112-801: The Auckland Lions were a rugby league club that had teams in both the New Zealand Bartercard Cup and the NSWRL Premier League . They were mostly drawn from the Mt Albert Lions Rugby League club. Mt Albert had a proud tradition in Auckland and had previously won two Bartercard Cup competitions as a stand-alone club. The Bartercard franchise wore a yellow jersey with a blue V, while the Premier League side wore royal blue jerseys with
224-510: A Northern Union. For several years past, the Yorkshire clubs have been endeavouring to secure a sufficient relaxation of the laws to permit the payment to players of actual out of pocket expenses (including loss of wages) incurred whilst playing for their clubs, but every proposition to that effect has been successfully combatted by the Southern clubs, who object to the innovation as being
336-617: A breakaway faction of England's Rugby Football Union (RFU). Both organisations played the game under the same rules at first, although the Northern Union began to modify rules almost immediately, thus creating a new simpler game that was intended to be a faster-paced form of rugby football. Similar breakaway factions split from RFU-affiliated unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908, renaming themselves "rugby football league s" and introducing Northern Union rules. In 1922,
448-648: A creditable 10th spot, just two wins outside of the top eight. The Lions were renamed the Auckland Vulcans in 2008, as they no longer had any affiliation with Mt Albert. The Lions started 2006 where Brian McClennan left off in 2005, on a winning note. They dominated the competition, losing only two matches in 2006 and claiming the Minor Premiership. They then defeated the Canterbury Bulls 27–14, earning another bye and qualifying for
560-580: A decree by the RFU banning the playing of rugby at grounds where entrance fees were charged led to twenty-two clubs (including Stockport, who negotiated by telephone) meeting at the George Hotel, Huddersfield , on 29 August 1895 and forming the "Northern Rugby Football Union". Within fifteen years of that first meeting in Huddersfield, more than 200 RFU clubs had left to join the rugby league. In 1897,
672-405: A four-yearly cycle in the 2010s; as of 2023 , the holders are Australia . A short-sided version of the sport, rugby league nines , using modified rugby league rules also exists, and is comparable to rugby sevens . Wheelchair rugby league is a mixed-gender sport using heavily modified rugby league rules for disabled and able-bodied players. Unlike wheelchair rugby which adopted its name after
784-736: A growing sense of frustration and absence of fair play. Meanwhile, there was an obvious comparison with the professional Football League which had been formed in 1888, comprising 12 association football clubs, six of whom were from Northern England . In this environment, the next logical step was for the northern rugby clubs to form their own professional league. On 27 August 1895, as a result of an emergency meeting in Manchester , prominent Lancashire clubs Broughton Rangers , Leigh , Oldham , Rochdale Hornets , St. Helens , Tyldesley , Warrington , Widnes and Wigan declared that they would support their Yorkshire colleagues in their proposal to form
896-539: A lifetime ban. Many Glebe players already believed the NSWRL was biased against them and they went on strike; the league responded by suspending the first grade team until the following April. Davies returned to his native Newcastle , where his previous club, Western Suburbs—not to be confused with the Sydney club of the same name—sought to use him in the local league. They tried repeatedly to have Davies' suspension lifted, but
1008-557: A man earning a weekly wage could easily lead to financial hardship. In 1892, charges of professionalism were laid against rugby football clubs in Bradford and Leeds , both in Yorkshire , after they compensated players for missing work. This was despite the fact that the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) was allowing other players to be paid, such as the 1888 British Isles team that toured Australia, or
1120-437: A mix of the two sports' rules. Much more so than rugby union, rugby league shares significant similarities with North American gridiron codes. Although described as evolving from both rugby and association football , the basic structures of American and Canadian football are remarkably similar to rugby league through a process of parallel evolution: a try-and-goal based scoring system, a set number of plays before handover of
1232-579: A play-off, rather than the multiplicity of trophies available to British clubs. Rugby league quickly took over from rugby union as the most popular form of football in New South Wales and Queensland . The rest of the country was already dominated by Australian rules football . The amateur code still held sway in New Zealand, although the emergence of rugby league meant that it was no longer unrivalled in popularity. Sport in general suffered as
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#17327801976091344-633: A professional level. 45 national teams are ranked by the RLIF and a further 32 are officially recognized and unranked. The strongest rugby league nations are Australia , England , New Zealand , Samoa and Tonga . The Rugby League World Cup is the highest form of representative rugby league. Countries that have contested are Australia , Cook Islands , England , Fiji , France , Ireland , Italy , Jamaica , Lebanon , New Zealand , Papua New Guinea , Russia , Samoa , Scotland , South Africa , Tonga , US and Wales . The 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which
1456-647: A report about a Northern Union match that over 40,000 people had attended. Baskerville wrote to the NRFU asking if they would host a New Zealand touring party. George Smith learned of Baskerville's activities and they joined forces to recruit a team. All Golds tour When the All Golds stopped off in Australia, three games were played at the Sydney Showground , against a professional NSW rugby team. These games were played under rugby union laws, as no copies of
1568-544: A result of the First World War , and rugby league was no exception. In Britain, the government discouraged all professional sports, and the major competitions were abandoned. In Australia, the situation was slightly less serious, and rugby league continued. The rugby union authorities opted to suspend play throughout the war, and this decision is often cited as one of the prime reasons for the traditional dominance of rugby league over rugby union in Australia. Although
1680-453: A result play stops much less frequently in rugby league, with the ball typically in play for 50 out of the 80 minutes compared to around 35 minutes for professional rugby union. Other differences include that there are fewer players in rugby league (13 compared to 15) and different rules for tackling . Rugby union has more detailed rules than rugby league and has changed less since the 1895 schism. Since rugby union turned professional in
1792-639: A six match losing streak that was broken in Round 13 with a 10–8 victory over the Manly Sea Eagles at Mt Smart Stadium . Following another two game slump, the Lions embarked on a streak, winning four out of five games to re-enter unlikely finals contention. A loss to Canberra in their penultimate game of the season saw their finals hopes evaporate, and a depleted Lions squad lost heavily to Penrith to end their first season in Premier League. The Lions finished
1904-415: A team's creative unit or 'playmakers'. During the interactions between a team's 'key' players (five-eighth, half-back, fullback, lock forward, and hooker), the five-eighth and half-back will usually be involved in most passing moves. These two positions are commonly called the "halves". The forwards' two responsibilities can be broken into "normal play" and "scrum play". For information on a forward's role in
2016-401: A value of 2 points when kicked from beyond the 40 metre line. Field position is crucial in rugby league, achieved by running with or kicking the ball. Passing in rugby league may only be in a backward or sideways direction. Teammates, therefore, have to remain on-side by not moving ahead of the player with the ball. The ball may be kicked ahead, but if teammates are in front of the kicker when
2128-579: A week's intensive coaching in Leeds to bring them up to speed, and after playing a number of touring matches the first true rugby league test was played, with the team going down 8–9 to Wales in Aberdare on 1 January 1908. The All Golds gained revenge however, defeating the full Great Britain side in two of the three Test matches, which were played at Leeds , Chelsea and Cheltenham ; a surprising choice of venues given rugby league's northern base. The tour
2240-824: A white V. In 2008 the Bartercard Cup was discontinued and the Auckland franchise in the New South Wales Cup was renamed the Auckland Vulcans . In 2007 the Lions competed in the Sydney-based NSWRL Premier League . Graeme Norton was appointed coach for the side in 2007. The Lions acted as the official reserve grade side for the New Zealand Warriors . The team was composed of Auckland Rugby League talent and Warriors players not taking part in first grade action. The New Zealand national rugby league team coach at
2352-557: Is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 m (74 yd) wide and 112–122 m (122–133 yd) long with H-shaped posts at both ends. It is one of the two major codes of rugby football , the other being rugby union . It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield , Yorkshire , England, as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over
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#17327801976092464-521: Is a professional team makes little difference to the crowd of Sydney people who want to see football. That it plays the Northern Union game is in its favour with the crowd. The Sydney newspapers are, generally speaking, supporters of the Rugby Union game . Nevertheless, their notices have been most favourable. "A brilliant game." "Intense excitement." "The crowd roared itself hoarse." "One of
2576-474: Is conducted under the direction of the Federation of International Touch (FIT). Though it shares similarities and history with rugby league , it is recognised as a sport in its own right due to its differences which have been developed over the sport's lifetime. Touch is a variation of rugby league with the tackling of opposing players replaced by a touch. As touches must be made with minimal force, touch
2688-464: Is not abused. If the Northern Union game is to be popularised in New Zealand, its promoters must make such provisions as will keep it free from such abuses. It must be entirely free from straight-out bastard professionalism. In the Australian rugby stronghold of Sydney, issues of class and professionalism were beginning to cause friction. Rumours and claims of "shamateurism" (see Amateur sports) in
2800-432: Is the dominant winter sport in the eastern Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland . The game is also among the predominant sports of Tonga and is played in other Pacific nations such as Samoa and Fiji . Researchers have found that rugby league has been able to help with improving development in the islands. In Australia, and indeed the rest of the region, the annual State of Origin series ranks among
2912-555: Is therefore considered a limited-contact sport. The original basic rules of touch were established in the 1960s by members of the South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club in Sydney, Australia . OzTag is a non-contact form of rugby league, and can be seen as a variation of British tag rugby. Cronulla Sharks and St George Dragons halfback Perry Haddock introduced the sport in Australia while coaching
3024-413: Is worth. One of the main differences is the rules of possession. When the ball goes into touch , possession in rugby union is contested through a line-out , while in rugby league a scrum restarts play. The lesser focus on contesting possession means that play focuses more on powerful running, hard tackling, forward progression and the contest for field position (commonly compared to an "arm wrestle"); as
3136-602: The 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final replay at Odsal Stadium , Bradford , England, setting a new record for attendance at a rugby football match of either code. Also in 1954, the Rugby League World Cup, the first for either code of rugby, was formed at the instigation of the French. In 1966, the International Board introduced a rule that a team in possession was allowed three play-the-balls and on
3248-538: The 1999 NRL season . Figure shown is the total attendance which is officially counted for both games. ** The official attendance of the 1954 Challenge Cup Final replay was 102,569. Unofficial estimates put the attendance as high as 150,000, Bradford Police confirming 120,000. History of rugby league#The schism in England The history of rugby league as a separate form of rugby football goes back to 1895 in Huddersfield , West Riding of Yorkshire when
3360-454: The ARL and NZRL . Since rugby league was introduced to Australia in 1908, it has become the largest television sport and 3rd most attended sport in Australia. Neighbouring Papua New Guinea is one of two countries to have rugby league as its national sport (with Cook Islands ). Australia's elite club competition also features a team from Auckland , New Zealand's biggest city. Rugby league
3472-634: The International Rugby League . Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands and is a popular sport in countries such as England , Australia , New Zealand , France , Tonga , Fiji , Samoa , Lebanon , Jamaica , and Malta . The first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954, the first World Cup of either rugby code, and has been held sporadically ever since, settling into
Auckland Lions - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-640: The New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded at Bateman's Hotel in George Street. Unlike in England, where both codes maintained their own geographic areas of dominance, in Australia rugby league went on to displace rugby union entirely as the primary football code in New South Wales and Queensland , while Australian rules football dominated the rest of Australia. On 5 May 1954, 102,569 spectators watched
3696-582: The Northern Rugby Football Union broke away from England's established Rugby Football Union to administer its own separate competition. Similar schisms occurred later in Australia and New Zealand in 1907. Gradually the rugby played in these breakaway competitions evolved into a distinctly separate sport that took its name from the professional leagues that administered it. Rugby league in England went on to set attendance and player payment records and rugby league in Australia became
3808-749: The Ottawa Aces were scheduled to join the English league pyramid, becoming the only Canadian team in the system after the Wolfpack were denied re-entry. The club subsequently relocated to Penryn, Cornwall , and are now known as Cornwall R.L.F.C. In 2021, the North American Rugby League announced an attempt to be North America's professional championship, with Canadian club Toronto Wolfpack joining several USA Rugby League clubs, New York Freedom and Cleveland Rugby League to form
3920-598: The Rugby League European Federation and Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation expanding the game to new areas such as Chile , Canada , Ghana , Philippines , Czech Republic , Germany , The Netherlands , Sweden , Norway , Spain , Sri Lanka , Hungary , Turkey , Thailand and Brazil to name a few. The two most prominent full-time professional leagues are the Australian National Rugby League and
4032-556: The line-out was abolished and in 1898 professionalism introduced. In 1906, the Northern Union changed its rules, reducing teams from 15 to 13 a side and replacing the ruck formed after tackles with the play-the-ball . By this point, rule changes meant the game organised by the RFL was distinct as a sport from its union cousin. A similar schism to that which occurred in England took place in Sydney , Australia. There, on 8 August 1907
4144-418: The 1895 rugby split were the subject of Mick Martin's play Broken Time , the first dramatic treatment of rugby league. The first international rugby league match took place in 1904 between England and an Other nationalities team , mostly made up of Welsh players. Initially the Northern Union continued to play under existing RFU laws. The first minor change (awarding a penalty for a deliberate knock-on)
4256-500: The 1960s. There were therefore four trophies on offer to any one club, and the " Holy Grail " was to win " All Four Cups ". As it became obvious that two codes of rugby were going to co-exist for the foreseeable future, those interested in the game needed to be able to distinguish between them. It became customary to describe those teams affiliated to the NU as 'playing in the league' hence "rugby league" while those which remained affiliated to
4368-526: The 1990s, when News Corporation paid for worldwide broadcasting rights. The media giant's "Super League" movement created changes for the traditional administrators of the game. In Europe, it resulted in a move from Rugby League being a winter sport to a summer one, as the new Super League competition tried to expand its market. In Australasia, the Super League war resulted in long and costly legal battles and changing loyalties, causing significant damage to
4480-518: The 1992 St George Jersey Flegg side. Together with Chris Parkes, the two took the sport to fields across Australia. Today, it is played by over 200,000 players in organised leagues across the country. League Tag replaces tackling with the removal of one of two tags carried on an opponent's hips, attached directly to specific League Tag shorts with Velcro patches, but otherwise retains almost all other rules of traditional rugby league (such as kicking). A number of additional rules are also added relating to
4592-515: The 2017 Kingstone Press League 1 in their inaugural season and earned promotion to the 2018 Rugby League Championship. In 2019 The Wolfpack won promotion to the Super League, lasting only a few months before having to withdraw due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic . New ownership is currently trying to revive the club with matches against amateur clubs in the US and Canada. Beginning in 2022,
Auckland Lions - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-674: The British Super League (with teams from New Zealand and France respectively). Other professional and semi professional leagues include Australia's Queensland Cup (which includes a team from Papua New Guinea ) and NSW Cup , the British RFL Championship and RFL League 1 , the French Super XIII and Elite 2 . The Papua New Guinea National Rugby League operates as a semi-professional competition and enjoys nationwide media coverage, being
4816-659: The Grand Final. They won the Grand Final 25–18, again defeating the Canterbury Bulls.. The 2007 Bartercard Cup kicked off on April 14 and despite now fielding a Premier League side the Lions were still able to dominate the Bartercard Cup. Unbeaten after eight rounds they racked up some big scores including thrashings of the Counties Manukau Jetz (62-0), Waicoa Bay Stallions (64-4), Central Falcons (84-0) and Northern Storm (70-8). They again won
4928-534: The National Rugby League, this was reduced to ten prior to the 2008 season and further reduced to eight prior to the 2016 season. If a team has to interchange a player due to the blood bin rule or due to injury, and this was the result of misconduct from the opposing team, the compromised team does not have to use one of its allocated interchanges to take the player in question off the field. The backs are generally smaller, faster and more agile than
5040-665: The New South Wales Rugby Union were circulating. The growing tension was exacerbated by an incident in 1907, when a working class player, Alex Burdon , broke his arm while playing for the New South Wales team, and received no compensation for his time off work. George Smith cabled a friend in Sydney to enquire whether there might be any support for a tour by his New Zealand professional team. Word reached Giltinan, who took great interest. Giltinan announced that he had invited Baskerville's team to play three matches in Sydney. The Australian press responded by dubbing
5152-490: The New South Wales Rugby Union. The NSWRFL managed to recruit Herbert "Dally" Messenger , the most famous rugby player in Sydney at the time. The first season of the NSWRFL competition was played in 1908 , and has continued to be played every year since (despite changes in administration and name), eventually going national and becoming the world's premier rugby football club competition. That [the touring New Zealand side ]
5264-653: The Northern Rugby Football League. Also in 1901, James Lomas became the first £100 transfer, from Bramley to Salford. The NRFU became the Northern Rugby Football League in the summer of 1922. Similar schisms in football were threatened by the formations of the British Football Association in 1884 and the Amateur Football Association in 1907, but were averted. The historic events that led to
5376-547: The Northern Union also changed its name to the Rugby Football League and thus over time the sport itself became known as "rugby league" football. In 1895, a schism in Rugby football resulted in the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). The success of working class northern teams led to some compensating players who otherwise would be on their job and earning income on Saturdays. This led to
5488-491: The Northern Union laws were available. Baskerville was greatly impressed by Dally Messenger , and persuaded him to join the touring party. For this reason, the All Golds are sometimes known as Australasia , rather than New Zealand, although Messenger was the only Australian in the touring team. The All Golds arrived in Britain late in 1907 having never even seen a match played under the new Northern Union laws. They undertook
5600-524: The RFU (who did not play in a league) as playing "rugby union". In 1905, as New Zealand's rugby union team, the All Blacks , toured Britain, they witnessed first-hand the growing popularity of the Northern Union games. In 1906, All Black George William Smith , while on his way home, met an Australian entrepreneur, J. J. Giltinan to discuss the potential of professional rugby in Australasia . In
5712-411: The RFU reacting to enforce the amateur principle of the sport, preventing "broken time payments" to players who had taken time off work to play rugby. Northern teams typically had more working class players (coal miners, mill workers etc.) who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to affluent southern teams who had other sources of income to sustain the amateur principle. In 1895,
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#17327801976095824-472: The Test cricketer Victor Trumper were among those who attended. The meeting resolved that a " New South Wales Rugby Football League " (NSWRFL) should be formed, to play the Northern Union rules. This was the first time that the words "rugby" and "league" were used in the name of an Australian organising body. Players were soon recruited for the new game; despite the threat of immediate and lifetime expulsion from
5936-508: The account of Harry Hamill of his payments to represent New South Wales (NSW) against England in 1904. In 1893 Yorkshire clubs complained that southern clubs were over-represented on the RFU committee and that committee meetings were held in London at times that made it difficult for northern members to attend. By implication they were arguing that this affected the RFU's decisions on the issue of "broken time" payments (as compensation for
6048-447: The ball comes into contact with the ground. An attacking team gets a maximum of six tackles to progress up the field before possession is changed over. Once the tackle is completed, the ball-carrier must be allowed to get to his feet to ' play-the-ball '. Ball control is also important in rugby league, as a fumble of the ball on the ground forces a handover, unless the ball is fumbled backwards. The ball can also be turned over by going over
6160-421: The ball is kicked, they are deemed off-side. Tackling is a key component of rugby league play. Only the player holding the ball may be tackled. A tackle is complete, for example, when the player is held by one or more opposing players in such a manner that he can make no further progress and cannot part with the ball, or when the player is held by one or more opposing players and the ball or the hand or arm holding
6272-604: The blow presented by the sudden and premature death of Baskerville, other difficulties would soon trouble the game in New Zealand. In some ways, the All Golds were too successful for the good of New Zealand rugby league, as many team members soon accepted lucrative contracts with British clubs. Baskerville's game would soon establish a strong following, especially in Auckland , but rugby union's strong grassroots organisation and finances in New Zealand—its "veiled professionalism" in
6384-577: The cities of Sydney , Brisbane , Christchurch and Auckland . Here too there was a clear divide between the working and more affluent upper-class players. The strength of support for rugby grew over the following years, and large paying crowds were attracted to major matches, in particular in Yorkshire, where matches in the Yorkshire Cup ( T'owd Tin Pot ) soon became major events. England teams of
6496-465: The clubs continued to play, many of them were short of players due to the fighting. In 1917, Australia's first rugby league club, the Glebe "Dirty Reds" (founded on 9 January 1908), unleashed controversy when it fielded a player named Dan "Laddo" Davies. Local rivals Annandale protested that Davies lived within their designated recruiting area. Glebe were deducted two competition points and Davies received
6608-469: The code in an extremely competitive sporting market. In 1997 two competitions were run alongside each other in Australia, after which a peace deal in the form of the National Rugby League was formed. The NRL has since become recognised as the sport's flagship competition and since that time has set record TV ratings and crowd figures. The objective in rugby league is to score more points through tries , goals and field goals (also known as drop goals) than
6720-498: The enduring nickname of "The Kangaroos". The early years of the 20th century also saw attempts to establish the game in Wales , with several teams being formed in the country. None of these ventures lasted long, however Wales remained a source of playing talent for rugby league. Over the years many hundreds of Welsh rugby union players "moved north" to the major English clubs, attracted by the opportunity to earn money playing rugby. (It
6832-554: The era were dominated by Lancashire and Yorkshire players. However these players were forbidden to earn any of the spoils of this newly-rich game. Predominantly working class teams found it difficult to play to their full potential because in many cases their time to play and to train was limited by the need to earn a wage. A further limit on the playing ability of working class teams was that working class players had to be careful how hard they played. If injured, they had to pay their own medical bills and possibly take time off work, which for
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#17327801976096944-486: The eyes of many observers at the time—meant that rugby league was unable to become quite as dominant there as in some regions of Australia and England. ...the game is but a recreation, and no recreation should become a business. But a man is perfectly justified in fortifying himself against being out of pocket when following recreative purposes. There can be no valid objection to a player being paid his actual out-of-pocket purposes while on tour—provided, of course, this course
7056-764: The first match was played in Brisbane between Norths and Souths before a handful of spectators at the Gabba . By the 1920s the Queensland Rugby League had established itself as a force to rival the NSWRL . Also in 1908, the Australian rugby union team returned from a tour of the British Isles , for which the team had received three shillings a day, for out-of-pocket expenses . Thirteen of
7168-450: The five years prior to the Second World War , the sport's popularity increased as Frenchmen became disenchanted with the state of French rugby union in the 1930s. However, after the Allied Forces were defeated by Germany in June 1940, the Vichy regime in the south seized assets belonging to rugby league authorities and clubs and banned the sport for its association with the left-wing Popular Front government that had governed France before
7280-407: The football, each play restarting from a set piece position and ended by a tackle. Although the Canadian Football League in particular maintained the word 'rugby' in its name for many years, alluding to that shared past, the introduction of the forward pass and unlimited substitution in North American games created a fundamentally different species of game from either original rugby code. Although
7392-407: The forwards. They are often the most creative and evasive players on the field, relying on running, kicking and handling skills, as well as tactics and set plays, to break the defensive line, instead of brute force. Generally forwards play a more collision oriented game, making ground by pure strength, and tackling near the play-the-ball. Usually, the stand-off/five-eighth and scrum-half/half-back are
7504-406: The fourth tackle a scrum was to be formed. This was increased to six tackles in 1972 and in 1983 the scrum was replaced by a handover. 1967 saw the first professional Sunday matches of rugby league played. The first sponsors, Joshua Tetley and John Player , entered the game for the 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season . Television had an enormous impact on the sport of rugby league in
7616-447: The game in the Australian state of Queensland , the great rival of NSW in rugby. On 16 May 1908, the returning New Zealanders played a hastily assembled Queensland team in Brisbane . Observers of the new game were shocked when Albert Baskerville fell ill in Brisbane and died of pneumonia. Test series between Great Britain and New Zealand are played for the Baskerville Shield , named in his memory. A Queensland Rugby Football Association
7728-400: The ground, with the ball usually set in a kicking tee , and the opposing team not allowed to directly challenge the kicker. The Super League in Europe and the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australasia are the world's premier club competitions. Globally, rugby league is played internationally , predominantly by European , Australasian , and Pacific Island countries, and is governed by
7840-411: The historic link between the codes continues to be acknowledged, neither Canadian or American football is commonly considered a rugby code today except in the broadest sense, and are more commonly referred to collectively as gridiron codes, or simply as 'football' within their respective countries. Players on the pitch are divided into forwards and backs , although the game's rules apply to all players
7952-425: The introduction of the thin end of professionalism pure and simple. And this is really the gist of the whole matter. New Zealand's Observer Newspaper, 26 October 1895 Two days later, on 29 August 1895, representatives of twenty-two clubs met in the George Hotel , Huddersfield, to form the Northern Rugby Football Union , usually called the Northern Union (NU). This was effectively the birth of rugby league,
8064-440: The invention of the sport previously called murderball and is not directly linked to rugby union, wheelchair rugby league has grown out of the parent sport, and retains key aspects of that sport such as an egg shaped ball, the forward-pass rule and conversions. While not a Paralympic sport, the sport has its own Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup . A further variation for ambulatory disabled players, physical disability rugby league ,
8176-412: The issue of payments to players. The rules of the game governed by the new Northern Rugby Football Union progressively changed from those of the RFU with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income the new organisation and its members depended. In rugby league, points are scored by carrying an oval ball and touching it to the ground beyond
8288-511: The league's inaugural season. Several brand new clubs from Western USA were scheduled to join in 2022 but never played. The new competition is sanctioned by Canada Rugby League , but not yet by the United States governing body. Unfortunately, while some exhibition matches were played in 2021 and 2022, NARL was defunct by 2023 The early 21st century has seen other countries take up the game and compete in international rugby league with
8400-509: The loss of income) to the detriment of northern clubs, who made up the majority of English rugby clubs. Payment for broken time was a proposal put forward by Yorkshire clubs that would allow players to receive up to six shillings (equivalent to £42 in present-day terms) when they missed work because of match commitments. The idea was voted down by the RFU. In August 1893, Huddersfield signed star players George Boak and John 'Jock' Forsyth from Carlisle-based club, Cummersdale Hornets. The transfer
8512-523: The meantime, a less-well known New Zealand rugby union player, Albert Henry Baskerville (or Baskiville), was about to recruit a group of players for a professional tour of Great Britain. It is believed that Baskerville first became aware of the profits to be made from such a venture while he was working at the Wellington Post Office in 1906: a colleague had a coughing fit and dropped a British newspaper. Baskerville picked it up and noticed
8624-453: The mid-1990s, it has increasingly borrowed techniques, tactics and even laws from rugby league, while high-profile players and coaches from the league game have increasingly gone on to success in the union code in those countries where both codes are popular (e.g. Andy Farrell , Jason Robinson and Henry Paul ). The inherent similarities between rugby league and rugby union have at times led to experimental hybrid games being played that use
8736-556: The minor premiership and after the major semi final against Harbour League went 117 minutes they won 44-40 and advanced to the Grand Final when they again accounted for Harbour League to win the last Bartercard Cup . Rugby league Rugby league football , commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby XIII in non- Anglophone Europe and South America, and referred to colloquially as football , footy , rugby , or league in its heartlands,
8848-773: The most exciting games ever seen in Sydney." In September 1909, when the new " Northern Union " code was still in its infancy in Australia, a match between the Kangaroos and the Wallabies was played before a crowd of around 20,000, with the Rugby League side winning 29–26. That year rugby union and rugby league had similar gate receipts. By 1910 league's had doubled and by 1913 rugby union's receipts were less than 10% of its competitors'. Union had to relinquish leases on major sporting grounds, with most being taken over by rugby league. The All Golds tour also served to kick start
8960-537: The most popular sporting events. The Rugby League European Federation are responsible for developing rugby league in Europe . In England, rugby league has traditionally been associated with the historic northern counties of Yorkshire , Lancashire , and Cumberland , where the game originated, especially in towns and cities along the M62 corridor . Its popularity has also increased elsewhere. As of 2024 , only two of
9072-426: The most watched sport on television. The game also developed a significant place in the culture of France , New Zealand and several other Pacific Island nations, such as Papua New Guinea , where it has become the national sport. Although many forms of football had been played across the world, it was only during the second half of the 19th century that these games began to be codified. In 1871, English clubs playing
9184-998: The name adopted by the sport in 1922. Twenty clubs had agreed to resign from the Rugby Union, but Dewsbury felt unable to comply with the decision. The Cheshire club, Stockport , had telegraphed the meeting requesting admission to the new organisation and was duly accepted with a second Cheshire club, Runcorn , admitted at the next meeting. The twenty-two clubs and their years of foundation were Batley 1880; Bradford 1863; Brighouse Rangers 1878; Broughton Rangers 1877; Halifax 1873; Huddersfield FC 1864; Hull F.C. 1865; Hunslet 1883; Leeds 1870; Leigh 1878; Liversedge 1877; Manningham 1876; Oldham 1876; Rochdale Hornets 1871; Runcorn 1895; Stockport 1895; St Helens 1873; Tyldesley 1879; Wakefield Trinity 1873; Warrington 1876; Widnes 1875; and Wigan 1872. The rugby union authorities took drastic action, issuing sanctions against clubs, players and officials involved in
9296-413: The national sport of the country. Five main variant sports of rugby league exist worldwide; Touch , OzTag , League tag , Nines , and Sevens . Touch, OzTag, and League Tag are all non-contact versions of the sport, where as Nines and Sevens are both reduced form (shorter match times and smaller teams) of the sport. Touch (also known as touch football or touch rugby) is a variant of rugby league that
9408-561: The new Super League, although the club was dissolved in 1997. In 2006, the Super League admitted the Catalans Dragons, a team from Perpignan in the southern Languedoc-Roussillon region. They have subsequently reached the 2007 Challenge Cup Final and made the playoffs of the 2008 Super League XIII season. The success of the Dragons in Super League has initiated a renaissance in French rugby league, with new-found enthusiasm for
9520-415: The new organisation. This extended even to amateurs who played with or against Northern Union sides. Consequently, northern clubs that existed purely for social and recreational rugby began to affiliate to the Northern Union, whilst retaining amateur status. By 1904 the new body had more clubs affiliated to it than the RFU. The separate Lancashire and Yorkshire competitions of the NRFU merged in 1901, forming
9632-460: The north of England there have been complaints about its lack of profile in the British media. On the eve of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup final where England would face Australia, English amateur rugby league coach Ben Dawson stated, "we're in the final of a World Cup. First time in more than 30 years and there's no coverage anywhere". France first played rugby league as late as 1934, where in
9744-404: The opposing team's goal line; this is called a try , and is the primary method of scoring, worth four points. The opposing team attempts to stop the attacking side scoring points by tackling the player carrying the ball and denying forward progress. On occasion, where a clear try scoring opportunity has been thwarted by foul play, a penalty try may be awarded without the ball being grounded over
9856-475: The opposition within the 80 minutes of play. If after two-halves of play, each consisting of forty minutes, the two teams are drawing , a draw may be declared, or the game may enter extra time under the golden point rule, depending on the relevant competition's format. The try is the most common form of scoring, and a team will usually attempt to score one by running and kicking the ball further upfield or passing from player-to-player in order to manoeuvre around
9968-400: The opposition's defence. A try involves touching the ball to the ground on or beyond the defending team's goal-line and is worth four points. A goal is worth two points and may be gained from a conversion or a penalty . A field goal, or drop goal, is only worth one point and is gained by dropping and then kicking the ball on the half volley between the uprights in open play. A field goal has
10080-417: The players immediately joined rugby league teams. By the northern winter of 1908–09, an Australian touring party was heading for Great Britain, and the test series was dubbed " The Ashes " by the press, in imitation of The Ashes cricket matches, contested by Australia and England. Later in 1909, when New Zealand toured Australia, the home team's jersey featured a kangaroo for the first time, giving them
10192-542: The position they play, similarly to association football . Substitutes (generally referred to as "the bench") are allowed in the sport, and are typically used when a player gets tired or injured , although they can also be used tactically. Each team is currently allowed four substitutes, and in Australia and New Zealand, these players occupy shirt numbers 14 to 22. There are no limitations on which players must occupy these interchangeable slots. Generally, twelve interchanges are allowed in any game from each team, although in
10304-501: The same way. Each position has a designated number to identify himself from other players. These numbers help to identify which position a person is playing. The system of numbering players is different depending on which country the match is played in. In Australia and New Zealand, each player is usually given a number corresponding to their playing position on the field. However, since 1996 European teams have been able to grant players specific squad numbers, which they keep without regard to
10416-496: The scrum see rugby league scrummage . Forward positions are traditionally named after the player's position in the scrum yet are equal with respect to "normal play" with the exception of the hooker. Forward positions are traditionally assigned as follows: Rugby league is played in over 70 nations throughout the world. Papua New Guinea is the only country to have rugby league as its national sport . Four countries – Australia, England, France, and New Zealand – have teams that play at
10528-524: The sideline. Rugby league and rugby union are distinct sports with many similarities and a shared origin. Both have the same fundamental rules, are played for 80 minutes and feature an oval-shaped ball and H-shaped goalposts. Both have rules that the ball cannot be passed forward, and dropping it forwards leads to a scrum. Both use tries as the central scoring method and conversion kicks , penalty goals and drop goals as additional scoring methods. However, there are differences in how many points each method
10640-526: The specific issues associated with a tag based game. Rugby League played with nine players per team with nine minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. Rugby League played with seven players per team with seven minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. The top five attendances for rugby league test matches (International) are: The top five attendances for domestic based rugby league matches are: * NRL double header played to open Round 1 of
10752-663: The sport in the south of the country where most of the Super XIII teams are based. In other parts of Europe, the game is played at semi-professional and amateur level. As of 2023, there is no professional rugby league in North America. From 2017 to 2020, the Toronto Wolfpack were North America 's only active professional Rugby League team, competing in the English Rugby League system. They won
10864-519: The time, Brian McClennan , served as Director of Football for the first few weeks of the season before stepping down to concentrate on the National side. Their first game was a stunning 27–8 victory over the reigning Premiers, the Parramatta Eels . After several good early performances including upsetting a Dragons team with a lot of first grade talent, the Lions season started to slide with
10976-490: The travelling New Zealand team "All Golds", a sardonic play on the nickname of the existing amateur New Zealand rugby team, the "All Blacks" and the supposed "mercenary" nature of the new code. The games were a great success; leaving the rugby rebels of Australia with much needed funds which soon proved to be vital for rugby league in Australia. A meeting was held at Bateman's Crystal Hotel in Sydney on 8 August 1907, to organise professional rugby in Australia. Giltinan, Burdon and
11088-482: The try line. In addition to tries, points can be scored by kicking goals. Drop goals (or field goals) can be attempted from the hand at any time for a single point. Following a successful try, the scoring team gains a free kick to try at goal with a conversion worth a further two points. Penalty kicks at goal, known simply as penalties, may also be awarded for general foul play, and are also worth two points. Unlike drop goals, penalty kicks and conversions are taken from
11200-571: The twelve Super League teams are based outside of these traditional counties: Catalans Dragons and London Broncos . One other team from outside the United Kingdom, Toulouse Olympique , competes in the British rugby league system , although not at the highest tier Super League level, but rather in the second tier Championship . Super League average attendances are in the 8,000 to 9,500 range. The average Super League match attendance in 2014
11312-524: The version of football played at Rugby School , which involved much more handling of the ball than in association football, met to form the Rugby Football Union . Many new rugby clubs were formed, and it was in the Northern English counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire that the game really took hold. Here rugby was largely a working class game, whilst the south eastern clubs were largely middle class. Rugby spread to Australasia , especially
11424-580: The war. The sport was unbanned after the Liberation of Paris in August 1944 and the collapse of the Vichy regime, although it was still actively marginalised by the French authorities until the 1990s. Despite this, the national side appeared in the finals of the 1954 and 1968 World Cups, and the country hosted the 1954 event. In 1996, a French team, Paris Saint-Germain was one of eleven teams which formed
11536-472: Was 8,365. In 2018 average Super League match attendance was 8,547. Ranked the eighth most popular sport in the UK overall, rugby league is the 27th most popular participation sport in England according to figures released by Sport England ; the total number of rugby league participants in England aged 16 and over was 44,900 in 2017. This is a 39% drop from 10 years ago. While the sport is largely concentrated in
11648-482: Was a great success, and gave a much needed boost to the game in Britain, which was struggling financially against the rise of association football. Baskerville died from illness on the Australian leg of the tour, but the professional rugby movement lived on, pushing forward in New Zealand despite strong opposition from the rugby union establishment. Early setbacks for the game in New Zealand Apart from
11760-487: Was anticipated to be one of the best sides ever to visit Australasia. The Rugby League matches continue to command more public interest than the Union. In Australasia, the game centred around local, regional or statewide leagues, and there were no national competitions in either country until late in the 20th century. In both Australia and New Zealand, club championships were based on one set of home and away matches leading to
11872-497: Was created and had its first world cup in 2022 to coincide with the rescheduled 2021 Rugby League World Cup competitions. Rugby league football takes its name from the bodies that split to create a new form of rugby, distinct from that run by the Rugby Football Unions, in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand between 1895 and 1908. The first of these, the Northern Rugby Football Union , was established in 1895 as
11984-459: Was founded, and in early July, informal club games were played in Brisbane. Later that month there were three representative games against NSW, and these acted as selection trials for a national team. The first game was also notable for a Queensland tackle which rendered one NSW player, Ed "Son" Fry , completely naked from the waist down—an event which did not stop him from scoring a try. The Brisbane Rugby League premiership began in 1909. On 8 May
12096-479: Was hosted by England during October and November 2022, staged the Men's , Women's and Wheelchair competitions together for the first time. The competition formerly featured 16 teams, but has been cut down to 10 for the upcoming 2026 Rugby League World Cup . The Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation 's purpose is to spread the sport of rugby league throughout their region along with other governing bodies such as
12208-468: Was introduced during the first season of the game. Other new laws were gradually introduced until, by the arrival of the All Golds in 1907 the major differences between the games had been introduced. These major differences were: See: Rugby league gameplay for more on the current game. During this period the Northern Union began to develop the British game's major tournaments. The league championship , after initially being played as one competition,
12320-421: Was not until rugby union officially allowed professionalism, in the late 20th century that this supply of talent ceased.) The 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand , the first ever, took place after the 1909–10 Northern Rugby Football Union season and featured a number of Welsh former rugby union internationals. Several Wallabies players changed codes to play against this touring team, which
12432-536: Was split into two sections, the Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues , with only a limited number of inter-county games. This necessitated a play-off structure to determine the overall champions. A nationwide cup, the Challenge Cup was introduced, and soon became the biggest draw in the sport. Finally, in 1905, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Cups were introduced, thus completing a structure that was to last until
12544-502: Was sudden and both men were summoned to appear before Carlisle Magistrates' Court for leaving their jobs without giving proper notice. Huddersfield was also accused of offering cash inducements for the players to move clubs contrary to the strict rules of the RFU. After an investigation, Huddersfield eventually received a long suspension from playing matches. The severity of the punishments for "broken time" payments and their widespread application to northern clubs and players contributed to
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