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 consists of 26 leagues, which includes a national semi-professional league at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system, with the exception of the Women's Premiership. History Historically, there were no leagues allowed as these were seen as a sign of professionalism. In the 1970s the RFU allowed the creation of regional merit leagues with the most significant ones being the North, Midlands, South West and London merit leagues. In 1984 the RFU approved the creation of two national merit tables where clubs had to play a minimum of eight games against the clubs in their division. 1985 saw the creation of a third national merit league. In 1987 this was formed into a true national league system. Previous restructures The format and competitiveness of the leagues has changed greatly since the leagues were first formed and a widespread and global restructuring of the leagues was announced in November 2008, for implementation from the 2009–10 season. Under this new structure, the top league remained the 12-team Gallagher Premiership. The second tier league was rebranded and restructured as the RFU Championship which replaced the old National Division One. This league also had 12 teams, and like the Premiership, is professional. Beneath the two professional leagues, the National Leagues were restructured to include a new 16 team National League 1, 16 team National League 2 South and 16 team National League 2 North. The four top regional leagues became part of National League 3 at level five. For the 2017-18 season, the National League 3 leagues were renamed to have Premier as part of their title in order to make a distinction between regional rugby union and the National Leagues above. Other changes that season saw London 3 North East be replaced by two new leagues - London 3 Eastern Counties and London 3 Essex - with teams transferred depending on location. Recent restructures Community game In 2020, it was announced that a new league structure would be implemented in the community game from 2022–23. The new structure which was partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be reviewed every three years and saw the following