Sport Rugby league | Inaugural season 1997 | |
Country England Scotland Wales Champions South West London Chargers (2015) Most titles South West London Chargers (3) Related competition | ||
The Harry Jepson Trophy is a rugby league competition contested by teams from successor leagues to the Rugby League Conference. It is named after Harry Jepson.
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History
The Harry Jepson trophy was first contested in 1997 by members of the then Southern Conference. The conference was renamed the Rugby League Conference in 1998 and it began to expand from its initial base in the South of England and the Midlands. The winners of the various regional divisions would enter a play-off system culminating in a Grand Final for the trophy.
In 2005, the Conference changed structure with the formation of Premier Divisions for the stronger teams, the Harry Jepson trophy was then competed for by the winners of the Premier divisions with the regional division winners playing-off for the RLC Regional trophy.
In 2012, the national Conference was replaced by locally administered regional leagues but the Harry Jepson trophy continued to be contested by teams in some of these new regional leagues.
2012 structure
The winners of the Scottish Conference League Premier Division, the North East Rugby League Premier Division, the Midlands Rugby League Premier Division, the London & South East Men's League, the West of England, the South Premier and the East Rugby League played-off in a knock-out tournament that ended in a Grand Final.