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70-655: In 2006, the IRB started the North America 4 (NA4), to help create a higher level of rugby in North America, as well as to develop players and provide a pathway to national team selection and to make North American rugby teams more competitive at international level. It was contested by four teams, two each from Canada and the USA. On September 7, 2009, the IRB scrapped the NA4 and unveiled

140-812: A number of other international competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series , the Rugby World Cup Sevens , the World Under 20 Championship , and the Pacific Nations Cup . World Rugby's headquarters are in Dublin , Ireland. Its membership now comprises 133 national unions. Each member country must also be a member of one of the six regional unions into which the world is divided: Africa, North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and Oceania. World Rugby

210-604: A regular event. The 12 invited teams all competed for the Shield, with the top three sides in that competition also earning core status for 2012–13. From 2013 on, the Hong Kong Sevens was played under the same 16-team format used in the rest of the series, with typically 15 core teams plus an invited team (for Hong Kong, usually the winner of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series) competing in the main draw of

280-666: A three-day event) is the most famous sevens tournament. The Hong Kong Sevens had 24 teams through the 2011–12 series, but has featured 28 teams since 2012–13, with 15 core teams and the winner of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series competing for series points. At the 2013 event, the remaining 12 teams were those in the World Series Pre-Qualifier; from 2014 forward, the remaining 12 teams are those in the Core Team Qualifier. In Hong Kong,

350-550: A tournament. The following year the board committed to conduct a feasibility study. A year later another meeting took place in Paris, and the Union subsequently voted on the idea. The South African Rugby Board's vote that proved crucial in setting up a tied vote, as they voted in favour, even though they knew they would be excluded due to the sporting boycott because of their apartheid policies. English and Welsh votes then changed, and

420-476: A truly global sport, one with widespread visibility and steadily improving standards of athletic excellence." New Zealand and Fiji dominated the first series, meeting in the final in eight of the ten season tournaments, and New Zealand narrowly won, overtaking Fiji by winning the last tournament of the series. New Zealand won the first six seasons in a row from 1999–2000 to 2004–05, led by players such as Karl Te Nana and Amasio Valence . The number of stops in

490-483: A win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss, 0 for a no-show. In case teams are tied after pool play, the tiebreakers are: As of the 2009–10 series, four trophies are awarded in each tournament. In descending order of prestige, they are the Cup, whose winner is the overall tournament champion, Plate, Bowl and Shield. Each trophy is awarded at the end of a knockout tournament. In a normal event, the top two teams in each pool advance to

560-626: A year and manages and controls the affairs of World Rugby. The Council formulates and oversees the implementation of World Rugby's strategic plan and application of policy decisions, and selects the host nation(s) for the Rugby World Cup . The Council considers recommendations of the General Assembly. The Council may admit or expel member nations. The council is also the supreme legislative authority of World Rugby. Most Council decisions require approval of simple majority, but to amend

630-509: Is a fast-paced version of rugby union with seven players each side on a full-sized rugby field. Games are much shorter, lasting seven minutes each half. The game is quicker and faster-scoring than 15-a-side rugby, which explains part of its appeal. It also gives players the space for superb feats of individual skill. Sevens is traditionally played in a two-day tournament format. Currently, in a normal event, 16 teams are entered. World Rugby operates satellite tournaments in each continent alongside

700-982: Is a list of member and associate unions and their regional associations with the year that they joined World Rugby. Associate unions are in italics . There are 21 World Rugby members and 6 World Rugby associates: Suspended unions: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 22 World Rugby members, and 6 World Rugby associates: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 38 World Rugby members, and 2 World Rugby associates: Suspended unions: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 12 World Rugby members, and 1 World Rugby associate: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 9 World Rugby members, and 2 World Rugby associates: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 11 World Rugby members: World Rugby's largest members, ranked by number of participants in 2019, are: The World Rugby Council meets twice

770-767: Is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series , the competition was formed to promote an elite-level of international rugby sevens and develop the game into a viable commercial product. The competition has been sponsored by banking group HSBC since 2014. The season's circuit consists of eight tournaments held in five continents, generally beginning in November or December and ending in May or June. All tournaments feature

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840-420: Is awarded at the end of the season to recognize the best player that year. The award is decided by votes from all the coaches, as well as a Rugby Canada representative. The league had no deals with any networks; however, some teams provide live online streaming of their games. CBC Television aired the 2010 final live, but this was the only match shown on national television. [REDACTED] The MacTier Cup

910-582: Is determined by points earned in each tournament. World Rugby introduced a new scoring system for the 2011–12 series, in which all teams participating in a tournament are guaranteed points. Initially, World Rugby announced the new points schedule only for the standard 16-team events; the allocations for the Hong Kong Sevens were announced later. A new scoring system was introduced in 2019–20 requiring teams to play for 7th, 11th and 15th places, previously teams had tied for 7th–8th 11th–12th and 15th–16th places. The points schedule used at each standard event until 2023

980-518: Is held over five- or six-legs. Both tournaments followed the same principle—points are awarded based on a teams position in each round of the series, and the team with the most points at the end of the Series is crowned champions. Following the inclusion of rugby sevens into the Olympics, beginning with the 2014–15 series, the series prior to an Olympic event (i.e. the series which ends in the year before

1050-410: Is summarised below. From 2023–24 the following points schedule is used for each event: Tie-breaking: If two or more teams are level on overall series points, the following tie-breakers are used: The tour received 1,147 hours of air time in 2005–06; 530 of which was live, and was broadcast to 136 countries. By 2008–09, the hours of air time had increased to over 3,300, with 35 broadcasters airing

1120-452: The 2016–17 series , a dominant and consistent display by South Africa saw them reach the finals of the 2016–17 series rounds on eight occasions, winning five of these. As a result, South Africa were series champions with victory in the penultimate round in Paris. The season was a qualifier for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens with the top four teams that had not already qualified, coming from this season. The teams that made it through to

1190-693: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , World Rugby suspended Russia from international and European continental rugby union competition. In addition, the Rugby Union of Russia was suspended from World Rugby. In the 1960s Australians Harold Tolhurst and Jock Kellaher suggested a World Rugby Championship be held in Australia but the IRFB refused. In 1983 and 1984 respectively, the Australian and New Zealand Rugby Football Unions each proposed hosting such

1260-570: The Canadian Rugby Union , and Japan Rugby Football Union were admitted in 1991. In 2016, the Georgia Rugby Union , Romanian Rugby Federation , and the USA were added to the voting Council with one vote each. Additionally, current Council members Argentina, Canada and Italy were granted a second representative and vote. The six regional associations represented on the council also received an additional vote. After

1330-610: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to include rugby sevens in the 2016 Summer Olympics . World Rugby gained membership of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) in 2010. Until 1885 the laws of rugby football were made by England as the founder nation. However, following a disputed try in an international between Scotland and England in 1884, letters were exchanged in which England claimed that they made

1400-711: The Irish Rugby Football Union , Scottish Rugby Union (named the Scottish Football Union at the time) and Welsh Rugby Union met in Manchester and wrote up the first four principles of the International Rugby Football Board. England refused to take part in the founding of the IRFB, stating that they should have greater representation, as they had more clubs. The England Union also refused to accept

1470-664: The ARC competition, in which Canada, the US and Argentina would send representative teams to play for a championship title ( Tonga was later added in the second season, replaced with Uruguay from 2012 onwards) In order to select a team that would play in the ARC, Rugby Canada unveiled the CRC, with the champion and runner-up advancing to the ARC. The BC Bears Coached by Mike James and Kris de Scossa were inaugural champions, who went on to play Argentina Jaguars, Russia and England Counties. Following

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1540-405: The CRC. The pre-season is not a formal one set by the league, but instead the individual teams can play club or touring sides at their own leisure, or may choose to not play any pre-season games at all. Starting in mid August, and ending late September, the regular season follows the same format as The Rugby Championship , having teams playing in a round robin format, with the team that accumulates

1610-858: The Chief Executive sit on the World Rugby Executive Committee. A General Assembly of the full membership is convened every two years. The General Assembly may make recommendations to the council, and may consider business that the council has referred to it, but the General Assembly has no legislative powers. The current Chair of World Rugby is Brett Robinson who was elected following the Executive Council vote on 14 November 2024. Previous chairmen include Bill Beaumont (2008 to 2024), Bernard Lapasset (2008 to 2016), Syd Millar (2002 to 2007) and Vernon Pugh , QC (1994 to 2002). In July 2012, Brett Gosper

1680-558: The Core Team Qualifier. With the promotion place now determined at the Hong Kong Sevens, the London Sevens returned to the traditional 16-team format in 2013–14. The 2024 Rugby Perth Sevens features nine men’s and six women’s rounds over six months. The calendar includes stopovers in many of the usual destinations, from London to Langford, plus three new cities (Malaga, Seville and Toulouse) to replace traditional hosts Australia and New Zealand. The Hong Kong Sevens (an anomaly as

1750-606: The Cup competition. The four quarterfinal losers drop into the bracket for the Plate. The Bowl is contested by the third and fourth-place finishers in each pool, while the Shield is contested by the losing quarterfinalists of the Bowl. A third-place match is now conducted between the losing Cup semifinalists in all tournaments; this was introduced for the 2011–12 series. In 2012–13, the season-ending London Sevens expanded to 20 teams, with 12 competing for series points and eight involved in

1820-407: The IRFB as the recognised lawmaker of the game. This led to the IRFB taking the stance of member countries not playing England until they joined, and no games were played against England in 1888 and 1889. In 1890 England joined the IRFB, gaining six seats while the other unions had two each. The same year, the IRFB wrote the first international laws of rugby union. In 1893, the IRFB was faced with

1890-570: The IRFB were reduced from six to four in 1911. The Australian Rugby Union , New Zealand Rugby Football Union and South African Rugby Board joined the board with one seat each in 1948, with England's seats being reduced to two, the same as the other home nations. The three Southern Hemisphere unions were given a second seat each in 1958. The French Rugby Federation was admitted in 1978, the Argentine Rugby Union , Italian Rugby Federation and USA Rugby Football Union in 1987, and

1960-518: The Olympics takes place) forms the first phase of Olympic qualification. When Olympic Qualification was included, the top four teams from both the men's and women's series qualified for the Olympic Games, and remaining teams competed in regional competitions for one of the remaining places. World Rugby Sevens Series The SVNS , known as the HSBC SVNS for sponsorship reasons ,

2030-467: The Series began offering full-time contracts to their players. These annual salaries can range from €18,000 to €100,000. England offers among the more generous salaries, ranging from an estimated €25,000 to over €100,000. New Zealand has a graded system with salaries ranging from €23,000-plus to about €52,500 for its four top earners. The basic salary for Scottish sevens players ranges from €22,500 to €40,000. The Australian sevens players are estimated to be on

2100-490: The Sevens World Series which serve as qualifiers for Series events; in 2012–13 they also determined the entrants in the World Series Pre-Qualifier, and since 2013–14 determine the entrants in the Core Team Qualifier. In each tournament, the teams are divided into pools of four teams, who play a round-robin within the pool. Points are awarded in each pool on a different schedule from most rugby tournaments—3 for

2170-421: The Shield was awarded for the first time in 2010. Originally, the six pool winners of the Hong Kong Sevens, plus the two highest-finishing second-place teams, advanced to the Cup. In 2010 and 2011, a different system was used: In the transitional year of 2012, the Hong Kong Sevens was split into two separate competitions. The 12 core teams competed for the Cup, Plate and Bowl under a format similar to that of

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2240-664: The United States have placed in the top three for several seasons but have not won the series title. The International Olympic Committee 's decision in 2009 to add rugby sevens to the Summer Olympics beginning in 2016 has added a boost to rugby sevens and to the World Sevens Series ; this boost has led to increased exposure and revenues, leading several of the core teams to field fully professional squads. The first international rugby sevens tournament

2310-417: The United States won the 2015 London Sevens to finish the season in sixth overall; Kenya won the 2016 Singapore Sevens, and Scotland won the 2016 London Sevens. Prior to the 2015–16 season World Rugby did a comprehensive review of all nine tournament hosts and adjusted the schedule, dropping two sites ( Japan and Scotland ), and adding three sites ( France , Singapore and Canada ) to the calendar. In

2380-561: The World Cup via this method were Canada , Argentina , Scotland and Samoa . The World Series will consist of 8 scheduled tournament stops from the 2023–24 season , which generally fall in the same order and timeframes. From 2020 to 2022, however, several of these events had to be cancelled due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic . A group of core teams, currently 12 in number, is announced for each season based on performances in

2450-481: The World Rugby Sevens Series under previous formats. With 15 core teams, there was generally only one invited team at each 16-team tournament. Before 2012–13, when there were only 12 core teams, four places at each tournament were usually available to invited teams. Key : * indicates a tied placing In 2019, World Rugby announced a plan to create a second-tier competition that would allow

2520-584: The World Rugby's by-laws, regulations, or the Laws of the Game requires approval of three quarters of the council. Prior to 2016, the council had 28 voting members from 12 national unions. In November 2015, World Rugby announced that they would add more unions to the voting council and give the six regional associations two votes each on the council. As of October 2023 , the council had 52 members including

2590-493: The best thirteen sevens teams, with the addition of three invited teams, from their region to compete in a similar style format to the Sevens Series for the potential of gaining promotion to the World Rugby Sevens Series and becoming a core team. This breaks from the usual format of promotion and relegation in the sevens series. From 2013–14 series to 2018–19 the promotion/relegation was as follows: From 2020 to 2023

2660-504: The divide between amateurism and professionalism , which was nicknamed the "Great Schism". Following the introduction of working-class men to the game in Northern England, clubs began paying "broken time" payments to players, due to the loss of earnings from playing on a Saturday. Cumberland County Union also complained of another club using monetary incentives to lure players, leading to the IRFB conducting an enquiry. The IRFB

2730-474: The effective management and operation of the World Rugby. The Committee formulates and monitors the implementation of the World Rugby's strategic plan, business plan, operational plan and budget. In 2016, as part of the reforms to the World Rugby Council, the executive committee was increased to 12 members. The Chairman, Vice-chairman, nine elected officials, including two independent members, and

2800-404: The first season, a Canada Selects team was chosen by Team Canada coach Kieran Crowley instead, exclusively from players who competed in the CRC. In the inaugural 2009 season , six games were played in a round-robin format, similar to that of The Rugby Championship , with the team collecting the most points over the season being named champions. The following season, the same six game season

2870-549: The founding nations, including: England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, with just 3% of viewers coming from all other countries. The most recent Rugby World Cup was held in France in 2023 . South Africa defeated New Zealand 12–11 in the Rugby World Cup final, winning a record fourth title. World Rugby also organises the women's Rugby World Cup , also held every four years. It

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2940-682: The inaugural event in 1993, along with rugby joining the Commonwealth Games program in 1998. The first season of the World Sevens Series was the 1999–2000 season. At the Series launch, the chairman of the International Rugby Board, Vernon Pugh, described the IRB's vision of the role of this new competition: "this competition has set in place another important element in the IRB’s drive to establish rugby as

3010-476: The laws, and the try should stand. Scotland refused to play England in the 1885 Home Nations Championship . Following the dispute, the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales decided to form an international union whose membership would agree on the standard rules of rugby football. The three nations met in Dublin in 1886, though no formal regulations were agreed upon. On 5 December 1887, committee members of

3080-511: The most points throughout the tournament winning the MacTier Cup. Therefore, no post-season is required. Every team plays five games, the western teams playing three at home and two away, while the eastern teams play a reversed schedule. There are no divisions or conferences. The points system for the season is the same as most rugby competitions around the world: The Player of the Year award

3150-480: The naming rights to individual tournaments, while retaining its name sponsorship of the overall series. A renewed, 4-year deal was announced before the 2015–16 Series , this deal was also expanded to include the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series . In the year after the International Olympic Committee announced in 2009 that rugby sevens would return to the Olympics in 2016, most of the "core teams" on

3220-453: The next three years. The program was designed to increase the competitiveness of international rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup , the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition, which has been held every four years since 1987. Despite the profitability of the World Cup, the majority of its revenues and viewers come from a small number of countries. For the 2007 Rugby World Cup final , 97% of viewers came from

3290-548: The non-voting chairman, so there were 51 voting members from 17 national unions and 6 regional associations, allocated as follows: In total, Europe has 22 votes; Oceania 9 votes; South America 6 votes; Africa 5 votes; Asia 5 votes and North America 4 votes. A Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected from among the council members. These positions are held by Bill Beaumont of England and Bernard Laporte of France, respectively, elected as of April 2020 . The executive committee, in accordance with bye-laws 9.14–9.16, ensures

3360-402: The previous season. Each core team has a guaranteed place in all of that season's events. The core teams have been selected through a designated promotion/relegation process since the 2012–13 season. A new system from the 2023–24 season, will see 12 core teams, with up to 4 being relegated each year. Key: * indicates a tied placing Non-core teams are also invited to compete in every season of

3430-656: The same 12 teams. Teams compete for the World Rugby Series title by accumulating points based on their finishing position in each tournament. The bottom four teams play a repechange tournament against the top four teams of the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series . New Zealand had originally dominated the Series, winning each of the first six seasons from 1999–2000 to 2004–05, but since then, Fiji, South Africa , Samoa and Australia have each won season titles. England, Argentina and

3500-504: The series after taking home the 2008–09 title. In the 2009–10 season, Samoa who finished seventh the previous year shocked the world – led by 2010 top try-scorer and World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Mikaele Pesamino – by winning four of the last five tournaments to overtake New Zealand and win the series. The number of core teams expanded from 12 to 15 for the 2011–12 series . Qualification for these places

3570-407: The series in 139 countries and 15 languages. Broadcast time increased further in 2009–10, with 3,561 hours of air time (1,143 hours live) carried by 34 broadcasters in 141 countries and 16 languages. In 2010–11, 3,657 hours of coverage were aired (1,161 hours live), with the same number of broadcasters as the previous season but six new countries added. For that season, Sevens World Series programming

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3640-410: The series varied over the seasons, but experienced a contraction from 11 tournaments in 2001–02 to 7 tournaments in 2002–03 due to the global recession . In the 2005–06 season Fiji clinched the season trophy on the last tournament of the season finishing ahead of England. New Zealand regained the trophy in 2006–07 season in the last tournament of the season. South Africa was the next team to win

3710-418: The style of promotion/relegation was as such: From 2024 onwards the style of promotion/relegation will be as such: The World Series results are sometimes used as a qualifier for other tournaments. For example, the top four teams of the 2014–15 series automatically qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Similarly, certain teams from the 2016–17 series qualified for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Summary of

3780-412: The top four teams qualifying to the 2016 Summer Olympics , with Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand and Great Britain all qualifying through. The 2014–15 season and 2015–16 season were won by Fiji – the first time a team other than New Zealand won back-to-back season titles – led by 2015 and 2016 season Dream Team nominee Osea Kolinisau The two seasons also yielded teams winning their first tournaments –

3850-418: The top six placegetters for each series: Tally of top six placings in the series for each team, updated after the most recently completed 2022-23 season (obtained by summing the placings of each team as recorded in the above table of results by season). Summary of the top six placegetters for the regular season (since 2024): List of legs won by each team since 1999. Updated on 5 May 2024. Rugby sevens

3920-423: The tournament. In line with changes which began at the start of the 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series , the duration of the Cup final was reduced from 20 minutes to 14 minutes in 2017. In that season, the number of trophies was also reduced to two; the main Cup contested by the top eight teams from the pool stage, and a Challenge Trophy contested by the bottom eight teams from the pool stage. The season championship

3990-482: The venue in the 2012–13 season, giving the tour an event on each continent, but when Argentina joined the Rugby Championship those plans were shelved. With the same schedule, New Zealand again were the winners over South Africa. They took it again in 2013–14 with Spain the first team to be relegated after finishing last during that season with Japan replacing them. Heading into the 2014–15 season ,

4060-445: The vote was won 10 to 6. As at June 2024, World Rugby has 113 member unions and 17 associate member unions. Membership of World Rugby is a four-step process: Regional Unions Six regional associations, which represent each continent, are affiliated with World Rugby and help to develop the fifteen-a-side game as well as Rugby sevens across the world. Not all members of the regional associations are members of World Rugby. Below

4130-670: Was appointed as the new Chief Executive of what was then the IRB. He will leave this role at the end of 2020 to become head of the National Football League 's operations in Europe. In 2013 World Rugby released £18.6 million of funding over three years for developing rugby in Canada, the United States, Japan, Romania, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Argentina also received additional support to enable it to retain its tier one status. The money, built up from successful World Cups,

4200-620: Was available in 332 million homes worldwide, with a potential audience of 760 million. The International Rugby Board reached a 5-year deal with HSBC in October 2010 that granted them status as the first-ever title sponsor of the Sevens World Series. Through the agreement, HSBC acquired title naming rights to all tournaments in the World Series, beginning with the Dubai Sevens on 3 December 2010. HSBC has since sub-licensed

4270-662: Was created in 1998 and awarded to the champion of the Rugby Canada Super League . Since the Super League folded, the MacTier Cup is now awarded to the Canadian Rugby Championship champion. International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union . World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises

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4340-565: Was first held by the IRB in 1998, though tournaments in 1991 and 1994 were retrospectively recognised in 2009. The women's World Cup is contested by fewer teams than the men's Cup, with only the 1998 and 2002 editions featuring more than 12 teams (these competitions both had 16 teams, compared to the 20 teams in the men's Rugby World Cup). On 21 August 2019, World Rugby announced that all future men's and women's World Cups would officially be known as "Rugby World Cup", with no sex or gender designations. The first tournament to be affected by this policy

4410-614: Was founded as the International Rugby Football Board ( IRFB ) in 1886 by Scotland , Wales and Ireland , with England joining in 1890. Australia , New Zealand and South Africa became full members in 1949. France became a member in 1978 and a further 80 members joined from 1987 to 1999. The body was renamed the International Rugby Board ( IRB ) in 1998, and took up its current name of World Rugby in November 2014. In 2009,

4480-543: Was held in 1973 in Scotland, which was celebrating a century of the Scottish Rugby Union . Seven international teams took part, with England defeating Ireland 22–18 in the final to take the trophy. The Hong Kong Sevens annual tournament began in 1976. Over the next two decades the number of international sevens competitions increased. The most notable was the Rugby World Cup Sevens with Scotland hosting

4550-416: Was played out at the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens . Canada (returning to core status for the first time since 2008), Spain and Portugal joined the 12 core teams for the next season. The Japan event also made a return for the first time since 2001 (lasting until 2015). New Zealand continued their dominance by finishing on top. Argentina was originally planned to begin hosting a tenth event with Mar Del Plata

4620-454: Was released following a report commissioned by World Rugby highlighting the growing disparity between tier one and tier two nations. This is in addition to the £10–12 million it normally gives out grants and tournament costs. The emphasis is on three areas infrastructure, high performance units and cross border competitions. In April 2006, tier-3 rugby nations Georgia, Portugal, Tunisia and Russia were identified as key investment nations over

4690-539: Was reversed for the two eastern teams, (the Ontario Blues and the Atlantic Rock ). In 2012, this was switched, having the western teams play two home games and three away games, with the eastern teams playing the opposite. The CRC is broken up into a pre-season and a round robin season, with no postseason. During the pre-season teams play exhibition matches against other teams, usually not participating in

4760-462: Was the 2021 Rugby World Cup, for women's team in New Zealand. World Rugby organised three international sevens tournaments - two annual Sevens Series (one for men and one for women ) which are now defunct. The quadrennial Rugby World Cup Sevens is still active. The men's season-long annual Sevens Series took place over 10 legs, each held in a different country. The women's Sevens Series

4830-587: Was used, however a post-season was added—with the top two teams squaring off in a final at the home venue of the team which amassed the most points during the regular season. In 2011 the format changed yet again, scrapping the final and instead going back to a round-robin competition. This time with ten games, each team playing five. The western teams (the BC Bears and the Prairie Wolf Pack ) played three home games and two away games, while this schedule

4900-649: Was warned by all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire that any punishment would lead to the clubs seceding from the union. The debate over broken time payments ultimately caused the 22 leading clubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire to form the Northern Rugby Football Union . The competing unions' laws of the game diverged almost immediately; the northern body's code eventually became known as rugby league football. England's seats on

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