The
Southern Conference League was founded as a 10-team competition in 1997. The following season it was rebranded as the
Rugby League Conference due to its intentions to include teams from outside the traditional heartlands of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria. The league steadily expanded over the first few seasons right up to the fringes of the heartlands, before expanding into Wales for the first time in 2001 with the addition of Cardiff Demons. The league expanded into
the North East that same season. In 2003
National League Three was founded including some of the stronger Rugby League Conference clubs and some BARLA clubs. This same season saw massive expansion of the Rugby League Conference including an entire Welsh division. The league also pushed its borders further including more teams from the less rugby league playing areas of the counties considered the heartlands and went as far south west as Somerset. The league expanded further in 2004 by allowing entry to heartland clubs. For the 2005 season the competition was split into two tiers, with Premier divisions being created for above the existing regional divisions. The next major changes were in 2007 when National League Three (as the National Division) and the Scottish League became integral parts of the Rugby League Conference structure. The Rugby League Conference celebrated passing the 100 club barrier in 2010. 2011 was the last season before the league was restructured. ==Representative fixtures==