112-675: Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull , Yorkshire , England. The club play home games at Craven Park and compete in Super League , the top tier of British rugby league . Hull KR have won the League Championship five times and Challenge Cup once. Hull Kingston Rovers are one of two professional rugby league teams in Hull . Hull F.C. play on
224-617: 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,
336-585: A club and world rugby league record. In 1906/07 they reached the final of the Yorkshire Cup only to lose to Bradford F.C. 5–8. In 1908, Rovers gained a memorable 21–16 win over the first touring Australian side. In 1911/12 they finished 3rd out of 27 but lost 10–22 to Huddersfield in the final of the Yorkshire Cup. In 1912/13 Rovers finished 3rd again out of 26 clubs and lost to Wigan in the Championship semi final play-off and finished runners-up in
448-725: A crowd of 4,066 to the Douglas Bowl . The final score was 34–6 to Wigan. In 1985/86, Millward took Rovers to their sixth win in the Yorkshire Cup before they were defeated in the John Player Final and the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley narrowly losing 15–14 to Castleford. This proved to be Rovers last major final to date, as the team that had part dominated the English game faded away. By the late 1980s, time had taken its toll on Craven Park stadium, following
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
784-540: A hat-trick. Johnny Whiteley joined Hull Kingston Rovers as coach in 1970 and stayed until 1972. In the early 1970s Hull KR purchased a site at Winchester Avenue with the aim of building a new stadium. The plans never came to fruition and the site was later sold to a private developer. The profit made from this land was used to buy back Craven Park with greyhound racing continuing as a subsidiary concern. New Zealand visited Craven Park on 8 September 1971. The Kiwis, playing their third game in five days, were unable to match
896-715: A league of their own, comprising 22 clubs. Rovers, then nicknamed "the redbreasts" did not join the new organisation and were instead promoted to the second division of the RFU finishing joint second. They moved to their first ground in East Hull in Craven Street off Holderness Road. In 1896–97, they were denied a place in the first division when several sides resigned but when the West Riding club dropped out, Rovers moved up. Hull KR amalgamated with Albany Soccer Club. After
1008-583: A mid-season collapse and exited the play-offs in the first round. After being in Administration from 1997 an acceptable buyer for the club was finally found in 2000, and the club came out of administration. Don Robinson took control in 2001 and Gary Wilkinson became head coach. Despite reaching the National Cup Final and finishing fourth in the league, Wilkinson made way for the club's first overseas coach, Steve Linnane . Under Linnane,
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
1232-574: A player after having his jaw broken for the third time, the club finished 3rd in the league but lost 18–9 to Widnes in the final of the Challenge Cup in front of 94,496. Rovers lost in the final of the Yorkshire Cup 7–8 to Leeds but won the Premiership Trophy beating Hull 11–7. International full back George Fairbairn was signed from Wigan suring the summer of 1981 for a then world record fee of £72.500. In 1981/82 Rovers finished 4th in
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#17327905534711344-633: 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
1456-405: A professional side. Rovers then moved to their second ground in East Hull, Old Craven Park , behind the tram and bus depot on the eastern end of Holderness Road in 1922. The land cost £18,281 and included 14 tennis courts. They lost their first match at the new ground 0-0-0 to 0–1–3 Wakefield Trinity on 2 September 1922, Albert Rosenfeld scoring Trinity's try. The club finished 4th out of 27 in
1568-453: 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
1680-403: A reversal to Harlequins RL , they then had an away win (26–16) at Wigan, followed by a hard-fought victory at home to in-form Leeds, to go joint top of the early season table . However, inconsistent form, injuries and the effects of the first Super League sending-off (after 96 games) saw Rovers slip to near the bottom, despite a historic double away win over Wigan, and beating local rivals Hull at
1792-574: A successful amalgamation the clubs resources they then went onto win the Yorkshire Cup for the first time beating Shipley 11–5 in the final. The club also won the league competition and beat the rest of the league 26–8 in a challenge match. Rovers applied to join the Northern Union and played their first match under the new code in 1897–98. Rovers were elected into the inaugural Yorkshire Second competition in 1898–99 winning all 17 matches. A club record of 19 consecutive league play-off and cup wins
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
2128-557: 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
2240-474: 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
2352-432: 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
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#17327905534712464-555: 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
2576-413: 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
2688-602: 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
2800-468: 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. Heckmondwike (rugby league) Heckmondwike was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Heckmondwike in
2912-454: 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
3024-547: The Bradford City stadium fire , capacity was restricted and the cost of safety work spiraled. Major renovations were needed to bring it up to scratch. Large amounts of money were spent on the ground each year repairing sections but once one section was repaired another would fall into disrepair. In 1988/89, their last full season at Craven Park, Rovers were relegated to the 2nd Division and Millward decided to stand down as coach. Wright Properties Ltd purchased Craven Park from
3136-533: The Challenge Cup Final at Wembley for the first time, losing 5–13 to Widnes in front of 84,488 fans. A return to Division One rugby was made in 1964–65 when Rovers finished 8th out of 30. In 1965/66 Rovers finished 12th out of 30. Rovers finished second in 1966–67, their highest place for over 40 years and the Yorkshire Cup was won with a 25–12 victory over Featherstone Rovers . The club bought Roger Millward from Castleford on 8 August 1966 for
3248-634: 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
3360-654: The Millennium Magic weekend. Improved late season results, including the safety-clinching win in the derby against Hull by the shock margin of 6–42 (played at the KC Stadium), ensured Super League status for another campaign. Hull KR made significant changes to their squad for the 2008 season, which saw eleven new players brought in and a number of players released or sold. On 2 May the club announced that former captain James Webster had been released from
3472-548: The National League One play-off semi final at Craven Park against Widnes whom they beat 29–22 to reach the first Grand Final in their history, which they won 29–16, earning a place in the following season's Super League competition. After close-season signings and an overseas training camp, Rovers made a better than expected start to their first Super League campaign, winning their first two games – Wakefield Trinity at home and Huddersfield away. After suffering
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3584-704: 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
3696-694: 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
3808-598: 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
3920-556: 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
4032-692: The metropolitan borough of Kirklees , West Yorkshire , England . The club played semi-professional rugby league for a total of 4 seasons and spent each of the seasons in the Yorkshire Senior Competition. They first became members of the Northern Rugby Football Union (now Rugby Football League ) in 1896–97 and stayed for three seasons until 1898–99 . After a two-year sojourn in the Yorkshire Second Competition, they returned to
4144-466: 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
4256-518: 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
4368-650: The 2017 Championship season, Hull KR successfully gained automatic promotion back to the Super League, at the first time of asking. Hull Kingston Rovers began in 1882 when a group of apprentice boilermakers in the Hessle Road area of Hull came together to start a team, Kingston Amateurs. Their first ground was a piece of wasteland in Albert Street, the club started playing in the Hull and District League in
4480-454: 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,
4592-611: The Boulevard, and they lost to Bradford Northern that season in the first round of the Yorkshire Cup. Amos Law, a drop kicker joined the club from Cleckheaton and Huddersfield, while George William Lofthouse played at the age of 14; the youngest ever player to turn out for the senior side. In 1895 the Northern Football Union was founded, when the leading rugby union sides in the North of England broke away to form
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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
4816-591: The Challenge Cup final. In 1925/26 Rovers finished 6th and won the Yorkshire League Championship. In 1926/27 the club finished 6th out of 29 but managed to beat a touring New Zealand side 20–15. In 1929–30 Rovers won the Yorkshire Cup beating Hunslet 13–7 in the final, and finished 6th in the league. In 1933/34 the club lost 4–10 to York F.C. in the Yorkshire Cup Final. Hull Kingston Rovers sold Craven Park for £10,750 to
4928-654: The Division 1 Championship but narrowly missing out in the final of the Premiership. Rovers also won the John Player Trophy beating Hull 12–0 in the final at Boothferry Park but lost 12–29 to Hull in the final of the Yorkshire Cup. On 25 August 1985, professional rugby league was played for the first time on the Isle of Man . The Charity Shield between Hull Kingston Rovers and Challenge Cup winners Wigan drew
5040-497: The Eastern Division title, especially as Rovers were missing five first choice players with injuries. The Robins, however, set the early pace and were 10–0 up after 30 minutes. Despite a rally by Huddersfield, Rovers hung on to win 13–10. Rovers win was their first trophy for more than 30 years. In 1962–63 as two division rugby returned, they finished the season tenth out of sixteen in Division 1. In 1963–64, Rovers reached
5152-647: The Greyhound Racing Company in 1938 due to financial difficulties, securing a 21-year lease to continue playing there. Leagues were again suspended during the Second World War. When the league resumed in 1945 Rovers finished 18th out of 27. Between 1947 and 1957, Rovers finished between 17th and 29th in the league. Colin Hutton was Hull KR coach from 1957–70. In 1958 the club's fortunes started improving, finishing 18th out of 30. In 1959–60
5264-533: The John Player Trophy and the Premiership Trophy. In 1975/76 the club were runners-up in the Yorkshire Cup losing 11–15 to Leeds . Coach Harry Poole died in 1976/77, and Millward took over as temporary player-coach and in his first season guided the club to their first ever BBC2 Floodlit Trophy victory as the Robins beat St. Helens 26–11. The club finished 4th out of 16 in the league. Phil Hogan
5376-480: The Lancashire League finishing 5th out of 13. Hull Kingston Rovers were one of the new teams to join the second division and finished joint second. In 1904–05, Rovers reached the Challenge Cup Final losing 0–6 to Warrington in front of a crowd of 19,638. In the first round on 4 March 1905, Rovers beat Brookland Rovers 73–5 with G.H. 'Tich' West scoring 53 of the points with 11 tries and 10 goals, still
5488-534: 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
5600-411: The Northern Rugby Football Union's Yorkshire Senior Competition in 1901–02 for a further single season. At the end of the 1901–02 season the club left the league and changed sports to soccer. Heckmondwike FC was formed as a rugby football club some time before 1895. They converted from the rugby union to rugby league in the summer of 1896, in time for the 1896–97 season. During the early years
5712-630: 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
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#17327905534715824-411: 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,
5936-467: The Robins came within eighty minutes of their first Grand Final appearance in 2002, after a largely successful end to the season, while the arrival of former player Nick Halafihi as chief executive, boosted the club's off-field activities. In 2004 the club appointed Mal Reilly as Director of Rugby and Martin Hall as first team coach after Steve Linnane's resignation. But Reilly left the club midway through
6048-548: The Robins, who beat the Kiwis 12–10. Rovers won a further two Yorkshire Cup winners medals in 1971/72 and 1974/75. In 1973/74 the club was relegated to Division 2 when they finished 14 out of 16 in Division 1. Rovers gained promotion back to Division 1 the next year and won the Yorkshire Cup for the sixth time beating Wakefield Trinity 16–13 in the final. They also reached the semi-finals of the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy,
6160-675: The Super League. This was resisted but despite finishing top of the Third Division , they were not promoted. As the sport in Britain entered a new era, it would be ten years before Rovers rose again to the top level of the game. Rovers were again crowned champions of the now renamed Second Division in 1996 and were this time promoted to the First Division. Hull Kingston Rovers entered administration in January 1997, and, but for
6272-479: The Times Cup for the third year running in 1891–92 beating York A in the final. 1892 saw Rovers play at the Boulevard for the first time and they leased the ground for three years from the following season. Only one away win was recorded this season and six home wins, but Rovers entered the Yorkshire Cup for the first time although they were knocked out by Dewsbury in the second round. In 1893 Rovers played out of
6384-537: The Times Cup, beating Selby A in the final. The Hull Kingston Rovers moved to their fourth ground, down Hessle Road. In 1888–89, 6,000 fans turned up to the cup game against Hull A at the Holderness Road ground, which ended as a draw. Rovers went through the next season losing just two games, defeating Britannia in the Times Cup final. Rovers beat Hull A for the first time in 1889–90, and moved to their fifth ground, again down Hessle Road. The Red and Whites won
6496-528: The Yorkshire League Championship. Leagues were suspended in 1915 due to the First World War. When an official regional league resumed on 18 January 1919, Rovers finished 19th out of 25. In 1920/21, Rovers finished top of the Rugby League but lost 14–16 to Hull F.C. in the play-off final at Headingley . They had their revenge in the Yorkshire Cup final beating Hull 2–0 to win their first cup as
6608-468: The Yorkshire Senior Competition for the start of the 1901–02 and finished in 11th place out of 14 clubs. A further re-organisation of the league took place in 1902 when 18 teams from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Senior Competitions were elected to a new Northern Rugby League Division 2 - the Lancashire and Yorkshire Senior Competitions being abolished. Heckmondwike were not one of the teams elected to
6720-422: The autumn of 1883. By 1885 Kingston Amateurs had played at three grounds, Albert Street, Anlaby Road and finally Chalk Lane. The club name was also changed to Kingston Rovers as they entered the Times Cup in the 1885–86 season. A number of clubs joined the league and the club entered the new Hull and District Rugby Union Cup, losing to Hull A in the final. The club won its first trophy in the 1887–88 season by winning
6832-447: 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
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#17327905534716944-421: 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
7056-413: The club and the final game was played there on 9 April 1989. A new stadium, New Craven Park , was built on a site off Preston Road. New Craven Park was officially opened on Sunday 24 September 1989 as Rovers beat Trafford Borough 48–8 in front of 8,500 spectators. Rovers started the new era convincingly, and were crowned Second Division champions with promotion back to the top flight. George Fairbairn
7168-650: The club finished 13th out of 30, the first time the club had finished in the top half of the table since 1930–31 – the players shared a bonus of £500 to share. In 1961–62, the club won 17 successive matches and finished 8th out of 30. In 1962, the league was split into East and West of the Pennines; Huddersfield and Hull Kingston Rovers met at Headingley, Leeds in the first final of the Eastern Division Championship on Saturday 10 November 1962. Reigning champions, Huddersfield were favourites to lift
7280-415: The club had three prominent players who gained international caps: Dicky Lockwood , Donald Jowett , and Willie Sutcliffe . They joined the ranks of the semi-professionals when they became members of the Northern Union in its second season 1896–97 and played in the Yorkshire Senior Competition . At the end of this first season, 1896–97 , Heckmondwike finished in bottom place out of the 16 clubs.. In
7392-469: 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
7504-402: The diligence of administrator Edward Klemka and the fund-raising activity of the Hull Kingston Rovers Supporters Group, the 1997 season would almost certainly have been their last. On the field though, Rovers won the Challenge Cup plate in its only season, beating Hunslet at Wembley 60–14. Then, against all odds, they finished second in the division the following season. Rovers finished second in
7616-492: The final of the Northern Rail Cup for the second successive season, against Leigh at Bloomfield Road , Blackpool on 16 July. Leigh won this game 22–18, thus ending Rovers' twenty four match unbeaten run. The club's Challenge Cup campaign also came to an abrupt halt, Rovers gamely succumbing 50–0 to triple-winning St Helens at the Galpharm Stadium , Huddersfield . September 2006 saw Rovers crowned National League One Minor Premier winners, and qualify for an automatic place in
7728-625: The final six months of his contract due to a three to four-month lay off with a shoulder injury. He was replaced by new signing Michael Dobson , who was formerly a target of Hull. Canberra Raiders scrum half took squad number 26, and made his début against Harlequins RL on 25 May, scoring two tries. Rovers finished one point away from a play-off place. 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,
7840-450: 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
7952-407: 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
8064-407: 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
8176-406: 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
8288-585: 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
8400-411: 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
8512-440: 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 ,
8624-412: 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
8736-489: The league and lost in the final of the John Player Trophy 4–12 against Hull. In 1982/83 Rovers finished as runners-up in the league. In 1983/84 Rovers were crowned champions of the 1st Division and went on to win the Divisional Premiership beating Castleford 18–10 in the final at Headingley; becoming the first team to win the Championship / Premiership double. In 1984–85 they nearly repeated the feat winning
8848-560: The league and they won the League Championship Cup beating Huddersfield 15–5. In season 1923/4 Gilbert Austin voluntarily ended a run of 190 consecutive appearances when he was selected to play for Yorkshire, which he considered a great honour. 1924–25 saw Rovers finish 2nd in the league, win the League Championship Cup, the Yorkshire League Cup, were semi-finalists in the Yorkshire Cup and runners-up in
8960-407: The league in 1998, and came close to a Grand Final spot with a Super League spot at stake. The Robins were expected to go one better in 1999 and topped the table for most of the season before their run ended and the final six games saw them drop from first place to sixth, missing out on a play-off place. Disappointment followed the year after when the Robins finished in seventh place in the league after
9072-511: 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
9184-479: The lights off!" due to most of the city travelling to Wembley for the final. Also, a '10–5' bar is now situated inside Craven Park. Steve Hubbard scored nine out of the ten points for Rovers. Millward played the full game, despite having his jaw broken early in the game. Earlier in the same season, Rovers had lost in the final of the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy against Hull. In 1980/81, Millward retired as
9296-453: 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
9408-537: 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
9520-413: 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
9632-625: The new Division 2. The club left the Northern Union in 1902 and converted to a soccer club. The league positions for Heckmondwike for the three years in which they played semi-professional rugby league are given in the following table: Heading Abbreviations RL = Single division; Pl = Games played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose; PF = Points for; PA = Points against; Diff = Points difference (+ or -); Pts = League points League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0. J. Bland of Heckmondwike played in The Rest's 5-7 defeat by Leeds in
9744-561: 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
9856-460: 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
9968-404: 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
10080-475: 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
10192-400: 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
10304-542: 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
10416-413: The quarter-final of the Challenge Cup. It was arguably their biggest fixture for some years. Against all the odds the Robins won, 40–36, their best result in the competition since their 1980 Challenge Cup win against local rivals Hull. This result also created a new club record of 18 consecutive wins. The victory set up a semi final tie against Super League leaders, St. Helens . Rovers also progressed to
10528-501: 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
10640-496: 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
10752-560: The season, while Hall took the club to the play-off semi-final before leaving once the season had finished. Halafihi also left the club. Harvey Howard was appointed first team coach and Paul Lakin appointed chief executive in late 2004. Howard was dismissed shortly before the Northern Rail Cup Final, which Rovers went on to win 18–16 over Castleford , with the Robins utilising the temporary player-coaching abilities of James Webster . Permanently taking over from Howard
10864-510: The second season, 1897–98 the club did very little better, finishing 15th out of 16 clubs, despite the signing of the former England (RU) and Bradford F.C. Half-back , Horace Duckett . They slipped back to bottom position out of 16 in the third season, 1898–99 . Heckmondwike hen spent two seasons playing in the Yorkshire Second Competition. With the formation of the Northern Rugby League in 1901 Heckmondwike returned to
10976-524: 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
11088-526: 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
11200-663: 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
11312-633: The sum of £6,000. Rovers won the Mackeson Trophy for being the top points scorers in the Rugby League. Rovers won the Yorkshire Cup for the second year running in 1967–68, beating Hull 8–7 in the final; the first all-Hull final in 47 years. The club finished third in the league and lost 10–17 to Wakefield Trinity in the play-off final; Rovers were runners-up in the Yorkshire League and beat the Australians 27–15 with Millward scoring
11424-482: 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
11536-571: 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
11648-580: 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
11760-544: The west side of the city, and Hull KR on the east side, at Hull College Craven Park . The River Hull is the divide between the two. Hull KR's nickname, "The Robins", originates from their traditional playing colours of red and white. After a ten-year stay in the Super League (2007–2016), they were relegated from the Super League to the Championship in the 2016 season, due to the Million Pound Game . In
11872-472: 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
11984-456: Was brought in as a player-coach in 1992 for a record fee of £72,500. In 1994/95, Rovers were relegated to the third division despite finishing mid table. In 1996, the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inaugural Super League season and changed from a winter to a summer season. When the Super League competition had been proposed, it was suggested Hull Kingston Rovers should merge with Hull F.C. to form 'Humberside' and compete in
12096-497: 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
12208-479: 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
12320-537: Was set in that season with the club subsequently defeating Heckmondwike in a promotion/relegation match to qualify for the Yorkshire Senior Competition. Hull Kingston Rovers were thus admitted into full membership of the Yorkshire Northern Union and finished 6th out of 16 beating Hull 8–2 in the first local derby on 16 September 1899, in front of a 14,000 crowd. In 1901–02, the top Yorkshire clubs formed their own 'super league' and Rovers played in
12432-627: Was the former Toulouse coach, Justin Morgan . October 2005 who saw the club still in the National League, after failing to get past the semi-final stage of the National League One play-offs. Rovers also started a number of ground improvements, including the laying of a new pitch, and widening of the playing surface. They also made some significant signings for the 2006 season. Up to that time unbeaten in their 2006 fixtures, in early June they were drawn to meet Super League side Warrington , in
12544-535: Was transferred to Hull KR in 1978 for a then world record fee of £35,000. Rovers topped the league for the first time since 1925. In 1979/80, under coach Roger Millward , Hull KR achieved a famous defeat of neighbours Hull, by a margin of 10–5 in the final of the Challenge Cup , at Wembley in front of 95,000 fans. A makeshift sign was left on the A63 (the major westerly road out of Hull) that read "last one out turn
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