| Super League (Europe) |
|---|
| Super League XII |
 |
| Founded |
| 1996 |
| Nations |
 England France |
| Relegation To |
| National League 1 |
| Number of Teams |
| 12 |
| Cups |
| Challenge Cup World Club Challenge |
| Current Champions |
| Leeds Rhinos |
| Website |
| Official |
Super League is the only full-time professional rugby league football club competition operating in the northern hemisphere. Most of the teams are based in Great Britain, though there has been French involvement with Paris Saint Germain at the birth of the Super League and French club Union Treiziste Catalane, known as Les Catalans Dragons, who joined for the 2006 season. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Rugby Super League.
Super League (Europe) (SLE) began in March 1996 and saw the season switch from winter to summer. During the league's regular season, each team plays 27 games over 27 rounds from February to September. At the end of the regular season, the top six teams in Super League play in the playoffs, which finishes with the Grand Final.
Each year the competition winners play a game against the premiers of the Australasian National Rugby League competition in the World Club Challenge.
Each English team is allowed to have three quota players. Harlequins Rugby League are permitted four quota players as they are considered to be a non-heartland team. French side Catalans Dragons are allowed eight non-French players.
Teams
History
The competition was first mooted during the Australian Super League war as a way for Rupert Murdoch to gain the upper hand during the battle for broadcasting supremacy with the Australian Rugby League. Murdoch also approached the British clubs to form Super League (Europe) (SLE). A large sum of money aided the decision, and the competition got under way in 1996. Part of the deal saw rugby league switch from a winter to a summer season.
Initially, several mergers between existing clubs were proposed:
- Castleford, Wakefield and Featherstone Rovers would form Calder
- Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers would form Humberside
- Whitehaven RLFC, Workington Town, Barrow and Carlisle would form Cumbria
- Warrington and Widnes were to form Cheshire
- Salford and Oldham were to form Manchester
- Sheffield and Doncaster were to form South Yorkshire
They were to be included with the following stand-alone clubs:
However this proved so unpopular that only existing clubs were selected for the competition. The clubs finishing below 10th in the existing top flight were excluded, which meant Hull FC, Wakefield and Widnes were left out, as were pioneering club Keighley Cougars who had just won the Second Division Championship. London Broncos, now known as Harlequins Rugby League, who had come fourth in the Second Division, were “fast-tracked” in on commercial grounds. A new team, Paris Saint Germain, was created to give a French dimension.
After two years Paris were dropped from the competition, thus the 'Europe' in 'Super League (Europe)', became somewhat otiose; it was however retained. Promotion and relegation between Super League and the Rugby League National Leagues was re-introduced, and in 2002 the SLE governing body re-integrated fully into the Rugby Football League. For most intents and purposes, Super League is now simply a re-titled first division of British Rugby League. However, in 2006, French side Catalans Dragons (also known as UTC or Les Catalans) from Perpignan joined the league (giving more credence to the Super League (Europe) name). In order to facilitate this move, two clubs were relegated from Super League at the end of the 2005 season, with only one club coming up from the National Leagues, thus the number of clubs in Super League remained at 12.
The Future
After 2009 there will be no automatic promotion or relegation from Super League and new teams will be admitted on a franchise basis. Three-yearly reviews of franchises will take place to ensure ambitious clubs lower down the leagues can still be successful. However, some teams, including St Helens, Hull Kingston Rovers and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are not yet guaranteed entry due to ground requirements
Structure
Currently, 12 teams compete in Super League. They play each other twice on a home-and-away basis, interrupted by the Millennium Magic round. An additional four fixtures are then played (prior to the introduction of Millennium Magic in 2007, an additional six fixtures were added). After the 27 rounds, a play-off structure is then used to determine the two teams who will meet in the Super League Grand Final to decide the championship. Currently the top six teams enter the play-offs. The structure is designed to reward the teams finishing nearer the top with easier routes to the Grand Final, which is played at Old Trafford. The system works like this:
Week One
- Elimination Semi-final A: 3rd vs 6th
- Elimination Semi-final B: 4th vs 5th
Week Two
- Elimination Final: Winners of Elimination Semi-final A vs Winners of Elimination Semi-final B
- Qualification Match: 1st vs 2nd
Week Three
- Final Qualifier: Losers of Qualification Match vs Winners of Elimination Final
Week Four
- Grand Final: Winners of Qualification Match vs Winners of Final Qualifier
Results
See Rugby League Championship for full list of championship winners (1895-date).
| Year | Grand Final winner | Runner up | League leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | n/a | n/a | St Helens |
| 1997 | n/a | n/a | Bradford Bulls |
| 1998 | Wigan Warriors(1st) | Leeds Rhinos(2nd) | Wigan Warriors |
| 1999 | St Helens(2nd) | Bradford Bulls(1st) | Bradford Bulls |
| 2000 | St Helens(2nd) | Wigan Warriors(1st) | Wigan Warriors |
| 2001 | Bradford Bulls(1st) | Wigan Warriors(2nd) | Bradford Bulls |
| 2002 | St Helens(1st) | Bradford Bulls(2nd) | St Helens |
| 2003 | Bradford Bulls(1st) | Wigan Warriors(3rd) | Bradford Bulls |
| 2004 | Leeds Rhinos(1st) | Bradford Bulls(2nd) | Leeds Rhinos |
| 2005 | Bradford Bulls(3rd) | Leeds Rhinos(2nd) | St Helens |
| 2006 | St Helens(1st) | Hull FC(2nd) | St Helens |
| 2007 | Leeds Rhinos(2nd) | St Helens(1st) | St Helens |
NB. Brackets donate Super League regular season finishing position.
Man of Steel Award
The Man of Steel Award is an annual award for the best player in the Super League.
Teams that have played in the Super League
- Bradford Bulls
- Castleford Tigers
- Catalans Dragons
- Gateshead Thunder
- Halifax Blue Sox
- Harlequins RL
- Huddersfield Giants
- Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants
- Hull Sharks
- Hull FC
- Hull KR
- Leeds Rhinos
- Leigh Centurions
- Harlequins RL
- Oldham Bears
- Paris Saint Germain
- Salford City Reds
- Sheffield Eagles
- St Helens
- Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
- Warrington Wolves
- Widnes Vikings
- Wigan Warriors
- Workington Town
See also
- Super League war
- British rugby league system
- Rugby League Challenge Cup
- World Club Challenge
- Rugby League National Leagues
- List of sports attendance figures
- Super League Dream Team
- Super League Ultimate 13: Grand Final Team
References
Super League - the first ten years, Phil Caplan and Jonathan R. Doidge, ISBN 0-7524-3698-8
External links
| Super League (Europe) |
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| Rugby league in Britain and Ireland | |
|---|---|
| Competitions | Super League · National League · Challenge Cup · North West Counties · Pennine League National League Cup · National Conference League · Rugby League Conference · Scotland Rugby League · Midlands Merit League |
| National teams | Great Britain · England · Ireland · Scotland · Wales |
| Federations | RFL · BARLA · Rugby League Ireland · Wales Rugby League |
| Former competitions | Championship · Premiership · Lancs/Yorks Cups · Lancs/Yorks League Regal Trophy · Charity Shield · BBC2 Floodlit Trophy |
| Rugby League in France | ||
|---|---|---|
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Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII |  |
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France les Chanteclairs | |
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Elite Championship · Lord Derby Cup | |
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Catalans Dragons | |
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Former teams |
AS Carcassonne · Carpentras XIII · Les Catalans · Lézignan Sangliers · Limoux Grizzlies · Lyon Villeurbanne · Pia XIII · St Gaudens · Toulouse Olympique · US Villeneuve · Villefranche XIII Aveyron | |
| Rugby League European Federation | |
|---|---|
| Major Federations | |
| National Teams | |
| Competitions |
Central Europe Development Tri-nations · Challenge Cup · European Nations Cup · Mediterranean Cup · Federation Shield · Slavic Cup · European Super League |
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