First Utility Super League

Country	England
Other club(s) from	France
Confederation	RFL
Founded	1996
Number of teams	12
Levels on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Championship
Domestic cup(s)	Challenge Cup
International cup(s)	World Club Series
Current champions	St Helens (6th title)
Most championships	St Helens Leeds Rhinos (6 titles)
TV partners	Sky Sports & BBC (highlights)
Website	superleague.co.uk
Super League XIX

The First Utility Super League (sponsored by utility supplier First Utility from 2014) is the top-level professional rugby league club competition in Europe. The league has twelve teams: eleven from England and one from France. The current champions are St Helens RFC.

Super League began in 1996, replacing the RFL Championship and switching from a winter to a summer season. Each team plays 23 games between February and July: 11 home games, 11 away games and a Magic Weekend game at a neutral venue. At the end of the season, the top eight teams enter a Super 8 stage, playing each other once more. The top four then enter the play-off series leading to the Grand Final which determines the champions.

The Super League champions play against the National Rugby League (NRL) champions (from Australia/New Zealand) in the Probiz World Club Challenge.

History

1996–2001: Establishment

The 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.

"Supporters will see a better game in better surroundings, and the deal will see their sport receive a greater profile nationally and internationally."
Rodney Walker, RFL chairman, welcomes Super League, 5 April 1995

Tetley's was the League's title sponsor from 2001–2005

Initially, several mergers between existing clubs were proposed:

• Castleford, Wakefield Trinity and Featherstone Rovers would form Calder
• Hull and Hull Kingston Rovers would form Hull
• Salford and Oldham were to form Manchester
• Sheffield and Doncaster were to form South Yorkshire
• Warrington and Widnes were to form Cheshire
• Whitehaven, Workington Town, Barrow and Carlisle would form Cumbria

They were to be included with the following stand-alone clubs: Bradford Northern, Halifax, Leeds, London Broncos, 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 Cougars 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.

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 (SLE) governing body re-integrated fully into the Rugby Football League (RFL). In 2006, French side Catalans Dragons (also known as UTC or Les Catalans) 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 (and would have stayed up any other year) 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 (stadium facilities, finance and business performance, commercial and marketing and playing strength, including junior production and development) with the final evaluations and decisions being taken by the RFL board of directors.

Successful applicants were licenced 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 City Reds. Celtic Crusaders becoming the first Welsh team to play in Super League and the only team to be awarded a licences who had never played in the Super League previously.

Featherstone Rovers, Halifax, Leigh Centurions and Widnes Vikings 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

Logistics company Stobart Group was the League's title sponsor in 2012.

For the 2012–2014 seasons Championship sides Batley Bulldogs, Barrow Raiders, Featherstone Rovers, Halifax RLFC and Widnes Vikings 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 Vikings were awarded a Super League licence; Barrow Raiders, 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.

Restructure and return of relegation (2015-onwards)

2015 Rugby League Structure. 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 will play each other home and away over 22 rounds, including a Magic Weekend for both divisions. Following the conclusion of their regular league seasons, the 24 clubs will then compete in a play-off series where they split into 3 leagues of 8 based upon league position:

• The top 8 Super League clubs will continue to compete in the Super 8s. After playing each other once (either home or away), the top 4 clubs will progress to the semi-finals to determine who will compete in the Grand Final and be crowned champions.
• The remaining (bottom 4) Super League clubs and the top 4 Championship clubs will compete in the Qualifiers. They will play each other once (either home or away) to determine which four of the clubs will compete in Super League the following year.
• The remaining (bottom 8) Championship clubs will compete for the Championship Shield and to avoid relegation to Kingstone Press League 1. Two clubs will be relegated each year.

Funding for clubs will be tiered in both leagues to prevent relegation related financial difficulties.

Clubs

Current clubs

Super League clubs
Colors	Club	Established	City	Stadium	Capacity*	Titles (Last)
	Castleford Tigers	1925	Castleford, West Yorkshire	The Mend-a-Hose Jungle	12,000	0 (N/A)
	Catalans Dragons	2000	Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France	Stade Gilbert Brutus	13,000	0 (N/A)
	Huddersfield Giants	1864	Huddersfield, West Yorkshire	John Smith's Stadium	24,500	7 (1962)
	Hull F.C.	1865	Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire	KC Stadium	25,404	6 (1983)
	Hull Kingston Rovers	1882	Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire	KC Lightstream Stadium	12,000	5 (1985)
	Leeds Rhinos	1864	Leeds, West Yorkshire	Headingley Carnegie Stadium	20,500	9 (2012)
	Salford Red Devils	1873	Salford, Greater Manchester	AJ Bell Stadium	12,000	6 (1976)
	St Helens	1873	St. Helens, Merseyside	Langtree Park	18,000	13 (2014)
	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	1873	Wakefield, West Yorkshire	Rapid Solicitors Stadium	12,000	2 (1968)
	Warrington Wolves	1876	Warrington, Cheshire	Halliwell Jones Stadium	15,500	3 (1955)
	Widnes Vikings	1875	Widnes, Cheshire	Select Security Stadium	13,500	3 (1989)
	Wigan Warriors	1872	Wigan, Greater Manchester	DW Stadium	24,057	20 (2013)

• *capacity for Rugby League games may differ from official stadium capacity.
• *Gold - current Super League Champions
• *Bold - Played in all 20 Super League Seasons (1996-2015)

Clubs that have played in Super League

Previous Super League clubs
Colors	Club	Established	City	Stadium	Capacity*
	Bradford Bulls	1907	Bradford, West Yorkshire	Odsal	27,491
	Crusaders Rugby League	2005	Bridgend, Wales (2009) / Wrexham, Wales (2010-2011)	Brewery Field (2009) / Racecourse Ground (2010-2011)	8,000 / 15,500
	Gateshead Thunder	1999	Gateshead, Tyne and Wear	Thunderdome Stadium	11,800
	Halifax RLFC	1873	Halifax, West Yorkshire	The Shay	14,000
	Leigh Centurions	1878	Leigh, Greater Manchester	Leigh Sports Village	12,005
	London Broncos	1980	Barnet, Greater London	The Hive	5,176
	Oldham Roughyeds	1876	Oldham, Greater Manchester	Whitebank Stadium	1,500
	Paris Saint-Germain	1995	Paris, France	Stade Sébastien Charléty	20,000
	Sheffield Eagles	1984	Sheffield, South Yorkshire	Don Valley Stadium	15,000
	Workington Town	1945	Workington, Cumbria	Derwent Park	10,000

*capacity for Rugby League games may differ from official stadium capacity.

Current academies

In 2014 the following teams will run in each of the Senior Academy divisions:

NB:

• The Academy U19s competition is primarily for Super League clubs. Catalans Dragons does not currently have a teams in the league as they run their lower grade sides in the French league; however they will be joining the competition from 2015.
• The Academy U19s competition has a 6 team play-off with a Grand Final at the end of the play-off series.
• The Championships U20s have a 3 team play-off with a Grand Final at the end of the play-off series.
• Many Super League, Championship and Championship 1 sides also have Academy U16 teams. They compete in a small number of games throughout the season and all such games are seen as friendly matches.

All Time Super League table

• Correct up to start of 2015 season.

• Gold - Currently playing in Super League
• Grey - Team now defunct

Point deductions

• 2001 - Wakefield - Salary Cap Breach - 2 points
• 2003 - Halifax - Salary Cap Breach - 2 points
• 2003 - Hull - Salary Cap Breach - 2 points
• 2003 - St Helens - Salary Cap Breach - 2 points
• 2006 - Bradford - Salary Cap Breach - 2 points
• 2006 - Wigan - Salary Cap Breach - 2 points
• 2007 - Bradford - Salary Cap Breach - 2 points
• 2007 - Wigan - Salary Cap Breach - 4 points
• 2011 - Wakefield - Administration - 4 points
• 2011 - Crusaders - Administration - 4 points
• 2012 - Bradford - Administration - 6 points
• 2013 - Salford - Fielding Extra Man - 2 points
• 2014 - Bradford - Administration - 6 points

"On the road"

In 2009, a match between Catalans Dragons and Warrington Wolves was staged at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium. London Broncos have also staged a number of games "on the road" including at Brisbane Road and Priestfield Stadium, both in 2012.

The 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 stadia, 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. It has since returned to its traditional mid-season slot and is currently held at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.

Competition format

Regular Super League 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. After the 23 rounds, the top eight teams carry their points forward and play each other once (home or away) in the Super Eights. A play-off series is used to determine the two teams who will meet in the Super League Grand Final to compete for the championship.

Super League play-off series

In 2015, the First Utility Super League play-offs will be contested by the four sides finishing highest in the league after the Super Eights. The structure is designed to reward the teams finishing nearer the top and the most consistent teams. The Grand Final is played at Old Trafford.

The current First Utility Super League Play-off structure:

• Super Eights

After the regular season the top eight teams in Super League carry the points they have earned in the regular season forward and play each other once.

• Top four play-offs

These matches involve the teams who finish in the top four.

They are:

• 1st v 4th
• 2nd v 3rd

The winners play in the Grand Final.

The Grand Final

Relegation

• The Qualifiers

The Qualifiers Super 8's sees the bottom 4 teams from the original Super League table mixed with the top 4 teams from the Championship. The points totals are reset to 0 and each team plays 7 games each, playing every other team once. After 7 games each the teams finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will gain qualification to the next years Super League season. the teams finishing 4th and 5th will play in the "Million Pound Game" at the home of the 4th place team. This one game fixture will see the winner earn a place in the next year Super League season, whilst the loser, along with teams finishing 6th, 7th and 8th will be relegated to the next years Championship competition.

Qualification for World Club Series

Each year, three teams from Super League play against three NRL teams in the Probiz World Club Series. This fixture is usually held at the beginning of the following season. The Super League League leaders, Grand Final Winners and Grand Final Runners Up and two teams from the NRL as well as the NRL Grand Final Winners qualify. the first two games between the Super League League Leaders, Grand Final Runners Up and the two NRL teams are exhibition matches before the final between the Super League and NRL champions.

Trophies and awards

League Leader's Shield

The League Leader's 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.

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 captain are engraved.

The record for most Super League titles won is held by Leeds Rhinos, who won the title 6 times in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 & 2012. Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield currently holds the record for captaining the most Super League title winning sides after captaining Leeds to all 6 of their grand final successes. St Helens contested the final 6 years in a row (from 2006 until 2011) during which time they succeeded only once in lifting the trophy against Hull in 2006; after which they suffered consecutive defeats against Leeds Rhinos in 2007, 2008, 2009, Wigan Warriors in 2010 and Leeds Rhinos once again in 2011.

Luke Burgess with the Super League trophy in 2009 following the Leeds Rhinos becoming Super League champions for the third successive year.

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.

Super League Dream Team

Each season a Super League Dream Team is also named. The best thirteen players in their respective positions are voted for by members of the sports press.

Super League Champions

See Rugby Football League Championship for the all-time list of champions since 1895.

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.

Season	Grand Final Information			League Leaders
	Champions	Score	Runners-up
1996	N/A	N/A	N/A	St Helens
1997	N/A	N/A	N/A	Bradford Bulls
1998	Wigan Warriors	10–4	Leeds Rhinos	Wigan Warriors
1999	St Helens	8–6	Bradford Bulls	Bradford Bulls
2000	St Helens	29–16	Wigan Warriors	Wigan Warriors
2001	Bradford Bulls	37–6	Wigan Warriors	Bradford Bulls
2002	St Helens	19–18	Bradford Bulls	St Helens
2003	Bradford Bulls	25–12	Wigan Warriors	Bradford Bulls
2004	Leeds Rhinos	16–8	Bradford Bulls	Leeds Rhinos
2005	Bradford Bulls	15–6	Leeds Rhinos	St Helens
2006	St Helens	26–4	Hull F.C.	St Helens
2007	Leeds Rhinos	33–6	St Helens	St Helens
2008	Leeds Rhinos	24–16	St Helens	St Helens
2009	Leeds Rhinos	18–10	St Helens	Leeds Rhinos
2010	Wigan Warriors	22–10	St Helens	Wigan Warriors
2011	Leeds Rhinos	32–16	St Helens	Warrington Wolves
2012	Leeds Rhinos	26–18	Warrington Wolves	Wigan Warriors
2013	Wigan Warriors	30–16	Warrington Wolves	Huddersfield Giants
2014	St Helens	14–6	Wigan Warriors	St Helens

Winners

	Club	Wins	Winning years
1	St Helens	6	1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014
2	Leeds Rhinos	6	2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
3	Bradford Bulls	4	1997, 2001, 2003, 2005
4	Wigan Warriors	3	1998, 2010, 2013

• Bold - Winners were League Leaders

League leaders

	Club	Wins	Winning years
1	St Helens	7	1996, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014
2	Wigan Warriors	4	1998, 2000, 2010, 2012
3	Bradford Bulls	4	1997, 1999, 2001, 2003
4	Leeds Rhinos	2	2004, 2009
5	Huddersfield Giants	1	2013
6	Warrington Wolves	1	2011

• Bold - Winners were League Leaders

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 nine different clubs but by only three different clubs during the Super League era.

	Club	Wins	Winning years
1	Wigan	7	1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2013
2	St Helens	3	1966, 1996, 2006
3	Huddersfield	2	1913, 1915 (All Four Cups)
4	Broughton Rangers	1	1902
5	Halifax	1	1903
6	Hunslet	1	1908 (All Four Cups)
7	Swinton	1	1928 (All Four Cups)
8	Warrington	1	1954
9	Bradford	1	2003

N.B. In the event of a tie, the team that won x amount of 'Doubles' first is given preference.

Head Coaches with multiple Super League titles

Competition rules

Club trained players

The 'club trained player' rule stipulates that each club must have a minimum number of players who are aged under 21 years or are graduates from their own academy system in their 25-man first team squad. Clubs are also required to have a minimum number of UK-trained players (or in the case of the Catalans Dragons, France-trained players) in their squads, and also are limited to a maximum number of "overseas" trained players.

The table below shows how the figures for the ruling from 2008–2011.

Dual registration

Clubs in both the First Utility Super League and the Kingstone Press Championships benefit from the new dual registration system which was been introduced for the 2013 season. The new system is intended to complement the existing player loan system.

Dual registration refers to an arrangement between clubs whereby a player continues to be registered to his current First Utility Super League club and is also registered to play for a club in the Kingstone Press 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.

• Only First Utility Super League players can be dual registered and the receiving club must be a club in the Kingstone Press Championships, meaning that Super League to Super League club dual registrations are not available.
• A dual registered player will be eligible to play and train with both clubs in a format agreed between the clubs, subject to registration, salary cap and competition eligibility rules.
• The player is restricted to playing in one fixture per scheduled round of fixtures in any given week and would not be eligible to play for his First Utility Super League club on a Thursday and in a Kingstone Press Championship fixture at the weekend, for example.
• A receiving club will be limited to a total of five dual registered players per matchday squad.

Salary cap

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:

• The combined earnings of the top 25 players must not exceed £1.65 million.
• Clubs will only be allowed to sign a new player if they have room under the cap.
• Clubs are allowed to spend a maximum of £50,000 on players outside the top 25 earners who have made at least one first grade appearance for the club during the year.
• Costs for players outside of the top 25 earners who do not make a first team appearance will be unregulated.
• Any player who has played for the same club for at least 10 consecutive seasons will have half their salary excluded from the salary cap for his 11th and subsequent seasons. This is subject to a maximum of £50,000 for any one club.

Squad announcement system

Before each Super League and Tetley's Challenge Cup 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 Hull FC player and Huddersfield Head Coach Jon Sharp is the current Head of the Match Officials Department of the RFL. He assumed this role following Stuart Cummings' departure in March 2013 having previously held the role of Match Officials Coach & Technical Director.

Coaching & performance staff

• Jon Sharp – Head of the Match Officials Department
• Steve Ganson – Match Officials Coach & Technical Director
• Ian Smith – Match Officials Coach

Full-time match officials

Full-time touch judges

These touch judge in the First Utility Super League, and occasionally in the Kingstone Press Championship and the Kingstone Press Championship 1.

Cadet match officials

Cadets primarily Referee in the Kingstone Press Championship and the Kingstone Press Championship 1 and Touch Judge in the First Utility Super League. There are opportunities for cadets to Referee in the First Utility Super League when games become available.

Part-time match officials

Part Time Match Officials Referee in the Kingstone Press Championship and the Kingstone Press Championship 1. Some also touch judge in the First Utility Super League.

(*) Denotes match officials who also touch judge in the First Utility Super League.

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 six different title sponsors since the league's formation:

• (1996-1997) Stones Super League
• (1998-1999) JJB Super League
• (2000-2004) Tetley's Super League
• (2005-2011) Engage Super League
• (2012) Stobart Super League
• (2014-2016) First Utility Super League

As well as title sponsorship, Super League has a number of official partners and suppliers. For the 2014 season these include Alcatel One Touch, Brut, Foxy Bingo, Irn-Bru, Isuzu and Specsavers. The official ball supplier is Rhino Rugby, who have held the contract since the 2013 season when they took over from Steeden.

Media coverage

Television

Sky Sports 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 (kick off 8pm) and another at 7:30pm on Friday nights (kick off 8pm). From 2014, they also simulcast all of Catalans Dragons' home games and from 2015, will broadcast regular Kingstone Press Championship matches.

Regular commentators are Eddie Hemmings and Mike Stephenson with summarisers including Phil Clarke, Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor. Live Super League broadcasts regularly rank amongst the top 10 most watched programmes in a week on Sky Sports with in excess of 250,000 viewers. Match highlights are shown on Boots N' All which is shown on Sky Sports and is rebroadcast via the Internet.

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 (after 11pm) 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. Super League Show is also available for streaming or download using the BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Bein Sports in France shows every Catalans Dragons home match live and also some other matches which are broadcast in the UK live on Sky.

Internationally Super League is shown live on Showtime Sports (Middle East), Sky Sport (New Zealand), NTV+ (Russia), Sportklub (Eastern Europe). In 2009, the Nine Network in Australia will show up to 70 live games. The Super League matches are only broadcast in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory where Rugby League is a popular sport. Previously, FOX Sports in Australia had shown the previous weekend's UK televised matches on Thursday nights.

In New Zealand Māori Television televises one Super League match free-to-air each week.

In the United States, Fox Soccer Plus televises Super League as part of an agreement that began in 2012 and ends in 2014. Previously, America One televised Super League in 2010.

Radio

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 (usually a Super League player or coach) 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/podcasts/series/rugbyleague.

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/podcasts/series/rugbyleague.

See also

Rugby league portal

• Super League records
• List of sports attendance figures
• Super League Ultimate 13: Grand Final Team
• British rugby league system

References

Inline

• superleague.co.uk
• RFL Super League coverage
• Scores from Sky Sports
• Rugby League Fans Forum

v t e Super League Current Teams Castleford Tigers Catalans Dragons Huddersfield Giants Hull Hull Kingston Rovers Leeds Rhinos Salford Red Devils St. Helens Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Warrington Wolves Widnes Vikings Wigan Warriors Former Teams Bradford Bulls Crusaders Gateshead Thunder Halifax Blue Sox Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants Leigh Centurions London Broncos Oldham Bears Paris Saint Germain Sheffield Eagles Workington Town Seasons I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX Season results I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX Grand Finals I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX Major events World Club Challenge Magic Weekend Play-offs Grand Final International Origin Awards Albert Goldthorpe Medal League Leader's Shield Man of Steel Award Harry Sunderland Trophy Super League Dream Team Fairplay Index Super League Ultimate 13: Grand Final Team Related articles Rugby Football League Championship Super League Records Super League war 2009–11 licences 2012–14 licences

v t e Super League Venues Current AJ Bell Stadium Craven Park DW Stadium Halliwell Jones Stadium Headingley Carnegie John Smith's Stadium KC Stadium Langtree Park Rapid Solicitors Stadium Stade Gilbert Brutus Stobart Stadium Wish Communications Stadium Former Boundary Park Brewery Field Central Park Derwent Park Don Valley Stadium Knowsley Road Odsal Racecourse Ground Stade Sébastien Charléty The Boulevard The Colliseum The Hive The Shay The Willows Thrum Hall Thunderdome Twickenham Stoop Valley Parade Watersheddings Wilderspool Magic Weekend Millennium Stadium Murrayfield Stadium Etihad Stadium St James' Park Grand Final Old Trafford

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