Rugby League European Cup

European Cup
Current season or competition: 2015 European Cup
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Sport	Rugby league football
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 nations that was first held in 1935, 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. The European Cup is contested biennially with four teams and the most recent was held in 2015. 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

Past tournaments

League Leaders (1935-1996)

Season	Winner	2nd	3rd	4th
1935	England	France	Wales	N/A
1935–36	Wales	England	France	N/A
1936–37	Wales	England	France	N/A
1938	Wales	England	France	N/A
1938–39	France	Wales	England	N/A
1945–46	England	France	Wales	N/A
1946–47	England	Wales	France	N/A
1947–48	England	France	Wales	N/A
1948–49	France	England	Wales	N/A
1949–50	England	Other Nationalities	Wales	France
1950–51	France	Other Nationalities	England	Wales
1951–52	France	England	Other Nationalities	Wales
1952–53	Other Nationalities	Wales	England	France
1953–54	England	Other Nationalities	France	Wales
1955–56	Other Nationalities	France	England	N/A
1969–70	England	France	Wales	N/A
1975	England	Wales	France	N/A
1977	France	Wales	England	N/A
1978	England	Wales	France	N/A
1979	England	France	Wales	N/A
1980	England	France	Wales	N/A
1981	France	England	Wales	N/A
1995	Wales	England	France	N/A
1996	England	Wales	France	N/A

Final Games (2003-2009)

Year	Final Information			Stadium
	Champions	Score	Runners-up
2003	England	68-6	France
2004	England	36-12	Ireland	Halliwell Jones Stadium, England
2005	France	38-16	Wales	Stade Damec, France
2009	Wales	28-16	Scotland	Brewery Field, Wales

League Leaders (2010-Onwards)

Season	Winner	2nd	3rd	4th
2010	Wales*	France	Scotland	Ireland
2012	England Knights	Ireland	Scotland	N/A
2014	Scotland*	France	Ireland	Wales
2015	Wales	France	Ireland	Scotland

• 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	7	1938-39, 1948-49, 1950-51, 1951-52, 1977, 1981, 2005
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

External links

• Rugby League International Federation