Super League

The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred, and legally known as Super League Europe)[1][2] is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of which ten are from Northern England, reflecting the sport's geographic heartland within the UK, one from London and one from southern France.

Super League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event Super League XXIX
SportRugby league
Founded1996 (1996)
No. of teams12
Country England
 France
Most recent
champion(s)
Wigan Warriors
(6th title)
Most titles St Helens
(9 titles)
TV partner(s)
Level on pyramid1
Domestic cup(s)Challenge Cup
International cup(s)World Club Challenge
Official websitesuperleague.co.uk

The Super League began in 1996, replacing the existing First Division and, significantly, switching from a traditional winter season to a summer season.

The regular season typically runs from February to September with each team playing 27 games; 11 home games, 11 away games, Magic Weekend and an additional 4 'loop fixtures' decided by league positions. The top six then enter the play-off series leading to the Grand Final which determines the champions. As of 2024 there is no relegation to the Championship.

The Super League champions take on the champions of the Australian National Rugby League in the World Club Challenge.

Twenty-four clubs have competed since the inception of the Super League since 1996: nineteen from England, three from France, one from Wales and one from Canada. Four of them have won the title: St Helens (10), Leeds Rhinos (8), Wigan Warriors (6) and Bradford Bulls (4).

History

Background and Establishment

During the 1950s, British rugby league experienced a boom in popularity. However the twenty years that followed saw attendances and popularity decline. A "Super League" was first suggested as far back as the 1970s as a way to address the decline. By the early 1990s the sport was still struggling with dwindling attendances, poor facilities and was dominated by one club, Wigan, who were the only full time professional team.

In 1992, the then Chief Executive of the Rugby Football League, Maurice Lindsay reopened the idea for a Super League. He wanted the new league to break the stereotype of rugby league being a sport only played in Northern England, and had a vision for clubs to play out of new facilities under a set of minimum standards in an unpublished document called "Framing the Future".

Lindsay's Super League was given a boost during the mid 90s Australian Super League war. A Rupert Murdoch backed Super League in Australia was trying to gain broadcasting supremacy over the Australian Rugby League. In an attempt to gain the upper hand, Murdoch, whose broadcasting company bSkyb already had the rights to the First Division, approached the RFL.

A £77 million offer[3] and an £87 million payment[4] aided the decision. It was agreed a 14 team Super League would take place in 1996, switching the sport from winter to summer and making every team full time.

As part of the agreement, the Super League would be a European competition. Rugby league held a traditional heartland in the South of France and so Toulouse Olympique were invited (however never ended up taking a place in Super League I). A second club from the French leagues was also planned to be invited but the French government refused their backing unless there was a team from Paris, thus Paris Saint Germain were founded as the second French club playing under the same name and colours as the football club.

As well as two French clubs being involved, several merges between English clubs were put forward:

The proposal to merge neighbouring clubs, many of whom were local rivals and had been part of communities for a hundred years, proved unpopular. On Good Friday 1995 it was announced that Toulouse had pulled out and Widnes had their own place alongside Warrington, this as well as anti merger campaigns and debates in parliament effectively killing any change of mergers happening.

The first major change before the Super League happened in the 1994–95 season. It was decided the teams finishing in the top ten of the First Division would be in the Super League. Teams finishing 11–15 would be relegated to the Second Division while the bottom team would be relegated to the new Third Division. In the current Second Division the top seven teams would remain while the rest would make up the Third Division.

Controversy occurred at the end of 1994–95 when Keighley won the Second Division but were denied promotion due to fourth placed London Broncos being fast tracked to the First Division as Lindsay wanted the Super League to have greater national coverage. This resulted in a legal challenge from Keighley and Widnes who were both denied a place in the Super League.

The 1995–96 season would be the last to be played in winter and fittingly was the sports centenary year. The season was kept short, starting in August and finishing in January, with the 1995 World Cup taking place in October.

1996–1997: First seasons

Super League finally kicked off in 1996 with the 12 founding teams being:

Along with the new league, new rules were introduced. Squad numbers were adopted, a video referee was at every televised game and the salary cap was introduced to stop clubs overspending and to allow for a more level playing field. Super League was also more Americanised with clubs adopting nicknames and the league seasons copying the NFL Super Bowl by being known as a Roman numeral rather than year (e.g. Super League 1996 was known as Super League I).

The first game was on 29 March which saw PSG beat Sheffield 30–24 in front of 17,873 people at Charlety Stadium. The inaugural Super League title was won by St Helens, breaking Wigan's stronghold for the first time since 1989 while Workington were relegated.

St Helens were unable to defend their title as Super League's second season was won by the Bradford Bulls with London Broncos justifying the decision to be fast tracked into Super League by finishing second. Oldham were relegated and PSG, who had finished 11th for the second consecutive time were dissolved after it was discovered some of their overseas players had tourist visas to avoid paying French tax.

1998–2008: Introduction of the Grand Final

Harlequins vs St Helens in the 2008 regular season

Due to Oldham being relegated and PSG folding, two teams, Hull Sharks and Huddersfield Giants, were promoted. It was also announced ahead of the 1998 season that there would be no relegation as the league planned to expand to 14 teams from 1999.

Following PSG folding, and as a result only English teams being present in the competition, the league was not refered to as a European competition from then on out and acted solely as the top tier of the British rugby league system.

The other major change was that a playoff would decide the Champions. This was not new to rugby league as a playoff system had been in use for most of the sports existence although one hadn't been used since 1973. Confusingly a playoff did take place at the end of the season but was separate from the official league season and thus didn't count towards anything. Old Trafford the venue for the old Premiership Playoff Final would be used to host the new Grand Final in which the top five Super League teams would contest.

The first Grand Final took place at Old Trafford in front of a sellout crowd of 40,000 who watched Wigan defeat Leeds 12–8, their first league title since the old First Division.

Ahead of the expansion to 14 clubs Wakefield Trinity were promoted from the Second Division and a new club, Gateshead Thunder were awarded a place in Super League in 1999, which was won by St Helens who beat Bradford in the Grand Final.

Gateshead had a successful debut season on the field finishing two points off the playoffs however off the field the club was suffering financial difficulties. By the end of the season Gateshead announced they would merge with Hull Sharks who were to revert to being known as Hull FC. Gateshead weren't the only club struggling, Sheffield announced they could no longer continue and merged with Huddersfield and would be known as Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants. Due to these two clubs resigning from the league it was agreed Super League would revert to 12 teams after just one season.

Relegation was reintroduced in 2001 with one team going down each year. The only major change to the league was in 2002 when the playoffs were expanded to six teams. The League Leaders Shield was introduced in 2003 to reward the team who finished top at the end of the regular season.

In 2005 it was announced a franchise was to be awarded to a French club, with Toulouse, Villeneuve and Catalans Dragons all applying. In the end Catalans, who were only founded in 2000 after a merger between two Perpignan based clubs, were chosen. Their debut season would be in 2006 and they would be exempt from relegation for the first three years. Their inclusion in Super League meant two clubs would be relegated in 2005. Bottom team Leigh were relegated with 11th placed Widnes.

By the mid-2000s standards on the field had improved and attendances increased but many clubs still played out of crumbling stadiums and most of the sport was still played in the North of England. There was also the emergence of the "Big Four" (Bradford, Leeds, Wigan, and St Helens) who were dominating the league during its first 10 seasons.

2009–2014: Expansion and Licensing

Announced in May 2005, to try and combat the issues facing Super League, the RFL introduced licences as the new determinant of the Super League competition's participants from 2009 with relegation scrapped, two new teams would expand the league to 14. The licences were awarded after consideration of more factors than simply the on-the-field performance of a club.[5] After 2007 automatic promotion and relegation was suspended for Super League with new teams to be admitted on a licence basis with the term of the licence to start in 2009.[5]

The RFL stated that clubs applying to compete in Super League would be assessed by criteria in four areas (stadium facilities, finance and business performance, commercial and marketing and playing strength, including junior production and development) with the final evaluations and decisions being taken by the RFL board of directors.[6]

Successful applicants were licensed for three years of Super League competition and[7] three-yearly reviews of Super League membership took place to ensure ambitious clubs lower down the leagues can still be successful.[6]

Points attained by each club's application are translated into licence grades A, B or C. Clubs who achieved an A or B Licence would be automatically awarded a place in the Super League, while those who achieved a C Licence underwent further scrutiny before the RFL decided who made the final cut.[8]

First licensing period

In June 2008, the RFL confirmed that the Super League would be expanded from 12 teams to 14 in 2009 with the playoffs also expanding to 8 teams,[9][10] and on 22 July 2008 the RFL confirmed the teams awarded licences.[11] The teams announced were the 12 existing Super League teams along with National League 1 teams, Celtic Crusaders and Salford. Celtic Crusaders became the first Welsh team to play in Super League and the only team to be awarded a licence who had never played in the Super League previously.

Featherstone Rovers, Halifax, Leigh and Widnes all failed to attain a licence. Leigh and Widnes, especially, were disappointed with their exclusions with Leigh's chairman being extremely critical of the RFL.[12]

By the end of the 2008 season, Salford and Celtic Crusaders finished 13th and 14th respectively and the Grand Final was won by the League Leaders, Leeds Rhinos for a fourth time. The following season Crusaders made the playoffs but were knocked out in the first round. League Leaders Wigan won the Grand Final.

By 2011 the Crusaders were suffering financial difficulties and entered administration and were deducted four points. Salford on the other hand despite never making the playoffs in the three years since they were promoted were in a much better financial position.

During this period the league was dominated by Leeds and St Helens with Leeds winning three titles and St Helens appearing in every Grand Final.

Second licensing period

Pre match at a 2012 regular season game between Catalans and St Helens

For the 2012–14 seasons Championship sides Batley, Barrow, Featherstone Rovers, Halifax and Widnes all met the on-field criteria needed to submit an application,[13] but despite this only Barrow, Halifax and Widnes decided to submit an application.[14] On 31 March 2011 Widnes were awarded a Super League licence; Barrow did not meet the criteria and were refused a licence; and Halifax's application was to be further considered alongside the other Super League clubs.[15]

The Rugby Football League's final decision was announced on 26 July 2011, Widnes would join thirteen existing Super League teams with Crusaders having withdrawn their application and Halifax being refused a license.[16] Crusaders CEO Rod Findlay stated that the club's finances were not in a good enough condition to justify their place in Super League.[17] Halifax chairman Mark Steele was critical of the decision to award Wakefield a licence over themselves, saying "If you compare Belle Vue with the Shay, it's no contest; if you compare playing records, it's no contest; and if you compare the financial position, we have kept our head above water and they haven't."[17] Wakefield had been favourites to lose their licence before Crusaders' withdrawal.[17]

2015–2018: Super 8s

After two licensing periods the system started to fall out of favour. Some highlighted clubs such as Wakefield and Castleford which had failed to build new stadiums but were twice awarded licenses over Championship clubs who many thought would be better suited to Super League. There was also unrest in the Championship with clubs feeling their success on the pitch should be rewarded.

At the 2013 Annual General Meeting in Bradford, the Super League clubs agreed to reduce the number of clubs to 12 from 2015, and also for a return of promotion and relegation with a 12 club Championship.[18]

A radical new league structure was proposed. The 12 Super League and 12 Championship clubs would play each other home and away over 22 rounds. Following the conclusion of their regular league seasons, the 24 clubs then competed in a play-off series where they split into 3 leagues of 8 based upon league position:[19][20]

  • The top eight Super League clubs continued to compete in the Super 8s. After playing each other once (either home or away), the top four clubs progressed to the semi-finals to determine who competed in the Grand Final to be crowned champions.
  • The remaining (bottom four) Super League clubs and the top four Championship clubs competed in The Qualifiers. They played each other once (either home or away) to determine which four of the clubs would compete in Super League the following year.

Funding for clubs was tiered in both leagues to prevent relegation-related financial difficulties.

In preparation for the new structure, two clubs would be relegated from Super League in 2014 to reduce the league to 12. By the end of the season London Broncos and four-time Champions Bradford Bulls were relegated to the Championship.

In June 2015 eight of the 12 Super League clubs voted to allow a Marquee Player that could exceed a club's salary cap as long as they could afford their wages. The marquee player rule came into force for the 2016 Super League season.

The first Super 8s season was won by the Leeds Rhinos, with all four Super League clubs surviving the Qualifiers. The following year Hull KR were relegated when they lost to Salford in the Million Pound Game, with Leigh being promoted.

2017 saw Castleford finish top of the league for the first time in their history although they eventually lost the Grand Final to Leeds who claimed their 8th title.

By 2018 there were question marks over how successful the Super 8s were. Attendances after the split dropped and there was more interest in relegation than there was in the Super League 8s and playoffs.

2019–2021: Abolishment of Super 8s, Split from RFL, and COVID-19 Pandemic

Wigan and Warrington walk out at Magic Weekend 2019

On 14 September 2018, an EGM was called to discuss the future of the sport. The Super League clubs were unhappy with the way the RFL was running the sport and wanted more control over future TV deals and sponsorship money. A vote went in favour of the Super League and they subsequently split from the RFL while also voting to scrap the Super 8s in favour of a more traditional league structure with a one up one down system for promotion and relegation.[21]

As a result of the split the Super League appointed former Everton CEO Robert Elstone as Chief Executive. Elstone brought in new branding and new rules such as the shot clock to stop time wasting, and golden point extra time in favour of draws.[22]

Elstone's success was short lived. After a successful 2019 season, the 2020 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The season was temporarily suspended during the national lockdown after which Toronto Wolfpack did not return to complete the season. There were calls made from Super League clubs for the two executive bodies – Super League and the RFL – to re-amalgamate following the financial difficulties from the pandemic.[23]

On 14 December 2020, it was decided by unanimous vote that the Leigh Centurions would take the 12th spot in the 26th Super League season, replacing the Toronto Wolfpack who withdrew from the league as a result of financial difficulties caused by the pandemic. This came after the RFL cancelled the Championship 2020 season in response to the pandemic.[24]

In February 2021 Elstone announced his resignation as Chief Executive of Super League, citing failures to bring outside investment to the league and the effects of the pandemic. Huddersfield's chairman Ken Davy was appointed as temporary Chief Executive until the end of the season. Subsequently, the new Sky Sports TV deal for the Super League and lower divisions was cut from £40 million to £25 million per year for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.[25] This again had RFL and Super League officials calling for a realignment of the two governing bodies.

2022–present: Realignment with RFL, IMG, and grading

On 22 March 2022, at a Special General Meeting it was announced the RFL and Super League were to officially realign after a majority of clubs voted in favour. A new company separate from the RFL was also set up to take care of the commercial side of the sport.

On the 10 May 2022 the RFL announced it had signed a 12-year deal with sports marketing company IMG to maximise the sports growth.

IMG announced that they planned to scrap traditional promotion and relegation in favour of a return to licensing, although it would be slightly different to how it was executed before.

Clubs across all three divisions would be graded A, B or C. Clubs Graded A would be eligible for Super League and be immune from relegation with the rest of Super League being made up of the highest ranking Grade B clubs who could be moved between Super League and the Championship depending on how well they were rated. Clubs Graded C would make up the rest of the Championship and League One. The overall goal was to have a Super League with 12 Grade A clubs.

IMG announced grading criteria in March 2023, with clubs being judged on fandom, on field performances, finances, stadium and catchment.

Structure

Regular season

There are 12 clubs in the Super League. During the course of the season (usually from February to September) each club plays the other twice, once at their home stadium and once at their opponents. Clubs also play five additional 'Loop Fixtures' (including Magic Weekend) which are decided by the previous seasons league standings (For example, the team that finished 1st the previous season would play an additional game against the 3rd, 5th etc. placed teams.[26]). Altogether clubs play 27 games.

Teams receive two points for a win, if a game is drawn at full time, 20 minutes of Golden point are played. If teams are still drawn after Golden point, both teams are awarded a point.[27] No points are awarded for a defeat.

Teams are ranked by competition points, points difference (points scored less points conceded), points scored. The team finishing top after 27 games is awarded the League Leaders Shield.

Play-offs

The play-offs have had various formats. Currently once every club has played 27 games, the top six teams qualify for the playoffs.[28]

Round one sees 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th. The winners then progress to the semi finals where the teams finishing 1st and 2nd enter. The two winners of the semi-finals meet in the Grand Final.

Grand Final

The Grand Final is the championship-deciding game and showpiece event of the Super League season. It is held annually at Old Trafford, with the exception of 2020 when it was hosted at the KCOM Stadium in Hull in front of no supporters due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

City Stadium Years
England ManchesterOld Trafford1998–2019, 2021–present
England HullKCOM Stadium2020

Clubs

Current clubs

Super League clubs
Colours Club Established Location Stadium Capacity Titles (Last)d
Castleford Tigersa 1926 (1926) Castleford, West Yorkshire Wheldon Road 11,775 0 (N/A)
Catalans Dragons 2000 (2000) Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales Gilbert Brutus Stadium 13,000 0 (N/A)
Huddersfield Giantsc 1864 (1864) Huddersfield, West Yorkshire Kirklees Stadium 24,500 7 (1962)
Hull FCc 1865 (1865) Hull, East Yorkshire MKM Stadium 25,400 6 (1983)
Hull Kingston Rovers 1882 (1882) Hull, East Yorkshire Craven Park 12,225 5 (1985)
Leeds Rhinosabc 1870 (1870) Leeds, West Yorkshire Headingley Stadium 19,700 11 (2017)
Leigh Leopardsc 1878 (1878) Leigh, Greater Manchester Leigh Sports Village 12,005 2 (1982)
London Broncos a 1980 (1980) Wimbledon, London Plough Lane 9,215 0 (N/A)
Salford Red Devils 1873 (1873) Salford, Greater Manchester Salford City Stadium 12,000 6 (1976)
St Helensabc 1873 (1873) St Helens, Merseyside Totally Wicked Stadium 18,000 17 (2022)
Warrington Wolvesabc 1876 (1876) Warrington, Cheshire Halliwell Jones Stadium 15,200 3 (1955)
Wigan Warriorsabc 1872 (1872) Wigan, Greater Manchester DW Stadium 25,133 23 (2023)
Notes
a: Founding member of the Super League
b: Appeared in every Super League season since 1996
c: One of the original 22 RFL teams
d: Includes First Division titles won prior to the inaugural Super League season in 1996.
Current Champions

Former Super League clubs

Former Super League clubs
Colours Club Seasons in
Super League
First season in
Super League
Last season in
Super League
Last top
division title**
Wakefield Trinity 24 1999 2023 1968
Bradford Bulls 19 1996 2014 2005
Widnes Vikings 11 2002 2018 1989
Halifax Panthers 8 1996 2003 1985–86
Sheffield Eagles 4 1996 1999 N/A
Crusaders §[lower-alpha 1] 3 2009 2011 N/A
Oldham 2 1996 1997 1956–57
Paris Saint-Germain § 2 1996 1997 N/A
Gateshead Thunder § 1 1999 1999 N/A
Workington Town 1 1996 1996 1950–51
Toronto Wolfpack 1 2020 2020 N/A
Toulouse Olympique 1 2022 2022 (N/A)

Results

Champions

For the first two Super League seasons, Champions were decided by a round robin system. The league format changed in 1998 with a play-off series used to determine the Super League champions for the first since 1972–73.

Club Wins Runners
up
Winning Years
1 St. Helens1051996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
2 Leeds Rhinos832004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017
3 Wigan Warriors661998, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2023
4 Bradford Bulls431997, 2001, 2003, 2005
5 Warrington Wolves04-
6 Catalans Dragons2
7 Castleford Tigers1
Hull F.C.
London Broncos
Salford Red Devils

League Leaders' Shield

The League Leaders' Shield was first awarded in 2003, and is given to the team finishing the regular season top of Super League.

Club Wins Winning Years
1 St. Helens82005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022
2 Wigan Warriors42010, 2012, 2020, 2023
3 Leeds Rhinos32004, 2009, 2015
4 Bradford Bulls12003
Huddersfield Giants2013
Castleford Tigers2017
Catalans Dragons2021

The Double

In British rugby league, the term The Double refers to the achievement of a club that wins both the League Championship and Challenge Cup in the same season. To date, this has been achieved by ten different clubs in total, six of which occasions have been during the Super League era.

Club Wins Winning years
1 Wigan Warriors71989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93,
1993–94, 1994–95, 2013
2 St. Helens41965–66, 1996, 2006, 2021
3 Huddersfield Giants21912–13, 1914–15
4 Broughton Rangers11901–02
5 Halifax11902–03
6 Hunslet F.C. §11907–08
7 Swinton Lions11927–28
8 Warrington Wolves11953–54
9 Bradford Bulls12003
10 Leeds Rhinos12015

The Treble

The Treble refers to the team who wins all three domestic honours on offer during the season; Grand Final, League Leaders' Shield and Challenge Cup. To date seven teams have won the treble, only Bradford Bulls, St. Helens and Leeds Rhinos have won the treble in the Super League era.

Club Wins Winning years
131991–92, 1992–93, 1994–95
221912–13, 1914–15
321965–66, 2006
411907–08
511927–28
612003
712015

All Four Cups

A quadruple in British rugby league is referred to traditionally as winning All Four Cups. In the modern era winning All Four Cups would require winning the Super League, League Leaders' Shield and Challenge Cup in the same season then the World Club Challenge the following year.

Club Winning years
11907–08
21914–15
31927–28
41994–95
52003
62006

Awards

Super League Trophy

The winner of the Grand Final is given the Super League Trophy as Super League Champions. This is considered more prestigious than the minor premiership. Each year, the year of a champion team's triumph, team name and team Rugby league football captain are engraved.

The record for most Super League titles won is held by St Helens with ten titles. Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield currently holds the record for captaining the most Super League title winning sides after captaining Leeds to their first 7 grand final successes. St. Helens contested the final 6 years in a row (from 2006 until 2011) during which time they succeeded only once in lifting the trophy against Hull F.C. in 2006; after which they suffered consecutive defeats against Leeds in 2007, 2008, 2009, Wigan in 2010 and Leeds once again in 2011. However, St. Helens made a victorious return in 2014, defeating rivals, Wigan 14–6 and have since won a further four grand finals, defeating Salford in 2019, Wigan in 2020 and Catalans Dragons in 2021 and Leeds in 2022.

Following their 2020 defeat to St. Helens, Wigan have now broken St Helens' record of losing five Grand Finals, losing a total of six. Hull F.C. (2006), Warrington (2012, 2013, 2016, and 2018), Castleford (2017), Salford (2019), and Catalans (2021) have all appeared in the Grand Final but never won.

Steve Prescott Man of Steel award

The Man of Steel Award is an annual award for the best player of the season in Super League. It has continued from pre-Super League times, with the first such award given in 1977. It was renamed in honour of Steve Prescott in 2014.

Albert Goldthorpe Medal

The Albert Goldthorpe Medal is an award voted for be members of the press who cast a vote after every game of the regular season. The three players who, in the opinion of the reporter, have been the three 'best and fairest' players in the game will receive three points, two points and one point respectively. To be eligible for a vote, a player must not have been suspended from the competition at any stage during the season.

Super League Dream Team

Each season a "Dream Team" is also named. The best thirteen players in their respective positions are voted for by members of the sports press. The 2023 dream team is as follows:

Player Team Appearance
1 England Jack Welsby St Helens 3
2 England Josh Charnley Leigh Leopards 3
3 New Zealand Shaun Kenny-Dowall Hull Kingston Rovers 2
4 England Jake Wardle Wigan Warriors 1
5 England Tom Johnstone Catalans Dragons 2
6 Australia Bevan French Wigan Warriors 3
7 Papua New Guinea Lachlan Lam Leigh Leopards 1
8 Australia Paul Vaughan Warrington Wolves 1
9 Papua New Guinea Edwin Ipape Leigh Leopards 1
10 Australia Tom Amone Leigh Leopards 1
11 England Kallum Watkins Salford Red Devils 3
12 England Liam Farrell Wigan Warriors 6
13 Tonga John Asiata Leigh Leopards 1

Coaches

Nat. Name Club Appointed Time as head coach
EnglandCraig Lingard Castleford Tigers17 October 20238 days
EnglandSteve McNamara Catalans Dragons19 June 20176 years, 128 days
WalesIan Watson Huddersfield Giants19 November 20202 years, 340 days
AustraliaTony Smith Hull F.C.10 September 20221 year, 45 days
AustraliaWillie Peters Hull Kingston Rovers4 September 20221 year, 51 days
AustraliaRohan Smith Leeds Rhinos20 April 20221 year, 188 days
Papua New GuineaAdrian Lam Leigh Leopards17 November 20211 year, 342 days
EnglandMike Eccles London Broncos11 September 20221 year, 44 days
EnglandPaul Rowley Salford Red Devils5 November 20211 year, 354 days
EnglandPaul Wellens St. Helens5 October 20221 year, 20 days
EnglandSam Burgess Warrington Wolves1 October 202324 days
EnglandMatty Peet Wigan Warriors5 October 20212 years, 20 days

Head coaches with Super League titles

The Super League has been won by 16 coaches, 10 from Australia, 5 from England and 1 from New Zealand.

Head Coach Wins Winning years
1England Brian McDermott42011, 2012, 2015, 2017
2England Brian Noble32001, 2003, 2005
3England Shaun Wane32013, 2016, 2018
4Australia Kristian Woolf32020, 2021, 2022
5Australia Ian Millward22000, 2002
6Australia Tony Smith22004, 2007
7New Zealand Brian McClennan22008, 2009
8Australia Shaun McRae 11996
9Australia Matthew Elliott11997
10Australia John Monie11998
11England Ellery Hanley11999
12Australia Daniel Anderson12006
13Australia Michael Maguire12010
14Australia Nathan Brown12014
15Australia Justin Holbrook12019
16England Matt Peet12023

Top 10 Coaches by Super League games coached

  • Bold indicates coach still at club
  • Italic indicates coach still active as a head coach in Rugby League but not in Super League at this time

Statistics correct as of 14 October 2023

RankPlayerClub(s)Games
1 Australia Tony Smith Huddersfield (2001, 2003)
Leeds (2004–2007)
Warrington (2009–2017)
Hull KR (2019–2022)
Hull (2023–present)
529
2 England Daryl Powell Leeds (2001–2003)
Castleford (2013–2021)
Warrington (2022–2023)
365
3 England Brian McDermott London (2007–2010)
Leeds (2011–2018)
Toronto (2020)
340
4 England Brian Noble Bradford (2001–2006)
Wigan (2006–2009)
Crusaders (2010)
Salford (2013–2014)
321
5 Australia Shaun McRae St. Helens (1996–1998)
Gateshead (1999)
Hull (2000–2004)
Salford (2007, 2009–2011)
312
6 England Steve McNamara Bradford (2006–2010)
Catalans (2017–present)
286
7 England John Kear Sheffield (1997–1999)
Huddersfield (2000)
Hull (2005–2006)
Wakefield (2006–2011)
272
8 England Richard Agar Hull (2006, 2008–2011)
Wakefield (2012–2014)
Leeds (2019–2022)
236
9 Australia Ian Millward St. Helens (2000–2005)
Wigan (2005–2006)
Castleford (2012–2013)
228
10 England Lee Radford Hull (2014–2020)
Castleford (2022–2023)
215

Players

  • Statistics are correct as of 14 October 2023.

Appearances

Former St Helens captain James Roby holds the record for appearances in Super League with 495 appearances
  • Note that appearances from the bench are also included in this list. Excluding appearances in Qualifiers
Most appearances
RankPlayerApps
1 England James Roby 495
2 England Kevin Sinfield 454
3 England Andy Lynch 452
4 England Paul Wellens 439
5 England Jamie Peacock 438
6 England Leon Pryce 432
7= England Ben Westwood 430
7= England Ireland Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook 430
9 England Rob Burrow 429
10 England Danny Tickle 419
As of 14 October 2023


Italicised players still playing professional rugby league.
Bolded players still playing in Super League.

Tries

Danny McGuire is the highest ever try scorer in Super League with 247
Most tries
RankPlayerTries
1 England Danny McGuire 247
2 England Ryan Hall 240
3 England Josh Charnley 230
4= England Paul Wellens 199
4= England Keith Senior 199
As of 14 October 2023


Italicised players still playing professional rugby league.
Bolded players still playing in Super League.

Points

Most points
RankPlayerPoints
1 England Kevin Sinfield 3,443
2 Scotland England Danny Brough 2,462
3 England Paul Deacon 2,415
4 England Andy Farrell 2,372
5 Ireland Pat Richards 2,280
As of 14 October 2023


Italicised players still playing professional rugby league.
Bolded players still playing in Super League.

Winning captains

Kevin Sinfield captained the Leeds Rhinos to seven Grand Final victories, the most in Super League history by one player

12 players have captained teams to win the Super League.

Captain Wins Winning years
1England Kevin Sinfield72004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015
2England Sean O'Loughlin42010, 2013, 2016, 2018
3England James Roby42019, 2020, 2021, 2022
4England Chris Joynt31999, 2000, 2002
5New Zealand Robbie Paul31997, 2001, 2003
6England Bobbie Goulding11996
7England Andy Farrell11998
8England Jamie Peacock12005
9England Sean Long12006
10England Paul Wellens12014
11England Danny McGuire12017
12England Liam Farrell12023

Sponsorship

Since its inaugural season in 1996, the Super League has been sponsored seven times with the first sponsor, Stones Bitter continuing to be title sponsors having sponsored the old First Division since 1986. With the exception of the 2013 season, the league has had a title sponsor every year.

Period Sponsor Name
1996–1997 Stones Bitter Stones Super League
1998–1999 JJB Sports JJB Super League
2000–2004 Tetley's Bitter Tetley's Super League
2005–2011 Engage Mutual Assurance Engage Super League
2012 Stobart Group Stobart Super League
2013 no sponsor Super League
2014–2016 First Utility First Utility Super League
2017–2026 Betfred Betfred Super League

As well as title sponsorship, Super League has a number of official partners and suppliers.[29] For the 2017 season these include Kingstone Press Cider, Dacia, Foxy Bingo, Batchelors and Specsavers.

The official rugby ball supplier is Steeden.[30]

logo used from 1996 to 2016

The Super League has had three official logos. The first was used from the inaugural season in 1996 until 2016. The logo had the Super League S with Super above it and League below it. The title sponsors name would appear above the logo until 2014 when title sponsors First Utility used their own personalised logos that appeared on player shirts and in the media. The reigning champions had a ribbon around the logo with champions on it until 2011.

Logo from 2017 to 2019

The second official logo was introduced in 2017 as part of a radical rebrand across British rugby league. The design was deliberately similar to new Rugby Football League (RFL) and England team logos, in order to maintain a ubiquity of public message. It had a rectangular backdrop representing the George Hotel in Huddersfield (where rugby league was originally founded), thirteen lines representing thirteen players, a chevron (a traditional design feature on many rugby league shirts) and the S which represented the ball and the Super League. The reigning champions had the right to wear a gold version of the logo on their shirts.

Ahead of the 2020 Super League season, a brand new logo was revealed. This was designed by the same company who had recently redesigned the Premier League logo and was more simplistic than previous iterations.

Criticism

Since its formation in 1996 only four teams have won the Super League, Bradford, Leeds, St. Helens and Wigan. Also, only nine teams have taken part in the Grand Final, Hull F.C, Castleford Tigers, Warrington Wolves, Salford Red Devils, and the Catalans Dragons being the other five. Eight teams have been the league leaders, however only one of these Huddersfield Giants in 2013, is a different team to those that have appeared in the grand final, meaning that only nine different teams in total have been involved in the grand final or topped the regular season table, however, 23 teams have taken part in Super League since its inception. The last grand final to feature two sides other than Wigan, Leeds, St Helens or Bradford occurred in 1991 when Hull F.C. defeated Widnes 14–4 in the premiership final.[31] This had led to the criticism that Super League is effectively uncompetitive, by perpetuating success in the hands of a small number of wealthy clubs.[32][33]

Competition rules

Overseas quota and Federation-trained players

An overseas quota restricting the maximum number of foreign players at each club has existed since the inception of the Super League in 1996.[34] However, overseas players that hold a European Union passport or come under the Kolpak ruling do not count towards the quota. This resulted in the number of non-British players at some clubs greatly exceeding the quota.

In response to concerns over the growing number of foreign players in the league, in 2007, the RFL announced plans to introduce a "homegrown player" rule to encourage clubs to develop their own players.[35] As of 2017, Super League clubs are permitted to register no more than five overseas players. Additionally, squads are also limited to a maximum of seven non-Federation trained players.[36]

Salary cap

A salary cap was first introduced to the Super League in 1998, with clubs being allowed to spend up to 50 percent of their income on player wages. From the 2002 season onwards, the cap became a fixed ceiling of £1.8 million in order to increase parity within the league.[37]

The Super League operates under a real-time salary cap system that will calculate a club's salary cap position at the start of and throughout the season:[38]

  • The combined earnings of the top 25 players must not exceed £1.825 million.
  • Clubs will only be allowed to sign a new player if they have room under the cap.
  • Clubs are allowed to spend a maximum of £50,000 on players outside the top 25 earners who have made at least one first grade appearance for the club during the year.
  • Costs for players outside of the top 25 earners who do not make a first team appearance will be unregulated.
  • Any player who has played for the same club for at least 10 consecutive seasons will have half their salary excluded from the salary cap for his 11th and subsequent seasons. This is subject to a maximum of £50,000 for any one club.
  • Clubs are allowed one "Marquee Player" who can exceed a club's salary cap as long as they can afford the players wages.

In 2017, Super League clubs approved proposals to increase the salary cap over the next three seasons, eventually rising to £2.1 million by 2020. Clubs will also be allowed to sign a second marquee player.[39]

Squad announcement system

Before each Super League fixture, each club must announce the squad of 19 players it will choose from by 2:00 pm on the second day before the match day.[38]

Media coverage

Television

Sky Sports have been the primary broadcast partner of Super League since its inaugural season in 1996. The current deal lasts between 2022 until 2023 and covers 66 matches per season, plus gives Channel 4 the right to broadcast a further 10 (eight regular season plus two play-off games).[40] Sky Sports broadcasts live Super League games in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. Broadcasting slots occur on Thursdays and Fridays at 19:30 (20:00 kick off), and varying times on weekend afternoon, however only two or three are used per week.

Duration Broadcasters Value per year Games shown per year
1996–1999 Sky Sports ~£17 million ?
1999–2003 ~£12 million ?
2004–2008 ~£9 million ?
2009–2011 ~£18 million[lower-alpha 2] 80
2012–2016 100
2017–2021 ~£40 million[41][lower-alpha 2] 80[41]
2022–2023 Sky Sports[42] and
Channel 4[43]
~£26 million[41] 66 + 10[41]
2024–2026 ~£20 million[44] ~170[45]

Source:[46]

Highlights

In addition to Sky Sports' live coverage, BBC Sport broadcast a weekly highlights programme called the Super League Show, usually presented by Tanya Arnold. This is broadcast to the North West, Yorkshire, North East & Cumbria, and East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire regions on BBC One on Monday nights (after 11 pm) and is repeated nationally on BBC Two on Tuesday afternoons.[47] A national repeat was first broadcast overnight during the week since February 2008 when the then BBC Director of Sport, Roger Mosey, commented that this move was in response to the growing popularity and awareness of the sport, and the large number of requests from people who want to watch it elsewhere in the UK. The end of season play-off series is shown nationwide in a highlights package. The Super League Show is also available for streaming or download using the BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Highlights programme Duration Broadcaster
Super League Show 1999–Present BBC

International

Internationally, Super League is shown live by eight broadcasters in eight countries and regions.

Country/ Region Broadcaster
MENA Premier Sports (exc. Saudi Arabia)
Asia
 France beIN Sports[48]
Sport en France[49]
 New Zealand Sky Sport
Māori Television
 United States Fox Soccer Plus
 Canada Sportsnet World
Caribbean Sports Max and Fox Soccer Plus
 Australia Fox League

Radio

Talksport is an official broadcaster of Super League, broadcasting commentaries and magazine programming on Talksport 2. BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra covers more than 70 Super League games through 5 Live Rugby League each Thursday and Friday night.[50] Each 3 hour programme is presented by Dave Woods with a guest summariser (usually a Super League player or coach) and in addition to live commentary also includes interviews and debate. A 5 Live Rugby League podcast is available to download each week from the BBC website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrtxd/episodes/downloads.

Super League is also covered extensively by BBC Local Radio:

Station Area
BBC Radio Humberside Hull
BBC Radio Leeds West Yorkshire
BBC Radio Manchester Salford, Wigan and Warrington.
BBC Radio Merseyside St Helens, Warrington and Widnes.

The competition is also covered on commercial radio stations:

  • Radio Yorkshire cover two matches per round featuring Yorkshire clubs.
  • BCB 106.6 (Bradford Community Broadcasting) have full match commentary on Bradford home and away.
  • Wish FM have full match commentary on Wigan and St Helens matches home and away.
  • Wire FM have full match commentary of Warrington matches home and away.
  • Grand Sud FM covers every Catalans Dragons Home Match (in French).
  • Radio France Bleu Roussillon covers every Catalans Dragons Away Match (in French).

All Super League commentaries on any station are available via the particular stations on-line streaming.

Internet

ESPN3, formerly ESPN360, has had worldwide broadband rights since 2007 when they broadcast the 2007 Grand Final.

Since 9 April 2009, all of the matches shown on Sky Sports have also been available live online via Livestation everywhere in the world excluding the US, Puerto Rico, UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, Australia and New Zealand.[51] In 2016 Livestation shut down, however these matches are also available online for UK users only through Sky Go and Now TV.

In the United Kingdom, a number of commercial radio stations, along with BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and the local BBC radio stations simulcast commentary of Super League games on the internet. Additionally, the 5 Live Rugby League podcast is available to download each week from the BBC website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrtxd/episodes/downloads.

See also

Notes

  1. Active as North Wales Crusaders
  2. A small portion of this figure covered games in the Championship

References

Inline

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  32. "Grading criteria, overseas expansion and a digital overhaul… Inside IMG's radical plan to reimagine rugby's Super League". www.sportspromedia.com.
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  35. Hadfield, Dave (5 February 2007). "Overseas quotas on clubs' agenda". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
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  40. Channel 4 to broadcast live Bettered Super League
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  42. "Sky Sports extends Super League TV deal for a further two seasons".
  43. "Channel 4 to broadcast Betfred Super League in 2022".
  44. https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/super-league-sky-sports-tv-rights-2026-rfl-rl-commercial-img/
  45. https://www.skysports.com/amp/rugby-league/news/12196/12984274/sky-sports-to-show-every-super-league-match-live-as-part-of-historic-new-three-year-tv-rights-deal
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General

  • Caplan, Phil; Doidge, Jonathan R. (2006). Super League – the first ten years. The History Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7524-3698-2.
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