Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league or simply league, rugby, football, or footy, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres wide and 112–122 metres long. It is one of the two extant codes of rugby football, it originated in Yorkshire in 1895 as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union over the issue of payments to the players. Its rules progressively changed with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income it depended.
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisation. This has since been supplanted by Super League, the Championship and League 1.
Henry Paul, also known by the nickname of "HP", is a former dual-code international rugby league and rugby union footballer. Paul represented New Zealand in rugby league and England in rugby union and rugby sevens. He once held the world record for the most consecutive kicks on the field, a record now held by Neil Jenkins. Paul still holds the record of kicking the most goals in a Super League season with 178 for Bradford back in 2001 and the record for the most goals in a game, being 14, when playing for Bradford in 2000.
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to serve as "the national governing body charged with achieving and maintaining high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby." USA Rugby is responsible for the promotion and development of the sport in the U.S. and promotion of U.S. international participation.
Rugby league is played across England but is most popular in Northern England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire where the game originated. These areas are the heartland of rugby league. The sport is also popular in Cumbria where the amateur game is particularly powerful.
Rugby league has been played in France since 1934. As with rugby union, rugby league was introduced by the English and the heartland of the game is in the south of France.
Rugby league is a team sport in Russia. The Russian Association of Rugby League Clubs (ARLK) is the governing body of rugby league in Russia. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Rugby League and European Rugby League banned Russia from all international rugby league competitions.
Rugby league football is a participation and spectator sport in Canada. The code was first introduced to Canada in the 20th century, but the game struggled to survive in a competitive sporting market. By the end of the century, rugby league had disappeared completely from Canada. The game was re-introduced to Canada in the early 21st century with the formation of a national team. The start of an amateur domestic competition saw rugby league grow. In 2017, professional rugby league arrived in Canada with the Toronto Wolfpack joining the predominantly British and French Rugby Football League system in the third tier League 1.
The Rugby Canada Super League was a national, semi-professional rugby union competition in Canada. The league represented the second level of domestic rugby union in Canada, and the highest level wholly indigenous to Canada. In terms of seniority it rested immediately beneath the IRB sponsored North America 4, a former US/Canadian cross-border competition in which two Canadian teams took part. Most players took part in RCSL on an amateur basis.
Rugby union in Russia is a moderately popular sport. Russia was in 2011 ranked 20th worldwide by the World Rugby, having over three hundred clubs and close to 22,000 players nationally. Russian Rugby Championship is the top-level professional competition held in Russia. Krasnoyarsk, in the middle of Siberia, is traditionally the heartland of Russian rugby.
Rugby union is a moderately popular sport in Canada; it is quite strong as a participation sport, particularly in several hotspots like British Columbia, Atlantic Canada, and Ontario but does not attract the same level of spectator support yet, likely because the CFL's popular brand of Canadian Football is still similar to rugby in many ways, whilst also being the dominant football code in the country. Rugby Canada is the administrative body for rugby union in Canada. Every province also has its own union.
Charlotte Rugby Club, nicknamed the "Old Originals", are a rugby union team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They currently play in USA Rugby Division II, and are members of the USA Rugby South. They play home games at Skillbeck Athletic Grounds.
Belmont Shore Rugby Club is an American rugby union team named after the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach, California, which has a tradition of amateur rugby.
Hodges Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the University of North Florida (UNF), and the home field for the North Florida Ospreys soccer, track and field, and cross country teams. It is located on the university's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It is named for George and Kernan Hodges, who donated $2 million to upgrade the facility in 2006.
The Harvard Rugby Football Club is a collegiate rugby team at Harvard College. Harvard's team is the oldest Rugby team in the United States. With around 60 members, Harvard Rugby is also one of the largest club teams at Harvard. In past years, the team traveled to Berkeley, California for the National Tournament after having taken the Ivy League title.
The Hamilton Tigers were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and 1948 to 1949 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1947. The club was a founding member of both the ORFU in 1883 and the IRFU in 1907. Throughout their history, the Tigers won five Grey Cup Championships and two Dominion Championships, including the 1908 title, the year before the Grey Cup was first awarded. After struggling to compete on a sound financial level with the Hamilton Wildcats, who had joined the ORFU in 1941 and later the IRFU, the two clubs merged in 1950 to form the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The most popular sports in Jamaica are mostly imported from Britain. The most popular sports are athletics, cricket and association football; other popular sports include basketball and netball.
Canada Rugby League (CRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in Canada. Founded in 2010, the CRL organizes the Canada national rugby league team and supports the development of the game through the country's domestic competitions.
The Montreal Football Club was a Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec that played in the Quebec Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1915. The club was a founding member of the QRFU and played in the first football game in Quebec in 1872. The club was dominant in Quebec, winning 12 of the 24 QRFU titles in the years that they played in that league. Montreal also won the first Canadian Dominion Football Championship in 1884, a predecessor of the Grey Cup and again won the championship in their first season in the IRFU in 1907.
The Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC) was a Canadian amateur rugby union competition, partially funded by the World Rugby. It was the highest level of men's domestic rugby in Canada. Four representative teams from regions across Canada competed for the MacTier Cup. The CRC was started in 2009 by Rugby Canada and was held annually from August to September. Rugby Canada also held CRC tournaments for under-19 men, under-20 women, and senior women.
Canada