Counties 1 Cumbria (formerly Cumbria League and Cumbria 1) is a competitive

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

league at level 7 of the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England consi ...

run by the English

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

(RFU) for club sides based in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

.English Rugby Football Union, ''SSE Northern Division'', nline 2012, Available from:http://www.rfu.com/FixturesAndResults/Version/Northern.aspx ast Accessed 16:19 16 April 2012/ref> It was previously a tier 7 league but the creation of

North 2 West North 2 West is a regional English rugby union league at the seventh tier of club rugby union for teams from Cheshire, Cumbria, Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The division was introduced for the 2019-20 season to form a new lea ...

demoted it to level 8. Promoted teams typically go up to

and since Cumbria 2 was cancelled at the end of the 2018–19 season there is no relegation. Each season a team from Cumbria 1 is picked to take part in the

RFU Senior Vase The RFU Senior Vase is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union, which has been competed for since the 2006–07 season. It is contested for by teams at level 8 of the English rugby union system, ...

- a national competition for clubs at level 8. The original Cumbria league was formed at the start of the 1992–93 season when the North-West North 1 division was cancelled. Until the end of the 2017–18 season the Cumbria League was a single division involving 10 clubs and ranked at tier 8 of the English rugby union system. The champions were automatically promoted to the now discontinued North Lancashire/Cumbria league and until the 2016–17 season the second placed team faced the runner-up from Lancashire (North) for the final promotion place until Lancashire (North) was cancelled. There was no relegation due to it having been the lowest competitive league for Rugby Union in Cumbria. It ran alongside the Cumbria 2 North & West and Cumbria 2 South & East Merit Leagues.English Rugby Football Union, ''SSE Northern Division'', nline 2012, Available from:http://www.rfu.com/FixturesAndResults/Version/Northern.aspx ast Accessed 16:49 17 April 2012/ref>English Rugby Football Union, ''North Adult Merit Leagues'', nline 12 February 2013, Available from: ast Accessed 17:00 16 April 2012/ref> This changed for the 2018–19 season due to RFU having to restructure the northern leagues after 19

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

based clubs withdrew from the league system to form their own competition. The result was that the Cumbrian clubs based in North Lancashire/Cumbria joined the top 3 Cumbria League sides in Cumbria 1, while the rest of the Cumbrian League sides along with a handful of 2nd XV teams formed Cumbria 2. Another change to the structure from the 2018–19 season was that the division would play two stages - the first involving all eight teams to decide who would be contesting promotion and relegation during the second stage when the division was divided into two mini leagues (one promotion/one relegation). In 2022 the RFU further restructured the adult community leagues and the Cumbria League was renamed Counties 1 Cumbria from the 2022–23 season.

Teams 2025-26

Departing were Wigton promoted to Regional 2 North.

Teams 2024–25

Departing were

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

promoted to Regional 2 North, Cockermouth were relegated from Regional 2 North while Ambleside re-joined the Cumbria league after an absence of twenty years, last having competed in 2003-04. Aspatria II (aka 'Eagles') - 11th in 2023/24 - started the season but withdrew in October leaving the league to be completed with 13 clubs.

Teams 2023–24

Departing were Upper Eden and Cockermouth, promoted to Regional 2 North. Silloth finished 9th in 2022-23 but did not return for the new season. Joining were Windermere re-joined the Cumbria league last having competed in 2019-20 together with Aspatria II and Keswick II.

Teams 2022–23

This was the first season following the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It prom ...

Adult Competition Review. The 2022–23 Counties 1 Cumbria league consists of 12 teams. Eight of these competed in the 2021–22 Cumbria 1 competition; Creighton, Egremont, Hawcoat Park, Millon, Upper Eden,

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

, Wigton and

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

. Cockermouth and St. Benedict's dropped down from

having finished 7th and 12th respectively. Penrith II joined the league as a new team and Silloth returned to league rugby after not taking part in any competition since the 2019–20 season. A ninth member of the 2021–22 Cumbria 1 league, Furness, had also been assigned to Counties 1 Cumbria but withdrew before the start of the season.

Teams 2021–22

The teams competing in 2021-22 achieved their places in the league based on performances in 2019-20, the 'previous season' column in the table below refers to that season not 2020-21. Outgoing teams St Benedicts and Cockermouth were promoted to

, and Windermere, who finished 12th but did not return, competed in the Cumbria 2 Shield (Group 1) instead. Silloth, who finished 11th, were initially due to compete but withdrew before the season began. Consequently the league was reduced from 13 sides to 9.

Season 2020–21

On 30 October 2020 the RFU announced that due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

a decision had been taken to cancel Adult Competitive Leagues (

National League 1 National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Lea ...

and below) for the 2020/21 season meaning Cumbria 1 was not contested.

Teams 2019–20

Original teams

When this division was introduced in 1992 it contained the following teams: *

Ambleside Ambleside is a town in the civil parish of Lakes and the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Westmorland and located in the Lake District National Park, the town sits at the ...

- transferred from North-West North 1 (8th) * British Steel - transferred from North-West North 1 (5th) *

Carnforth Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...

- transferred from North-West North 1 (4th) * Creighton - transferred from North-West North 1 (7th) * Greengarth - joined league system *

Millom Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southernmost Cumberland, Cumbria, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Furness ( by road) and ...

- transferred from North-West North 1 (6th) *

Silloth Silloth, or Silloth-on-Solway, is a port town and civil parish in the Cumberland (district), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town stands on the coast of the Solway Firth, west of Carlisle. It was developed from the 1850s onwards a ...

- transferred from North-West North 1 (8th) *

Smith Brothers The Smith Brothers were makers of the first cough drops produced and advertised in the United States, becoming one of the most famous brands in the country in its day. History William Wallace Smith I (1830–1913) and Andrew Smith (1836–189 ...

- transferred from North-West North 1 (3rd) *

- transferred from North-West North 1 (9th)

Cumbria honours

Cumbria (1993–1996)

The Cumbria league was formed from teams from the old North-West North 1 division when it was disbanded at the end of the 1991–92 season. Promotion was to Cumbria/Lancs North and as the basement division for clubs in the region there was no relegation. Initially a tier 10 league, the creation of National 5 North for the 1993–94 season meant that Cumbria/Lancs North dropped to become a tier 11 league.

Cumbria (1996–2000)

The league system was restructured from top to bottom by the

for the start of the 1996–97 season. The cancellation of National 5 North and creation of

North West 3 North West 3 was an English Rugby Union league which was at the ninth tier of the domestic competition and was available to teams in North West England. Promoted teams moved up to North West 2 while relegated teams dropped to either South Lan ...

meant that Cumbria remained a tier 11 league, with promotion into North Lancs/Cumbria (formerly Cumbria/Lancs North).

Cumbria (2000–2018)

Northern league restructuring by the

at the end of the 1999–00 season saw the cancellation of

North West 1 North West 1 (not to be confused with North 1 West) was an English Rugby Union league which was at the seventh tier of the domestic competition and was available to teams in North West England. Promoted teams moved up to North 2 West while re ...

North West 2 North West 2 was an England, English Rugby Union league which was at the eighth tier of the domestic competition and was available to teams in North West England. Promoted teams moved up to North West 1 while relegated teams dropped to North W ...

and

(tiers 7-9). This meant that Cumbria became a tier 8 league, with promotion continuing to North Lancs/Cumbria. As the lowest ranked league for clubs in the region there was no relegation until the introduction of Cumbria 2 at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Cumbria 1 (2018–2019)

Restructuring of the north-west leagues at the end of the 2017–18 season, including the cancellation of North Lancs/Cumbria and the introduction of Cumbria 2, meant that Cumbria was renamed to Cumbria and became a tier 7 league. Promotion was now up to

while relegation was to the new Cumbria 2.

Cumbria (2019–present)

After just one season Cumbria 2 was cancelled and Cumbria 1 reverted to being a single division named Cumbria, while the introduction of

for the 2019–20 season meant that Cumbria dropped back to being a tier 8 league with promotion into this new division and no relegation. Adult community leagues were cancelled for the 2020–21 season. In 2021–22 the league was contested by nine teams and the league restructure meant that no teams were promoted at the end of the season.

Promotion play-offs

From the 2018–19 season onwards there was a play-off between the runners-up of Cumbria 1 and

for the third and final promotion place to North 1 West. Previously Cumbria League sides had a play-off against Lancashire (North) for a place in the discontinued North Lancashire/Cumbria division (see following sub section). As of 2019–20 North 2 West sides have one win to Cumbria's zero; and the home side has one win to the away side's zero.

Discontinued promotion play-offs

Between the 2000–01 and 2016–17 seasons there was a play-off between the runners-up of the Cumbria League and Lancashire (North) for the third and final promotion place to North Lancashire/Cumbria. The team with the superior league record has home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2016–17 season the Lancashire (North) teams have been the most successful with eleven wins to the Cumbria League team's four; and the home team has won promotion on twelve occasions compared to the away team's three. Since the cancellation of Lancashire (North) the play-off has been discontinued.

Number of league titles

* Keswick (5) * Hawcoat Park (3) * Netherhall (3) *

(2) *

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, Historic counties of England, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary author ...

(2) *

(2) * Upper Eden (2) *

(2) *

(1) *

Egremont Egremont may refer to: Places * Egremont, Cumbria, England * Egremont, Merseyside, England * Egremont, Massachusetts, United States * Egremont, Alberta, Canada Other uses * Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Gr ...

(1) * Moresby (1) *

(1) *

(1) * St. Benedict's (1)

Notes

References

{{Rugby union in England 7 Rugby union in Cumbria

Teams 2025-26

Teams 2024–25

Teams 2023–24

Teams 2022–23

Teams 2021–22

Season 2020–21

Teams 2019–20

Original teams

Cumbria honours

Cumbria (1993–1996)

Cumbria (1996–2000)

Cumbria (2000–2018)

Cumbria 1 (2018–2019)

Cumbria (2019–present)

Promotion play-offs

Discontinued promotion play-offs

Number of league titles

See also

Notes

References