Derbies in the Rugby Football League

Whilst the sport of rugby league is played across Great Britain, it is most popular in its heartlands, the traditional counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire with the majority of professional and semi-professional clubs coming from this area of the country. Many fixtures are considered to be local derbies, where both teams come from the same town or city, or two that are very close to each other.

The 19th Earl of Derby stated in 2010 that the Derby name was originally only given to two sporting events: the Epsom horse race and fixtures between St Helens at one end of the family's Knowsley estate and Wigan at the other.