, 2009, 2010, 2015
Other Nationalities	2	1952-53, 1955-56
Scotland	1	2014

See also

• List of international rugby league teams
• Rest of the world

References

External links

• Rugby League International Federation