Sunday Read: 2nd Divisions of Rugby Union - The Breeding Grounds of Future Talent

Where do all the world's best players get their start?

We speak a lot on the Pirate Rugby about the URC, Top14, Super Rugby and Premiership, but we also share the love with the likes of the Championship, ProD2, NPC and more 2nd divisions around the world!

In this article we take an introductory glance at some of our favourites, we hope you find something here that perhaps you didn’t know and it opens a gateway to more rugby love for everyone!

France: ProD2

Perhaps the most well known of all the 2nd divisions, the ProD2 is a booming league with huge budgets and international stars in it’s midst. It is in a minority of 2nd divisions where clubs can be promoted out of it, meaning the stakes are huge every single game.

Last Champion: Oyonnax, Current Leader: Vannes, Most Titles: Lyon (3)

Check out our YouTube video below where we tell the astonishing origin story of ProD2 leaders Rugby Club Vannes!

England: The Championship

For most of it’s history, England has operated a promotion/relegation structure between the top level Premiership and the 2nd division Championship. Whilst still technically possible, the current rules set out by Premiership rugby regarding stadium sizes and two-legged play-offs makes it extremely unlikely any team will be promoted or relegated in the near future. Current proposals to reform the Championship are a source of significant conflict in England as we speak.

Last Champion: Jersey Reds, Current Leader: Ealing, Most Titles: Bristol Bears (4)

New Zealand: NPC

Below the Super Rugby franchises, the NPC is a historic competition which provides arguably the most successful talent nurturing environment in the world. Uniquely, it’s calendar does not overlap with the above Super Rugby Pacific calendar, meaning it is common to see the stars from the franchises who are not away with the All Blacks playing week on week in this 14 team League.

A bumper, high well produced TV deal with international broadcasters SKY makes this one of the most well known 2nd divisions globally. Recently, however, there have been suggestions that the league has too many teams and there is not sufficient money to keep it viable as a product.

Last Champion: Taranaki, Current Leader: NA, Most Titles: Canterbury (9)

South Africa: Currie Cup

What makes the Currie Cup unusual is that it technically contains the same teams that play in the level above, i.e. the URC franchises. Whilst the squads of the Blue Bulls, Stormers, Sharks and Lions share limited crossover between the two competitions, the sides have the same coaches and use the same facilities.

The Currie Cup has recently undergone a format change that has seen it expand, which has been welcomed by fans. Players from the top Currie Cup sides are not starting to be poached by teams abroad who see huge value in the South African 2nd Division market.

Last Champion: Cheetahs, Current Leader: NA, Most Titles: Western Province (34)

Wales: Premiership

The Welsh Premiership is similar to the NPC in terms of relationship to the elite level, except it is possible to be relegated to the Championship beneath. It contains historic clubs and is played concurrently to the URC. There are is currently a new club competition being created that will be introduced between the URC and the Premiership that will aims to close the gap in quality between the two competitions and therefore better prepare younger players for the step up to regional level. This will be made up of teams from the Premiership and Championship who apply for a license to take part.

Last Champion: Llandovery, Current Leader: Llandovery, Most Titles: Neath (7)

Scotland: Super Series

The Scottish Super Series is one of the newer competitions on this list having been formed just a few seasons ago with the aim of being a development competition for young players. Originally comprised of just six teams, it is now made up of seven and select games are broadcast for free on the SRU’s YouTube Channel. There is also a Women’s version which gets the same treatment.

Last Champion: Stirling Wolves, Current Leader: NA, Most Titles: Stirling Wolves (1)

Ireland: All Ireland League

The All Ireland League is actually the collective name for a multi-league structure, each league with ten clubs taking part. The clubs are affiliated with the URC provinces but there are rules restricting how many provincial player can drop down and play in this league. Later this year, Portugal A will play a game against an Irish Wolfhounds side made up entirely of All Ireland League players.

Last Champion: Terenure College, Current Leader: Clontarf, Most Titles: Shannon (9)

Italy: Elite Serie A

Italy’s second division has undergone some change in recent years, with Calvisano’s demise meaning there are just nine participating sides. However, it is still a hotly contested competition with fierce rivalries and some surprisingly large budgets. In the past, some Serie A sides have been permitted to play in the ERPC Challenge Cup.

Last Champion: Rovigo, Current Leader: Rovigo, Most Titles: Milano (18)

You can learn more about the structure and background of Italian rugby in our latest podcast with Spritz and Scrums! Download here:

Argentina: Campeonato Argentino

Since the Jaguares left Super Rugby, Argentina’s premier division is technically Super Rugby Americas, which you can read about here. Beneath that is the Campeonato Argentino. This is contested by Argentina’s 24 rugby unions split into a top league of eight and a lower division of 16. There are currently rumours of Jaguares being brought back into Super Rugby, with the implications for Super Rugby Americas yet to be understood.

Last Champion: Buenos Aires, Current Leader: NA, Most Titles: Buenos Aires

Georgia: Didi 10

This one is slightly controversial, as the creation of Black Lion in 2021 effectively relegated the Didi 10 to a second tier, but the calendars for the two do not fully overlap and the Didi clubs do get their Black Lion players back when the European Super Cup is not on.

Last Champion: Locomotive, Current Leader: Lelo, Most Titles: Locomotive (10)

Japan: Rugby League Two

Japan’s rugby structure is most similar to France’s, but with fewer clubs. The clubs in this league also boast vast budgets capable of attracting international starts from T1 nations. We will look to cover Japanese rugby in more detail in an upcoming podcast episode.

Last Champion: URAYASU D-Rocks, Current Leader: URAYASU D-Rocks, Most Titles: URAYASU D-Rocks (2)

Australia: None

Australia has struggled to create a national rugby union competition and the competition that did briefly exists was wound up in 2020. There are regional competitions that are contested by clubs in Australia’s biggest cities, but it is a sign of the health of the game in Australia that the ARU are unable to create a sustainable division below Super Rugby. Interestingly, the Fijian Drua were at one point a team that competed in Australia’s national league.

Last Champion: NA, Current Leader: NA, Most Titles: NA

We hope you enjoyed this Sunday Read! If you have any comments or extra knowledge to share please let us know in the comments below!