Super League


Super League is the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The league currently has eleven teams: ten from England and one from France.
Super League began in 1996, replacing the First Division and switching from a winter to a summer season. Each team plays 29 games between February and September: 11 home games, 11 away games, Magic Weekend and an additional 6 'loop fixtures' decided by league positions. The top five then enter the play-off series leading to the Grand Final which determines the champions. The bottom team is relegated to the Championship.
The Super League champions play the National Rugby League champions from Australasia in the World Club Challenge at the start of the season.

History

1996–2001: Establishment

A "super league" competition was first mooted during the Australian Super League war as a way for Rupert Murdoch to gain the upper hand during the battle for broadcasting supremacy with the Australian Rugby League. Murdoch also approached the British clubs to form Super League. A large sum of money aided the decision, and the competition got under way in 1996. Part of the deal saw rugby league switch from a winter to a summer season. The 12 founding teams of Super League were:
Initially, several mergers between existing clubs were proposed:
They were to be included with the following stand-alone clubs: Bradford Northern, Halifax, Leeds,, Paris Saint-Germain, St. Helens and Wigan.
However this proved so unpopular that only existing clubs were selected for the competition. The clubs finishing below 10th in the existing top flight were excluded, which meant Featherstone Rovers, Hull, Wakefield Trinity and Widnes were left out, as were pioneering club Keighley who had just won the Second Division Championship. London Broncos, who had come fourth in the Second Division, were "fast-tracked" in on commercial grounds. A new team, Paris Saint-Germain, was created to give a French dimension. Between 1998 and 2000 there was no relegation from Super League.

2002–2008: Promotion and relegation

After two years Paris were dropped from the competition. Promotion and relegation between Super League and the Rugby League National Leagues was re-introduced, and in 2002 the Super League Europe governing body re-integrated fully into the Rugby Football League. In 2006, French side Catalans Dragons from Perpignan joined the league, becoming the second non-English team to compete. To facilitate this move, two clubs were relegated from Super League at the end of the 2005 season: Leigh who finished bottom of the league were replaced by the one club coming up from the National Leagues and Widnes who finished 11th were dropped for Les Catalans, thus the number of clubs in Super League remained at 12.

2009–2014: Licensing

Super League licences were announced in May 2005 by the RFL as the new determinant of the Super League competition's participants from 2009 in place of promotion and relegation. The licences were awarded after consideration of more factors than just the on-the-field performance of a club. 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.
The RFL stated that clubs applying to compete in Super League would be assessed by criteria in four areas with the final evaluations and decisions being taken by the RFL board of directors.
Successful applicants were licensed for three years of Super League competition and three-yearly reviews of Super League membership took place to ensure ambitious clubs lower down the leagues can still be successful.
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 Super League, while those who achieved a C Licence underwent further scrutiny before the RFL decided who made the final cut.
First licensing period
In June 2008, the RFL confirmed that Super League would be expanded from 12 teams to 14 in 2009, and on 22 July 2008 the RFL confirmed the teams awarded licences. The teams announced were the 12 existing Super League teams along with National League 1 teams, Celtic Crusaders and Salford. Celtic Crusaders becoming 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.
Second licensing period
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, but despite this only Barrow, Halifax and Widnes decided to submit an application. 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.
The Rugby Football League's final decision was announced on 26 July 2011, Widnes would be joining thirteen existing Super League teams with Crusaders RL having withdrawn their application and Halifax not meeting the criteria. Crusaders CEO Rod Findlay stated that the club's finances were not in a good enough condition to justify their place in Super League. 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." Wakefield had been favourites to lose their licence before Crusaders' withdrawal.

2015–2018: Super 8s

At the 2013 Annual General Meeting at 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.
The 12 First Utility Super League and 12 Kingstone Press Championship clubs played each other home and away over 22 "rounds", plus a Magic Weekend for both divisions, making a 23-game regular season. 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:
Funding for clubs was tiered in both leagues to prevent relegation-related financial difficulties.
In June 2015 8 of the 12 Super League clubs voted to allow a Marquee Player that could exceed a clubs salary cap as long as they can afford their wages. The marquee player rule came into force for the 2016 Super League season.

2019–onwards: Super League split from RFL

On 14 September 2018, an EGM was called to discuss the future of the sport and a change in structure, as the clubs were in favour of scrapping the Super 8s in favour of a more conventional structure
. The Super League clubs voted to split from the RFL and appoint their own CEO to have more control over TV and sponsorship money as well as scrapping the Super 8s but retaining promotion and relegation to apease the Championship clubs.
After the 2020 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom there were calls made from Super League clubs for the two executive bodies - Super League Europe and the RFL - to re-amalgamate.

Structure

Super League regular season

12 teams compete in Super League. They play each other twice on a home-and-away basis, interrupted by the Magic Weekend round in May. The 12 clubs also play 6 loop fixtures to bring the number of games in a season to 29. The team finishing bottom after 29 rounds collects the Wooden Spoon, and is relegated, while the team finishing first is awarded the League Leaders Shield. The top 5 teams at the end of the season enter the playoffs.
Super League adopted Golden point during regular season for the first time in 2019, bringing it in line with the NRL which had been using the system since 2003.

Magic Weekend

In an attempt to expand out of the traditional rugby league "heartlands", and market the game to a wider audience, the RFL has staged games in large stadiums, in places without a strong rugby league presence. The "Magic Weekend" concept, which involves staging an entire round of Super League in such a stadium, was first staged in Cardiff in 2007. Dubbed "Millennium Magic", and played in the Millennium Stadium, the concept was held in Cardiff again in 2008. In 2009 and 2010, the event was held in Edinburgh at the Scottish national rugby union stadium, giving rise to the name changing to "Murrayfield Magic". Generally held during the May Day weekend, 2011 saw the Magic Weekend return to Cardiff, and was held during the weekend 12–13 February, and serving as the season opener. from 2014–2018, the event was held at St James' Park in Newcastle.
In 2019, the event was held at Anfield in Liverpool, before returning to Newcastle for the 2020 season.

Play-offs

The play-offs have had various formats. St. Helens are the only team to take part in every playoff series since the inaugural series in 1998
The current play-off system was previously used between 1998 and 2001. The same system was used in the NSWRL's Sydney Competition 1973–1994, the Australian Super League in its only season 1997, the VFL, 1972–1990 and New Zealand's Lion Red Cup, 1994–1996, and Bartercard Cup, 2000–2006.
From week two on the Top five play-offs system reflected exactly the Page playoff system.
The Top Five Super League Play-Off Structure:
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four

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.
CityStadiumYears
ManchesterOld Trafford1998–present

Largest attendance
YearCityStadiumAttendance
2015 ManchesterOld Trafford73,512

Other competitions

Challenge Cup

The Challenge Cup is a separate cup competition, involving clubs from Super League and all levels of rugby league in Britain. It has been held annually since 1896 and has been expanded so teams in Canada, Serbia, Ireland, Russia, France, Scotland and Wales can take part. The cup runs throughout the season, and the final is usually played on the August bank holiday at Wembley Stadium. Until Super League, the final would take place at Wembley Stadium at the end of April or start of May, usually 2 weeks after the regular season ended.

Clubs

Current clubs

a: Founding member of the Super League

b: Appeared in every Super League season since 1996

c: One of the original 22 RFL teams
Current Champions

Former Super League clubs

Academies

Reserve league

In 2014 and 2015 Super League clubs were unhappy with the Dual registration system and wanted to form an under-23 reserve leagues between the under-19s and first teams. Wigan, Warrington and St Helens were the first teams to propose the return of the reserve league where players could move from the under 19s and play with professional players before playing in the first team. A reserve league was set up in 2016 with a mixture of Super League, Championship and League 1 teams.

Dual registration

Dual registration refers to an arrangement between clubs whereby a player continues to be registered to his current Super League club and is also registered to play for a club in the Championship. The system is aimed at young Super League players who are thought to be not quite ready to make the step up to 'week in, week out' Super League first team duties but for whom first team match experience is likely to be beneficial for their development.
In 2017 the following teams will run in each of the Senior Academy divisions:
Super League Academy – U19s:
The league format changed in 1998 and the championship became a play-off series to determine the Super League champions. This meant a reintroduction of a final to determine the European champions, the first since the 1972–73 season. For the first 2 seasons of Super League, there was no Grand Final - The winners of the league were the team that finished top, as before in the previous Championship leagues.

Results

The Double

In rugby league, the term 'the Double' is referring to the achievement of a club that wins the top division and Challenge Cup in the same season. To date, this has been achieved by a total ten different clubs but by only four different clubs during the Super League era.
ClubWinsWinning years
1 Wigan Warriors71989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93,
1993–94, 1994–95, 2013
2 St. Helens31965–66, 1996, 2006
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.
ClubWinsWinning years
1
Wigan Warriors
31991–92, 1992–93, 1994–95
2
Huddersfield Giants
21912–13, 1914–15
3
St. Helens
21965–66, 2006
4
Hunslet F.C. §
11907–08
5
Swinton Lions
11927–28
6
Bradford Bulls
12003
7
Leeds Rhinos
12015

All Four Cups

Winning all Four Cups refers to winning the Super League, League Leaders' Shield, Challenge Cup and World Club Challenge in one season. Not all of these cups were available in the past but have replaced other cups that could be won.
ClubWinsWinning years
1
Hunslet F.C. §
11907–08
2
Huddersfield Giants
11914–15
3
Swinton Lions
11927–28
4
Wigan Warriors
11994–95
5
Bradford Bulls
12003–04
6
St. Helens
12006–07

Teams relegated

Awards

League Leaders' Shield

The League Leaders' Shield is awarded to the team finishing the regular season top of Super League; this is also known as a minor premiership. The League Leader's Shield was introduced only in 2003, previously no prize was awarded to the team finishing top following the introduction of the Grand Final.
ClubWinsWinning years
1 St. Helens91996, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2019
2 Wigan Warriors41998, 2000, 2010, 2012
3 Bradford Bulls41997, 1999, 2001, 2003
4 Leeds Rhinos32004, 2009, 2015
5 Warrington Wolves22011, 2016
6 Huddersfield Giants12013
7 Castleford Tigers12017

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 Leeds with eight 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 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.
Following their 2014 and 2015 defeats to St. Helens and Leeds respectively, Wigan have now equalled St Helens's record of losing five Grand Finals. Hull FC, Warrington, and Castleford 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 2019 dream team is as follows:
PlayerTeamAppearance
1 Lachlan Coote St. Helens1
2 Thomas Makinson St. Helens4
3 Kevin Naiqama St. Helens1
4 Konrad Hurrell Leeds Rhinos1
5 Ash Handley Leeds Rhinos1
6 Blake Austin Warrington Wolves1
7 Jackson Hastings Salford Red Devils1
8 Liam Watts Castleford Tigers1
9 Daryl Clark Warrington Wolves2
10 Luke Thompson St. Helens2
11 Josh Jones Salford Red Devils1
12 Liam Farrell Wigan Warriors2
13 Morgan Knowles St. Helens1

Coaches

Head coaches with Super League titles

The Super League has been won by 14 different coaches, 9 from Australia, 4 from England and 1 from New Zealand.
Head CoachWinsWinning years
1 Brian McDermott42011, 2012, 2015, 2017
2 Brian Noble32001, 2003, 2005
3 Shaun Wane32013, 2016, 2018
4 Ian Millward22000, 2002
5 Tony Smith22004, 2007
6 Brian McClennan22008, 2009
7 Shaun McRae 11996
8 Matthew Elliott11997
9 John Monie11998
10 Ellery Hanley11999
11 Daniel Anderson12006
12 Michael Maguire12010
13 Nathan Brown12014
14 Justin Holbrook12019

Coaches to have coached at least 200 Super League games

Statistics correct as of 15 March 2020
RankPlayerClubGames
1 Tony SmithHuddersfield
Leeds,
Warrington
Hull KR 		453
2 Brian McDermottHarlequins
Leeds
Toronto 		340
3 Brian NobleBradford
Wigan
Crusaders
Salford 		321
4 Shaun McRaeSt. Helens
Gateshead
Hull
Salford 		312
5 Daryl PowellLeeds
Castleford 		285
6 John KearSheffield,
Huddersfield
Hull
Wakefield 		272
7 Ian MillwardSt. Helens
Wigan
Castleford 		228
8 Shaun WaneWigan 208

Players

RankPlayerYearsClubAppearances
1 Kevin Sinfield1997–2015Leeds454
2 Andy Lynch1999–2017Castleford, Bradford, Hull FC, Castleford452
3 Paul Wellens1998–2015St. Helens443
4 Jamie Peacock1998–2015Bradford, Leeds438
5= Rob Burrow2001–2017Leeds431
5= Leon Pryce1998–2016Bradford, St. Helens, Hull FC, Catalans431
7 Ben Westwood1999–2019Wakefield, Warrington430
8 Danny Tickle2000–2018Halifax, Wigan, Hull FC, Widnes, Castleford, Leigh, Hull KR419
9 Keith Senior1996– 2011Sheffield, Leeds413
10 Lee Gilmour1997–2014Wigan, Bradford, St. Helens, Huddersfield, Castleford, Wakefield412
11= Danny McGuire2001–2019Leeds, Hull KR408
11= James Roby2004–presentSt. Helens408
13 Lee Briers1997–2013St. Helens, Warrington402
14 Sean O'Loughlin2002–presentWigan400
15 Jon Wilkin2003–2018,
2020–present		St. Helens, Toronto385
16 Paul Deacon1997–2011Oldham, Bradford, Wigan384
17 Keiron Cunningham1996–2010St. Helens382
18 Danny Orr1997–2012Castleford, Wigan, Harlequins RL, Castleford381
19 Jamie Jones-Buchanan1999–2019Leeds366
20 Jon Clarke1997–2014Wigan, London, Warrington, Widnes360
21 Stuart Fielden1998–2013Bradford, Wigan, Huddersfield359
22 Richard Horne1999–2014Hull353
23 Mickey Higham2001–2017St. Helens, Wigan, Warrington, Leigh352

Tries

RankPlayerYearsClubsTries
1 Danny McGuire2001–2019Leeds, Hull KR247
2= Paul Wellens1998–2015St. Helens199
2= Keith Senior1996–2011Sheffield, Leeds199
4 Ryan Hall2007–2018Leeds196
5 Ryan Atkins2005–presentBradford, Wakefield x2,
Warrington		186

Points

RankPlayerYearsClubsPoints
1 Kevin Sinfield1997–2015Leeds3,443
2 Danny Brough2005–2006, 2008–presentHull FC, Castleford,
Wakefield x2, Huddersfield		2,462
3 Paul Deacon1997–2011Oldham, Bradford, Wigan2,415
4 Andrew Farrell1996–2004Wigan2,372
5 Pat Richards2006–2013, 2016Wigan, Catalans2,280

Winning captains

10 players have captained teams to win the Super League.
CaptainWinsWinning years
1 Kevin Sinfield72004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015
2 Sean O'Loughlin42010, 2013, 2016, 2018
3 Chris Joynt31999, 2000, 2002
4 Robbie Paul31997, 2001, 2003
5 Bobbie Goulding11996
6 Andy Farrell11998
7 Jamie Peacock12005
8 Sean Long12006
9 Paul Wellens12014
10 Danny McGuire12017
11 James Roby12019

Top Try Scorer by season

Top Points Scorer by season

Logo

The Super League has had three official logos. The first was used for the inaugural season in 1996 and 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.
The second official logo was introduced in 2017 as part of a radical rebrand across British rugby league. The design was similar to the Rugby Football League and England logos. It had a rectangular backdrop representing the George Hotel, where rugby league was founded, thirteen lines representing thirteen players, a chevron which are well known for appearing on rugby league shirts and the S which represents the ball and the Super League. The current champions have a gold logo.
Ahead of the 2020 Super League season a new logo was revealed. The new logo was designed by the same company who redesigned the Premier League logo and was more simplistic than previous designs.

Sponsorship

Super League has been sponsored since its formation, apart from the 2013 season.
The title sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. There have been seven different title sponsors since the league's formation:
PeriodSponsorName
1996–1997Stones BitterStones Super League
1998–1999JJB SportsJJB Super League
2000–2004Tetley's BitterTetley's Super League
2005–2011Engage Mutual AssuranceEngage Super League
2012Stobart GroupStobart Super League
2013no sponsorSuper League
2014–2016First UtilityFirst Utility Super League
2017-2021BetfredBetfred Super League

As well as title sponsorship, Super League has a number of official partners and suppliers. For the 2017 season these include Kingstone Press Cider, Dacia, Foxy Bingo, Batchelors and Specsavers.
The official rugby ball supplier is Steeden.

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. 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. 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.

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.
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:
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.

Squad announcement system

Before each Super League fixture, each club must announce the squad of 19 players it will choose from by 2.00pm on the second day before the match day.

Match officials

All Super League matches are governed by the laws set out by the RFL; these laws are enforced by match officials. Former Super League and International Referee Steve Ganson is the current Head of Match Officials and Technical Director. Former Hull F.C. player and Huddersfield Head Coach Jon Sharp was the previous Head of Match Officials. Sharp was sacked in July 2015 and took up the role of Head Coach at Featherstone Rovers. He assumed his role at the RFL following Stuart Cummings' departure in March 2013 having previously held the role of Match Officials Coach & Technical Director.

Criticism

Big Four dominance

Season Bradford Bulls Leeds Rhinos St. Helens Wigan Warriors
1996310ChampionsRunners up
1997Champions534
19985Runners up4Champions
1999Runners up3Champions4
200034ChampionsRunners up
2001Champions54Runners up
2002Runners up4Champions3
2003Champions24Runners up
2004Runners upChampions54
2005ChampionsRunners up17
200643Champions8
20073ChampionsRunners up6
20085ChampionsRunners up4
20099ChampionsRunners up6
Titles4451

Season Leeds Rhinos St. Helens Wigan Warriors Warrington Wolves
20104Runners upChampions3
2011ChampionsRunners up21
2012Champions31Runners up
201335ChampionsRunners up
20146ChampionsRunners up5
2015Champions4Runners up6
201694ChampionsRunners up
2017Champions469
201891ChampionsRunners up
20198Champions24
Titles4240

Since its formation in 1996 only four teams have won the Super League. Also, only a total of eight teams have taken part in the Grand Final. Seven different teams have been the league leaders, however only one of these is a different team to those that have appeared in the grand final, meaning that only nine different teams have been involved in the grand final or topped the regular season table, however, a total of 23 teams have taken part in Super League since its inception.
In comparison, in the same period, 12 different teams have won the Australasian National Rugby League competition and 15 different teams have appeared in the Grand Final.

Licensing

Between 2009 and 2014 teams had to apply for a licence to play in Super League, this also meant there was no automatic promotion between Super League and the Championship. This was unpopular with Championship clubs because there was no fair and easy way for them to get promoted into Super League and it was seen as a closed shop.
Attendances in the lower divisions dropped as a result of this system because it was felt that there was little appeal in these leagues when there was no incentive for the clubs to win the Championship. Also the only time that lower division clubs got the chance to play Super League opposition was in the early rounds of the Challenge Cup. With no route to the Super League however, teams were unable to compete with top division opposition because there was no way that clubs could attract top talent when players would not be playing in top-level rugby league.

M62 Corridor

Most of the teams that have competed in it have been in its heartlands of the M62 Corridor between Yorkshire and Lancashire. Catalans Dragons and the Toronto Wolfpack are the only teams currently playing in Super League who are outside its traditional headland in the North of England, and are considered a success compared to teams such as the North Wales Crusaders.
Expansion was a key policy of the Rugby Football League when Super League was created. Along with the above-mentioned teams, Paris Saint-Germain RL competed from the beginning of the competition but departed after just two seasons due to a lack of interest and investment. Another team to fail from outside the heartlands was Gateshead Thunder who now compete as Newcastle Thunder.
Expansion has taken place in the lower divisions and this is a continuing policy of the RFL. At present nine expansion clubs take part in the lower divisions with 1 in the Championship and 8 in the Championship 1. In 2015, it was announced that Toulouse Olympique had been granted entry into League 1, the third division of European rugby league; the team has previously competed in the Championship. This brought the total number of expansion teams across the top 3 divisions to 10. In 2016 it was announced that a team based in Toronto, Canada had also been granted access to League 1. Toronto Wolfpack began to play in the 2017 season, eventually qualifying for the 2020 Super League season, and take the number of expansion clubs to 11. This also means that teams taking part in the top 3 divisions come from 4 countries and 2 continents.

Media coverage

Television

have been the primary broadcast partner of Super League since its inaugural season in 1996. The current deal lasts until 2021 and covers 80 matches per season, rising to 100 from 2015. They currently have the rights to show live Super League games in both Ireland and the United Kingdom; two live matches are broadcast each week – one on Thursday nights at 7:30pm and another at 7:30pm on Friday nights. From 2014, they also simulcast all of Catalans Dragons' home games.
Detailed Sky coverage
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 Midlands, North East & Cumbria, and East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire regions on BBC 1 on Monday nights and is repeated nationally on BBC 2 on Tuesday afternoons. 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 programmeDurationBroadcaster
Super League Show1999–PresentBBC

International

Internationally Super League is shown live by eight different broadcasters in eight different countries and regions.
Country/ RegionBroadcaster
Middle EastOSN
North AfricaOSN
beIn Sports
Sky Sport
Māori Television
Fox Soccer Plus
Sportsnet World
TSN
BandSports
NTV+
BalkansSportklub
Fox League

Radio

is an official broadcaster of Super League, broadcasting commentaries and magazine programming on Talksport 2. BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra covers more than 70 Super League games through 5 Live Rugby League each Thursday and Friday night. Each 3 hour programme is presented by Dave Woods with a guest summariser 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:
StationArea
BBC Radio HumbersideHull
BBC Radio LeedsWest Yorkshire
BBC Radio ManchesterSalford, Wigan and Warrington.
BBC Radio MerseysideSt Helens, Warrington and Widnes.

The competition is also covered on commercial radio stations:
All Super League commentaries on any station are available via the particular stations on-line streaming.

Internet

, 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. 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.

Inline

General

*