British rugby league champions (Tier 1) |
---|
RFL Championship First Division (1895–1996) Super League (1996–present) |
Founded |
1895–96 |
Country |
England Wales France |
Editions completed |
125 |
Number of teams |
12 (since 2015) |
Current champions |
Wigan Warriors |
Most titles won |
Wigan (23 times) |
The British men's rugby league champions are the winners of the highest league in British rugby league, which since 1996 is the Super League.
Note that due to the varying inclusion and non-inclusion of a playoff system within the competition, the team that finished first in regular season have not always been champions. A list of first place finishes can be found at List of British rugby league league leaders. Since 2003, these teams have been awarded a separate trophy – the League Leaders' Shield.
Following the schism in 1895 that saw 22 Northern rugby clubs split from the Rugby Football Union and form the Northern Union, the 22 clubs were organised into one league. At the end of the 1895–96 season, Manningham were the first club to be crowned champions, finishing one point ahead of Halifax. [1]
Following the success of the Northern Unions first season, more clubs defected from the Rugby Football Union to join the new league. After concerns around travel and costs were expressed, the decision was made that the competition should be split into two separate county championships: Lancashire and Yorkshire Leagues. County leagues were in place for the next five seasons until 1901–02 were the top seven sides from each league resigned to merge to form a new league. The only other times that there was no major championship was when there were outbrakes of war.
During the late 1980s and early 90s, Wigan became the only full-time professional club and dominated in every competition. A new Super League began to be mooted during the Super League war in Australia as a way for Rupert Murdoch to gain an upper hand in broadcasting supremacy with the Australian Rugby League. British clubs were approached to form a Super League with a cash incentive. Part of the deal was switching the sport to summer and the merger of some clubs, the latter not taking place due to huge protest from fans. All four Super League champions; St Helens, Wigan, Bradford and Leeds have all previously won the old First Division.
Only three clubs to have been crowned champions are not in existence today. During the reclassification of the Championship in 1901, the league was split into two divisions. Manningham were placed in the Second Division, finishing 10th out of 18 teams. At the end of the season a series of meetings was held about establishing a Football League club in the city. During an annual meeting the committee voted to switch to association football, becoming Bradford City. A similar situation occurred at Bradford FC in 1907 when a narrow majority of members voted to withdraw from the Northern Union in favour of association football, forming Bradford Park Avenue. Broughton Rangers struggled post war and folded in 1955 after a failed name change to Belle Vue Rangers in 1946.
Hunslet FC were the fourth former champions to fold after financial issues , player strikes and a stadium fire that led to the club selling the land to developers before being eventually wound up. Unlike the other three clubs which no longer exist, a phoenix club, New Hunslet, was formed in 1973 and still exists. [2]
The method of determining the champions has changed multiple times between using the first past the post method of crowning league leaders champions or a play off series. A play off series was first used in 1906, this was due to some clubs playing more games than others and league positions being decided by win percentages rather than competition points.
Most seasons have been decided by a play off format. Between 1973 and 1997 was the longest era where a first place league finish was used to decide the champions.
Years | Method | Competition |
---|---|---|
1895–96 | League leaders | First Division |
1896-01: County's League | ||
1901–06 | League leaders | First Division |
1906–15 | Playoffs | Championship Final |
1915–18: Wartime Emergency League | ||
1919–39 | Playoffs | Championship Final |
1939–41: County's League | ||
1941–45: Wartime Emergency League | ||
1945–47 | League leaders | First Division |
1947–62 | Playoffs | Championship Final |
1962–64 | League leaders | First Division |
1964–73 | Playoffs | Championship Final |
1973–96 | League leaders | First Division |
1996–97 | Super League | |
1998–present | Playoffs | Grand Final |
Season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Champions | Score | Runners-up | |
St. Helens | N/A | Wigan | |
Bradford | London | ||
Wigan | 10–4 | Leeds | |
St. Helens | 8–6 | Bradford | |
St. Helens | 29–16 | Wigan | |
Bradford | 37–6 | Wigan | |
St. Helens | 19–18 | Bradford | |
Bradford | 25–12 | Wigan | |
Leeds | 16–8 | Bradford | |
Bradford | 15–6 | Leeds | |
St. Helens | 26–4 | Hull F.C. | |
Leeds | 33–6 | St. Helens | |
Leeds | 24–16 | St. Helens | |
Leeds | 18–10 | St. Helens | |
Wigan | 22–10 | St. Helens | |
Leeds | 32–16 | St. Helens | |
Leeds | 26–18 | Warrington | |
Wigan | 30–16 | Warrington | |
St. Helens | 14–6 | Wigan | |
Leeds | 22–20 | Wigan | |
Wigan | 12–6 | Warrington | |
Leeds | 24–6 | Castleford | |
Wigan | 12–4 | Warrington | |
St. Helens | 23–6 | Salford | |
St. Helens | 8–4 | Wigan | |
St. Helens | 12–10 | Catalans | |
St. Helens | 24–12 | Leeds | |
Wigan | 10–2 | Catalans |
There are 23 clubs who have won the British title, including 4 who have won the Super League (1996–present). The most recent to join the list were Featherstone Rovers in 1977–78.
Four clubs have finished runners up without ever winning a Championship: Castleford Tigers (1938–39, 1968–69, 2017), Catalans Dragons (2021, 2023), London Broncos (1997) and the now defunct St Helens Recs (1926–27).
Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning seasons | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wigan | 23 | 16 | 1908/09, 1921/22, 1925/26, 1933/34, 1945/46, 1946/47, 1949/50, 1951/52, 1959/60, 1986/87, 1989/90, 1990/91, 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1998, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2023 |
2 | St. Helens | 17 | 16 | 1931/32, 1952/53, 1958/59, 1965/66, 1969/70, 1970/71, 1974/75, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 |
3 | Leeds | 11 | 11 | 1960/61, 1968/69, 1971/72, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 |
4 | Huddersfield | 7 | 6 | 1911/12, 1912/13, 1914/15, 1928/29, 1929/30, 1948/49, 1961/62 |
5 | Bradford | 6 | 7 | 1979/80, 1980/81, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005 |
Salford [3] | 5 | 1913/14, 1932/33, 1936/37, 1938/39, 1973/74, 1975/76 | ||
Hull F.C. | 4 | 1919/20, 1920/21, 1935/36, 1955/56, 1957/58, 1982/83 | ||
Swinton | 2 | 1926/27, 1927/28, 1930/31, 1934/35, 1962/63, 1963/64 | ||
6 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 5 | 3 | 1922/23, 1924/25, 1978/79, 1983/84, 1984/85 |
7 | Oldham | 4 | 5 | 1904/05, 1909/10, 1910/11, 1956/57 |
Halifax | 1902/03, 1906/07, 1964/65, 1985/86 | |||
8 | Warrington | 3 | 11 | 1947/48, 1953/54, 1954/55 |
Widnes | 4 | 1977/78, 1987/88, 1988/89 | ||
9 | Hunslet F.C. § | 2 | 2 | 1907/08, 1937/38 |
Wakefield Trinity | 1966/67, 1967/68 | |||
Leigh | 0 | 1905/06, 1981/82 | ||
10 | Featherstone Rovers | 1 | 2 | 1976/77 |
Bradford F.C. § | 1 | 1903/04 | ||
Workington Town | 1950/51 | |||
Dewsbury | 1972/73 | |||
Manningham § | 1895/96 | |||
Broughton § | 1901/02 | |||
Batley | 1923/24 | |||
11 | Castleford | 0 | 3 | N/A |
Catalans | 2 | |||
St Helens Recs § | 1 | |||
London |
Of the 19 clubs to win the title who still exist Batley have the longest title drought having won their last title in 1924 . Of the current top flight teams Warrington are waiting the longest for their next title having last won it in 1955 .
The longest gap between titles was Leigh who waited 76 years between 1906 and 1982.
The longest wait for a first title was by Featherstone Rovers was waited 76 years between their first season in 1921 and their title winning season in 1977.
Club | Years since last title |
---|---|
Wigan | 2023 |
St Helens | 2022 |
Leeds | 2017 |
Bradford | 2005 |
Widnes | 1989 |
Halifax | 1986 |
Hull Kingston Rovers | 1985 |
Hull F.C. | 1983 |
Leigh | 1982 |
Featherstone Rovers | 1977 |
Salford | 1976 |
Dewsbury | 1973 |
Wakefield Trinity | 1968 |
Swinton | 1964 |
Huddersfield | 1962 |
Oldham | 1957 |
Warrington | 1955 |
Workington Town | 1951 |
Batley | 1924 |
Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, the birthplace of rugby league, who play in the Super League competition. They play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C. Huddersfield is also one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, making them one of the world's first rugby league teams. The club itself was founded in 1864, making it the oldest rugby league club in the world.
The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, nine league championships and three World Club Challenges in 2002, 2004 and 2006. The team jersey is predominantly white with red, amber and black chevrons.
The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headingley Stadium since 1890.
Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Championship. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. The club has played at Belle Vue Stadium in Wakefield since 1895 and has rivalries with Castleford Tigers and Featherstone Rovers. Trinity were very successful in the 1960’s indeed Wakefield have been league champions twice in their history, when they went back to back in 1967 and 1968. In recent years, Wakefield won the Yorkshire cup in 1992, and won the 1998 Grand Final in the old 1st division
The Halifax Panthers are a professional rugby league club in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which formed in 1873. Halifax were one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that joined together in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They have been Rugby League Champions four times and have won the Challenge Cup five times. They were known as the Halifax Blue Sox between 1996 and 2002.
The Dewsbury Rams are a professional English rugby league club based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire that compete in the RFL Championship. They play their home games at the FLAIR Stadium, on Owl Lane. The Rams' main fanbase comes from their hometown of Dewsbury, but they also hold a strong following in Shaw Cross as well as in neighbouring Gawthorpe and Ossett, among other places. Prior to the 1997 season, the club was known as Dewsbury R.L.F.C.
The Batley Bulldogs are an English professional rugby league club in Batley, West Yorkshire, who play in the Championship. Batley were one of the original twenty-two rugby football clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. They were League Champions in 1924 and have won three Challenge Cups.
The History of the Bradford Bulls stretches back from their former incarnation as Bradford F.C. in 1863 to 2017.
The 1972–73 Northern Rugby Football League season was the 78th season of rugby league football played in England. It would also be the last season whereby the British championship was decided by a play-off system until Super League III in 1998. Dewsbury were crowned champions after defeating Leeds in the Final. The 1972–73 season was also punctuated by the 1972 Rugby League World Cup which was played in France in October and November. At the end of this season the league re-formed into two divisions. The top 16 in the championship would form Division 1 and the bottom 14 Division 2.
The 1895–96 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the first ever season of semi-professional rugby football, which formed the foundation of the modern-day sport of rugby league. Twenty-two Northern English teams from both sides of the Pennines broke away from the Rugby Football Union to create and compete in their own competition.
The 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the second ever season of rugby league football. Following the success of the Northern Union's first season, several more clubs from the established Rugby Football Union joined the rebel competition. This resulted in the decision that for the 1896–97 season the competition should be split into two separate county championships: Lancashire and Yorkshire. This season also saw the introduction of the Challenge Cup, with Batley defeating St Helens in the inaugural final.
Manningham was an English rugby league football club based in Manningham, Bradford, the first champions of the Rugby Football League in its first season. After seven seasons of rugby league, the club switched codes to Association football in 1903, becoming Bradford City Association Football Club.
The Rugby League Reserve Team Championship is a rugby league competition for the reserve teams of the British-based Super League clubs. Having a reserve team is a compulsory part of the minimum criteria to hold a Super League licence, but Catalans Dragons have dispensation to run their reserve team in the French Elite League for logistical reasons.
The Super League is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of which eleven are from Northern England, reflecting the sport's geographic heartland within the UK, and one from southern France.
The 1905–06 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the 11th season of rugby league football.
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The 2015 Rugby Football League Championship, known as the Kingstone Press Championship for sponsorship reasons, was a professional rugby league football competition played in the UK, one tier below the Super League.
In British rugby league, winning The Double refers to winning the League Championship, currently the Super League, and the Challenge Cup in the same season.
Rugby League in Yorkshire refers to the sport of rugby league in relation to its participation and history within Yorkshire, England. The traditional county is the largest in the United Kingdom and as thus has many rugby clubs, professional and amateur.
The Rugby Football League Women's Super League is the elite women's rugby league club competition in England. Originally competed between four teams in the 2017 season, the league has developed with the 2023 season being contested by 12 teams playing home and away against each other in two groups with subsequent play-offs and Grand Final.