Welcome

Hello and welcome to the homepage of the RFUW North Midlands Senior Ladies Development Cluster League. Within this site you will find information on all the forthcoming league fixtures, including venues and contacts, all the stats for the games that have happened so far and a bit of background on the clubs involved. So, whether you're a player looking for a game, a coach looking to track their team's performance or simply have an interest in the development of ladies rugby in the region, everything you need should be here.

The League

The North Mids ladies development cluster league was set up at the start of the 2008/09 season in order to bridge the gap between friendly and league rugby. With a number of newly started sides within the region, it was felt that, rather than just play friendlies, a more structured competition would help take these sides forward towards league rugby without the more rigid format of the official WRFU competitions.

The league works by ensuring that not every side plays every weekend. This ensures that, on a given match day, if a side cannot make a full 15 from their own player base, there are players from other sides that are available to make up the numbers. This enables matches to take place as 15 a-side competitons, helping players to develop their own games and positional sense and thus help their club to move forward.

The first season was successful with more than 75% of games played with most of the cancellations being due to bad weather. League winners were Birmingham University 2nd XV whilst Dudley Kingswinford were able to develop sufficiently to advance to league rugby for the following season. This year, the league has increased in size with 8 teams competing over 14 weekends.

Whilst entry to the league is closed for this year, participation from developing sides outside the league is still encouraged and teams are always looking to borrow players and make up numbers. So, if you're a new club and would like to get your players some match experience, just get in contact with the sides as and when they have a game. Similarly, if you would like to join the league for next season, just let us know.

If you would like any further information on this league or anything regarding senior ladies rugby within the North Midlands please feel free to contact us at info@ladiesclusterleague.co.uk