2014 RFL Championship


The 2014 Rugby Football League Championship, known as the Kingstone Press Championship due to sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in the UK, one tier below the first tier Super League. The 2014 season was the second and final season to consist of a 14-team division following the expansion of the league in 2013.
Relegation to Championship 1 was in place for the 2014 season, along with the play-offs with the format for the play-offs remaining the same with no promotion to the Super League. With two Super League teams relegated in 2014 and the Championship reduced to 12 teams in 2015, as part of the reform of the leagues, five teams were relegated at the end of the regular season with one team promoted at the end of 2014 Championship 1.

Teams

The competition featured 12 of the 14 teams from 2013 plus the Champions and Play-off winner of the 2013 Championship 1 season, which were North Wales Crusaders and Rochdale Hornets. Hunslet Hawks and York City Knights, who finished in the bottom two in 2013 were relegated into Championship 1.
Team & Current SeasonStadiumCapacityLocation
Barrow RaidersCraven Park7,600Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
Batley Bulldogsloverugbyleague.com Stadium6,000Batley, West Yorkshire
Dewsbury RamsTetley's Stadium5,100Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
DoncasterKeepmoat Stadium15,231Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Featherstone RoversBigfellas Stadium6,750Featherstone, West Yorkshire
HalifaxThe Shay Stadium6,561Halifax, West Yorkshire
Keighley CougarsCougar Park7,800Keighley, West Yorkshire
Leigh CenturionsLeigh Sports Village12,700Leigh, Greater Manchester
North Wales CrusadersRacecourse Ground10,500 Wrexham, Wales
Rochdale HornetsSpotland10,249Rochdale, Greater Manchester
Sheffield EaglesOwlerton Stadium4,000Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Swinton LionsLeigh Sports Village12,700Leigh, Greater Manchester
WhitehavenRecreation Ground7,500Whitehaven, Cumbria
Workington TownDerwent Park10,000Workington, Cumbria

Season Standings

Teams qualifying for the Play-offs
Teams in relegation position

This table is correct as of 01/10/2014.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20150717201708/http://www.rugbyleaguechampionships.co.uk/match_day/league_table
Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.

Competition points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1.

Season Results

The regular league season saw the 14 teams play each other twice over 26 matches. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season went through to the play-offs to determine the winners of the Championship.