1997 Super League (UK) season

Last updated
Super League II
League Super League
Duration22 Rounds
Teams12
Highest attendance19,137
Leeds Rhinos vs Bradford Bulls (29 July)
Lowest attendance500
Paris Saint-Germain vs Salford Reds (2 July)
Broadcast partners Sky Sports
1997 Season
Champions Bradford Bulls
1st Super League title
3rd British title
Premiership winners Wigan Warriors
Man of Steel Flag of England.svg James Lowes
Top point-scorer(s) Flag of England.svg Andrew Farrell (243)
Top try-scorer(s) Flag of New Zealand.svg Nigel Vagana (17)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Division One Huddersfield Giants
Hull Sharks
Relegated to Division One Oldham Bears
Resigned from League
Dissolved Paris Saint-Germain

Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer.

Contents

Teams

Twelve teams were selected to play in the second Super League season, however Salford Reds were promoted into the League, taking the place of relegated Workington Town.

Legend
 Reigning Champions
 Challenge Cup Holders
 Promoted
TeamStadiumCapacityCity/Area
Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls Odsal 27,000Bradford, West Yorkshire
Castleford colours.svg Castleford Tigers Wheldon Road 11,750Castleford, West Yorkshire
Faxcolours.svg Halifax Blue Sox Thrum Hall 9,832Halifax, West Yorkshire
Rhinoscolours.svg Leeds Rhinos Headingley 21,500Leeds, West Yorkshire
Broncoscolours.png London Broncos The Stoop 11,000Twickenham, Greater London
Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham Bears Boundary Park 13,500Oldham, Greater Manchester
France colours.svg Paris Saint-Germain Sébastien Charléty Stadium 20,000Paris, France
Redscolours.svg Salford Reds The Willows 11,363Salford, Greater Manchester
Sheffeagles colours.svg Sheffield Eagles Don Valley Stadium 25,000Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Saintscolours.svg St. Helens Knowsley Road 17,500St Helens, Mersyside
Wolvescolours.svg Warrington Wolves Wilderspool 9,200Warrington, Cheshire
Wigancolours.svg Wigan Warriors Central Park 18,000Wigan, Greater Manchester

Rules changes

The import limit was raised from five to six, while the non-traditional markets of London and Paris were still exempted from it in an attempt to grow the game. [1]

Establishment of Super League (Europe) Ltd.

In September 1996, the twelve Super League clubs announced the formation of a separate company, Rugby League (Europe) Ltd., to oversee the circuit's activities. Bradford chairman Chris Caisley was named chairman of RLE. [2] In December 1997, the company hired Colin Myler of Widnes, a former Daily Mirror editor and member of an old rugby league family, as chief executive. [3] In June 1997, RLE added Peter Deakin, a former player who had studied sports management in the U.S. before overseeing Bradford' communication, as marketing director. [4] The RFL, not particularly keen on another emancipatory act on the part of Super League, only contributed £150,000 to the company's initial budget. [5] After the Australasian Super League abandoned its name to merge into the National Rugby League, Rugby League (Europe) was renamed as Super League (Europe) in November 1997. [6]

Notable events

League affairs

Amidst the Super League's teething issues, speculations continued regarding future reforms. The place of traditional small market teams remained a hot topic. While the idea of contracting some teams was gaining a measure of acceptance, [7] a working party led by RFL chairman Rodney Walker suggested reducing the number of clubs at the bottom of the pyramid, while returning to a two-tier structure and enlarging the Super League to 14 or 16 clubs. This was poorly received by the game's more progressive observers due to the Super League's already palpable lack of depth, as seen during the World Club Championship. [8] Meanwhile, a document circulated internally by Rugby League Europe discussed further streamlining the Super League by axing clubs like Castleford, Halifax and Oldham and in favor of expansion markets such as Glasgow, Leicester, South Wales or even Dublin. Caisley and RFL chief executive Maurice Lindsay strongly denied any firm commitment to this option. [9] [10]

Despite the funds provided by News Ltd., the greater cost of running a Super League team put many teams in the red, and the introduction of a salary cap was mooted during a meeting of executives in July. [11] At the end of the season, the Paris Saint-Germain team, which had brought the league some of its most favorable headlines, was dissolved for failure to generate sufficient income. [12] [13] Relegated Oldham went into administration with more than £1 million in liabilities. The club entered voluntary liquidation in October. [14] Its assets including its name and history were retained for a second Oldham club which entered the third tier for the 1998 season. Its chairman John Quinn called for a freeze of the relegation system, a measure that Widnes and Keighley had successfully fought to repel at the Super League's inception. [15] The season also ended on a negative note for the RFL itself, with losses of £1 million, the governing body's first operational deficit in its 102-year history. [16]

The tensions between chief executive Lindsay, the advocate of a perceived Super League elite, and chairman Walker, who had the favors of the rank-and-file clubs, escalated throughout the season. Lindsay became a candidate for the presidency of The Tote, inviting rumors of his departure from the sport, but ended up not being chosen. [17] In late summer, he was also targeted by an article from tabloid The Sun , detailing more than £100,000 in personal expenses over the previous two years. [18] Unrest was such that Murdoch's right-hand man Rob Cowley was dispatched from Australia to help pacify the situation, which actually marked the first in-person meeting with a high level News executive since the signing of the Super League agreement twenty-eight months earlier. [18] In the run-up to the RFL's September meeting, Walker indicated his desire to curb the dominance of Lindsay's faction within the RFL, with much power concentrated into the hands of a four-man board of directors overseen by the latter. [19] An at-large board was re-installed, to be led by a newly elected chairman, a position for which Walker ran unopposed. [18] [20] Shortly after, RFL project coordinator Neil Tunnicliffe was promoted to the position of deputy chief executive, working alongside Lindsay. [7] [21]

Other

At the end of 1996, a fan survey was organized to help chose a permanent nickname for Leeds RLFC, the last Super League member not to have one. The team had sporadically used the folk name "Loiners", but it never caught on. It subsequently became known as the Rhinos. [22] In May, Sheffield became the first publicly traded British rugby club of either code, although the introduction was met with a lackluster response. Ownership attributed it to disappointing on-field performance, while analysts blamed it on the sport's limited profile in the city. [23] With the advent of professional rugby union, a number of league players were now tempted back into the ranks of the fifteen-man code by lucrative winter offers. Wigan reacted by prohibiting such short-term contracts. [24] Following dealings with a pair of unscrupulous agents, the Super League reached out to the Rugby League Professional Players' Association to join forces in the creation of a register of approved agents. [25] Halifax attracted negative attention during a trip to the south of France (where their game against Paris had been relocated to take advantage of holiday crowds). They were accused of damaging six rooms and the swimming pool of a Béziers hotel following their loss to the French club. [26] The RFL's Strategic Planning Commission led by technical director Joe Lydon put forward a proposal to officially recognize farm team agreements between Super League and Division One clubs, acknowledging the relationships that already existed on a case-by-case basis between Bradford and Dewsbury, as well as between Leeds and Bramley. The initiative, which would have allowed up to five players to shuttle between parent and affiliate clubs each week, was shut down by FASDA (the entity representing Division One and Division Two clubs). [20]

Table

At the end of the season, the Bradford Bulls were crowned Super League champions by virtue of finishing the season at the top of the table. [27]

PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDPtsRelegation
1 Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls (C)222002769397+37240
2 Broncoscolours.png London Broncos 221534616418+19833
3 Saintscolours.svg St Helens 221417592506+8629
4 Wigancolours.svg Wigan 221408683398+28528
5 Rhinoscolours.svg Leeds Rhinos 221318544463+8127
6 Redscolours.svg Salford Reds 22110114284956722
7 Faxcolours.svg Halifax Blue Sox 2282125245492518
8 Sheffeagles colours.svg Sheffield Eagles 22901341557415918
9 Wolvescolours.svg Warrington Wolves 22801443764721016
10 Castleford colours.svg Castleford Tigers 22521533451518112
11 France colours.svg Paris Saint-Germain 22601636257221012
12 Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham Bears (R)2241174616311709Relegated to Division One
Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Premiership

During the year a secondary title, known as the Stone's Premiership, was also played for the last time. All twelve Super League teams qualified for and competed in a knockout play-off series. In the 28 September final held at Manchester's Old Trafford, Wigan Warriors beat rivals St. Helens 33–20 thanks to a Harry Sunderland Trophy-winning performance by captain Andy Farrell. [28] Following this season, it was abolished and replaced with the Super League Grand Final which would determine the Champions rather than the current first past the post system.

International series

A post-season Super League Test series between Australia and Great Britain was also held in England. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby Football League</span> Governing body for professional rugby league football in England

The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldham R.L.F.C.</span> English professional rugby league club

Oldham Rugby League football Club, is a professional rugby league football club based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The club plays home games at Boundary Park and competes in League One, the third tier of British rugby league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Deacon</span> English rugby player and coach (born 1979)

Paul Deacon is an English rugby union coach who is the head coach of the Sale Sharks in Premiership Rugby, and former a professional rugby league footballer and coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League</span> Rugby league team

Paris Rugby League, doing business as Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League or PSG Rugby League, was a French professional rugby league football team that operated between 1995 and 1997, playing in the Super League, the top division of the British rugby league system.

Maurice Lindsay was the chairman of Preston North End F.C. and of Wigan Warriors R.L.F.C. and had two stints at the club after being one of the 'Gang of Four' directors that used to run the club when it dominated the league in the 1980s.

The year 1996's Stones Bitter Super League I was the official name for the 102nd season of top-level rugby league football, and the first year of Europe's new championship: Super League. It is also the first season of rugby league to be played in summer. The competition featured all eleven teams from the 1995-96 RFL First Division plus one expansion club, Paris Saint-Germain.

JJB Sports Super League III was the official name for the year 1998's Super League championship season, the 104th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the third season played in summer.

Martin Crompton is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, usually as a scrum-half.

Kelvin Skerrett is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and Wales, and at club level for Hunslet, Bradford Northern, Western Suburbs Magpies, Wigan and the Halifax Blue Sox, as prop or second-row, and coached at club level for Oulton Raiders ARLFC, and Methley Royals ARLFC.

The 1995–96 Rugby Football League season was the 101st season of rugby league football. Eleven English teams competed from August 1995 until January 1996 for the Stones Bitter Centenary Championship. The season was kept brief to accommodate the first season of the forthcoming new Super League competition, which would see top-level rugby league in the UK changed to a summer sport. It was also punctuated by the 1995 World Cup which took place in Britain throughout October. The 1996 Challenge Cup rounds started immediately after the Centenary Championship and the final was played in summer, during Super League I.

The 1994–95 Rugby Football League season was the 100th ever season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Sixteen teams competed from August 1994 until May 1995 for a number of titles, primarily the Stones Bitter Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super League</span> British professional rugby league competition

The Super League 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.

The 1940–41 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the second season of the English rugby league’s Wartime Emergency League necessitated by the Second World War. After doubts that the season might not start, matches were played in a league organised in a similar way to the previous season with two regional leagues, Yorkshire and Lancashire, with the winners of each league meeting in a two-legged play-off final to determine the overall champions.

The 1941–42 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the third season of the rugby league’s Wartime Emergency League necessitated by the Second World War. With fewer clubs than the previous season the Rugby Football League (RFL) decided to amalgamate the two county leagues into one joint league. The season started with 18 clubs but finished with 17 after Broughton Rangers withdrew in January 1942. The single division championship was won by Dewsbury, who had finished the season in first position and then defeated Bradford Northern in the play-off final.

The 1942–43 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the fourth season of the rugby league’s Wartime Emergency Leagues necessitated by the Second World War.

The 1941–42 Yorkshire Cup was the thirty-fourth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Organised by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the Yorkshire Cup was a knock-out competition between the professional rugby league clubs from the county of Yorkshire. Under the wartime emergency rules the RFL was operating to, teams from Lancashire were invited to participate as the Lancashire Cup was not played. The Cup was played for by 14 teams from Yorkshire and two from Lancashire.

The 1908–09 Challenge Cup was the 13th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup.

The 1996 Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League season was the first season of Paris Saint-Germain's rugby league football department. Playing in a newly launched European circuit, the Super League, Paris finished the season in 11th place out of 12 teams, narrowly avoiding relegation.

The 1997 Paris Saint-Germain rugby league season was the club's second and final season in the Super League. Although the overhauled squad produced a marginally improved record, the RFL remained dissatisfied with the organization's performance on and off the field, and opted to end its Paris presence at the end of the campaign.

The 1939–40 Northern Rugby Football League season was an emergency season of English rugby league fixtures necessitated by the outbreak of the Second World War. The regular league season had started at the end of August 1939, but on the outbreak of war all sport was suspended. When government permission for sport to be resumed was given, the league was reorganised into two regional competitions, Yorkshire and Lancashire. The winners of each league playing against each other to decide the overall champions. The Yorkshire competition was won by Bradford Northern who beat Swinton, winners of the Lancashire competition, in the two-legged league final.

References

  1. Korporaal, Glenda (18 February 1997). "Euro Super on edge over imbalance of power". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 38.
  2. "Revamped Super League denies RL breakaway". Daily Post. Liverpool. 20 September 1996. p. 41   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  3. Burke, David (December 11, 1996). "Swinton sign kiwi ace". Manchester Evening News. p. 53   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  4. Hulme, Mike (June 12, 1997). "Rugby League". Bolton Evening News. p. 54   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  5. Wilson, Andy (9 March 1997). "Blurred edges to global vision". The Observer. London. p. Sport 11.
  6. Mascord, Steve (November 17, 1997). "Competition decision due 'in two weeks'". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 28   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  7. 1 2 Wilson, Andy (16 October 1997). "Carlisle merger signals rethink". The Guardian. London. p. 27.
  8. Wilson, Andy (22 June 1997). "After the slaughter, bring out the axe". The Observer. London. p. 4 (Sport)   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  9. Robinson, John (13 July 1997). "Super League slaughter". The People. London. p. 60.
  10. Fitzpatrick, Paul (15 July 1997). "Clubs control own destiny". The Guardian. London. p. 22   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  11. Dowson, George (16 July 1997). "Cap the cash". Manchester Evening News. p. 51   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  12. 1 2 Slot, Owen (26 October 1997). "Trying to keep the Super in League". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 10s   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  13. Wilson, Andy (4 November 1997). "Huddersfield in, Paris out". The Guardian. London. p. 25.
  14. "Directors pull out as Bears debts rise". The Advertiser. Oldham. 9 October 1997. p. 36   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  15. "Quinn super plea". Manchester Evening News. 18 October 1997. p. 23   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  16. Heads, Ian (4 January 1998). "Disaster-plagued Lindsay on borrowed time". Sydney Morning-Herald. p. 102   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  17. Wilson, Andy (13 July 1997). "Why mud-spattered Mo must go". The Observer. London. p. 2 (Sport)   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  18. 1 2 3 Wilson, Andy (7 September 1997). "Iron man with golden grip". The Observer. p. 45   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  19. Fieldhouse, John (2 September 1997). "Waudby quits board with warning". Hull Daily Mail. p. 52.
  20. 1 2 Walker, Nick (4 October 1997). "Lydon loan idea gets thumbs down". Liverpool Echo/Football Echo. p. 26   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  21. Burke, David (16 October 1997). "Expand the Super League". Manchester Evening News. p. 56   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  22. Fisher, Michael (November 13, 1996). "Wigan deny sale of ground for £4m". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 41   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  23. Clark, Andrew (May 22, 1997). "The Eagles have landed with a bump". The Sunday Telegraph. London. p. 27   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  24. "Wigan ban players from taking union contracts". The Daily Telegraph. 9 October 1997. p. 41   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  25. "Call for agents' register". Birmingham Post. 1 November 1997. p. 12   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  26. Wilson, Andy (August 26, 1997). "Halifax hit by hotel bill for 'high spirits'". The Guardian. London. p. 23   via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  27. "Bradford Bulls Honours List". Bradford Bulls official website. 2007-01-26. Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  28. Dave Hadfield (29 September 1997) Farrell keeps Wigan's trophy cabinet stocked The Independent