Exeter Centurions are a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team based in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. They play in the

South West Rugby League The South West Rugby League (SWRL) also known as the ''South West Men's League'', is a rugby league competition for teams in the South West of England. It was formerly part of the Rugby League Conference. The SWRL is a semi-autonomous league w ...

History

''Exeter Centurions'' were formed by Basingstoke Beasts founder Joe Catcheside. They joined the newly formed South West Division of the

Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, ...

in 2007. In their first two seasons, Exeter only won one matc

Exeter co-hosted the 2009 South West Nines competition and reached the final before losing to Exeter University at Duckes Meadow. In the regular season, the club's performance improved significantly, finishing in third in the league and reaching the SW Cup Final, which they lost against

East Devon Eagles East Devon Eagles are a rugby league team based in Exmouth, Devon. They play in the South West Division of the Rugby League Conference. History After a campaign by the Rugby Football League to form new clubs in the South West a rugby league gam ...

at Plymouth Albion's

Brickfields A brickfield is an open site where bricks are made. Place names are often formed from the word. Brickfield, Brickfields or Brickfielder may specifically refer to: Australia *Brickfielder, an arid wind * Brickfield Hill, an area of Sydney *Brickfie ...

ground. The club continued to improve in 2010, opening with a record 5 game winning sequence before falling to a last gasp defeat in the cup quarter- final against

Devon Sharks Devon Sharks are a rugby league team based in Bovey Tracey, Devon. The club were officially founded on Wednesday 3 May 2006 by Steve Hart, Darren West, Lee Kirkman and Christine Fairchild. History ''Devon Sharks'' were formed in 2006 out of New ...

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

. The club lost only two league fixtures, but again missed out on the Grand Final after a narrow defeat to the Eagles. Centurions went on to represent the South West Conference in the National competition, losing a close game against

Neath Port Talbot Steelers Neath Port Talbot Steelers were a rugby league team based in Port Talbot, West Glamorgan. They played in the Welsh Premier division of the Rugby League Conference at Aberavon Green Stars RFC. History ''Aberavon Fighting Irish'' were formed in ...

. Once again, Centurions lost the South West Nines final to the Exeter University team. 2011 proved a disappointing season, after the loss of influential players Brent Ryan and Alex Stevens. The club suffered several narrow defeats, including an extra-time loss in the cup semi-final against

Plymouth Titans Plymouth Rugby League Football Club is a rugby league club based in Plymouth. The club is a member of the South West Rugby League, playing home matches at Horsham Fields, Plymouth. History History of rugby league in the South West The fir ...

, and finished only sixth in the league, is worst performance for three years. In 2012, the club is underwent a relaunch. It secured the rights to wear the city crest of

on its shirts, and branding itself 'The Pride of the City'. Despite a rather erratic league record, the club enjoyed its greatest triumph to date in the South West Cup. After an unexpected victory in the semi-final against 2011 League Champions, Somerset Vikings, the club went on to win the South West Rugby League Cup Final, beating North Devon Raiders 34-14 at Launceston, on 22 July 2012. Dave Bargent scored three tries, with Alex Stevens, returning with dispensation from his professional contract at Featherstone Rovers. adding two, and taking the Man of the Match Award. Influential stand-off Alex Ford scored the other try, with Adam Willows kicking five goals. Captain Matt Coldrey - with Stevens, and Nathan Clark (formerly Nathan Hardy), were winners who debuted for the club in their first run-out, at the 2007 South West Nines five years earlier. Also in that original team was Cup Final Referee, Chris Symons.

External links

Official site

Exeter Centurions on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Exeter Centurions Rugby League Conference teams Sport in Exeter Rugby clubs established in 2007 2007 establishments in England Rugby league teams in Devon English rugby league teams