84-646: The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League . Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New South Wales Rugby Football League) from 1908 until 1994, the premiership was the state's elite rugby league competition, parallel to Queensland's first-class league,
168-825: 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 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
252-1027: A couple of scalps and at the end of the season Curtis Rona was signed by the Sydney Roosters, earning a call up to the under 20s side during 2010. A new bid logo was launched in 2010 and membership for fans was made available. NRL CEO David Gallop recognised the WA Reds 2013 bid on a number of occasions, speaking positively about the potential for a Perth team in the NRL, but as of now, no such offer has become official. Biggest Win Biggest Loss Most Consecutive Wins Most Consecutive Loses Most First Grade Matches Most First Grade Points Most First Grade Tries Most Points in
336-420: 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 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
420-537: A final was only played if two clubs finished level at the conclusion of the minor premiership. Souths won the 1909 premiership when Balmain forfeited in protest against the final being played as a preliminary match before a promotional game between the national Rugby League and Rugby Union sides. The 1937 season also featured no finals as the year was disrupted by the Kangaroos tour. Between 1926 and 1953 first played third and second played fourth and winners played off. If
504-437: 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
588-637: 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, 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,
672-633: 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
756-453: 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
840-692: A second team from Brisbane, and also a team each from Perth and Townsville — will also be invited. In 1995, some seven years later, the competition expanded further into Queensland, with the inception of the South Queensland Crushers and the North Queensland Cowboys . 1995 also saw a new team in Western Australia , the ' Western Reds ', later called the Perth Reds, as well as a New Zealand-based team –
924-539: A state of limbo for the next decade but were revived as a lower-level club in 2006 by the WARL and ARL, under the name WA Reds . The Reds had recruited well in 1993–94, and signed Peter Mulholland as their first coach. St. George fullback Michael Potter (twice winner of the Dally M Award ), 1992 Rookie of year and CLEO bachelor of the year Matthew Rodwell , and Australian and NSW rep player Brad Mackay were three of
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#17327734064881008-415: 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
1092-401: 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
1176-476: 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 a four-yearly cycle in the 2010s; as of 2023 , the holders are Australia . A short-sided version of
1260-474: 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
1344-536: 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 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
1428-432: 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
1512-555: 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
1596-413: 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
1680-547: The 1908 season , with Souths taking the first premiership honours after beating Easts in the Final. Between 1912 and 1925 the premiers were decided by first past the post. As a result of South Sydney's dominant 1925 season, the NSWRFL introduced a finals system in order to maintain interest in the competition. Over the decades since the NSWRFL competition started, Sydney suburban teams came and went throughout its history but it
1764-602: 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
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#17327734064881848-464: 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. WA Reds The Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth , Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as
1932-454: 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
2016-640: The Auckland Warriors . The total number of teams in the competition was now twenty – the largest-scale rugby league competition ever in Australia. The premiership's new national outlook was further reflected in the governing body's name, with the New South Wales Rugby League transferring control of the competition to the Australian Rugby League (ARL). Between 1912 and 1925 there was no semi-final system and
2100-569: The Brisbane Rugby League . For most of the premiership's history it was contested by clubs from the state of New South Wales only, but later attempted to grow into a nationwide competition, eventually leading to the competition being played under the auspices of the Australian Rugby League in 1995. Despite this name, the 1995 and 1996 Australian Rugby League Premierships competitions were still administered by
2184-704: 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
2268-750: The New Zealand Warriors to Perth Oval , and played in front of around 13,000 spectators. The WARL resurrected the Reds in 2006 with the intent of joining the National Rugby League in the future. In 2008 the Reds joined the Jim Beam Cup and played out of Perth Oval . In the 2009 Bundaberg Red Cup the Reds were winless until the back-end of the season when they won 3 of their 4 last games, giving them something to build on for
2352-749: 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
2436-598: 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
2520-585: The Western Reds , they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League competition in 1997, where they rebranded themselves as the Perth Reds . However, by the end of the year the Reds had become a casualty of the Super League War peace deal and were shut down. The name Reds was named after the native Red Kangaroos . The Reds entered
2604-555: The 1980s. 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, 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
New South Wales Rugby League premiership - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-526: 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
2772-518: 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
2856-515: 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,
2940-510: The Board and staff of the New South Wales Rugby League. The inaugural New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) premiership began in 1908, and was made up of eight Sydney-based teams and one team from Newcastle. Cumberland joined the competition after the first round, meaning that they played one game fewer than the rest of the field for the season. Still known as the "foundation clubs" today, these nine teams battled against one another during
3024-674: 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
3108-585: The Central Bulldogs – they won 38–20. The WARL have set up two junior academies to help develop players for a return to the NRL with the SG Ball side providing a staging ground for player development. The WA Reds juniors won their first SG Ball game beating the Balmain Tigers at ME Stadium 28–8. Whilst the team found it tough going against often bigger and more experienced sides they did claim
3192-461: 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
3276-614: The Perth Reds on 1 October 1997. Rugby league has continued to be played in Western Australia since the Reds left the top-flight competition with the Swan Brewery Cup continuing and NRL matches being staged at various times since 1998. On 8 May 1999, Melbourne Storm played Western Suburbs Magpies at Lathlain Park in Perth , with Melbourne running out winners 62–6. In 2005, Cronulla took their home game against
3360-497: The Reds, however he never played in first grade. After declaring that the club may not have the financial resources to compete in the 1996 ARL Optus Cup , a major sponsorship with the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sunday Times gave the club some much needed money. By mid 1996 club support had dwindled to just over 6,000. In 1997, the Reds became one of eight ARL teams to join the rival Super League during
3444-535: The amateur principle. In 1895, 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
New South Wales Rugby League premiership - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-447: 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
3612-421: 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
3696-594: 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 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
3780-469: 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
3864-426: The dispute known as the Super League war . They changed their name to the Perth Reds for the 1997 Super League season , and adopted a jersey of red, white and black. Although the club had made some promising signings, such as Rodney Howe and Robbie Kearns , the crushing $ 10 million debt that hung over the club (from having to pay the airfares for all visiting teams) at the end of the season led to Super League axing
3948-631: The end of an 86-year wait in the wilderness and this time around the team was badged the Newcastle Knights . After mostly solid results were obtained by the expansion teams in 1988, there was increasing pressure for new inclusions into the competition. Having decided in May 1992 that a team from Auckland would join the premiership in 1995, the League announced in November that three more new clubs —
4032-681: 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
4116-547: 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
4200-407: 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
4284-406: 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
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#17327734064884368-411: 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
4452-733: 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 the International Rugby League . Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands and
4536-511: 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
4620-931: The major signings. Their first game, played at the WACA , was watched by a record 24,392, with the Reds defeating St George 28–16. When News Limited began its "blitzkrieg" in April 1995, the Reds aligned themselves with Super League along with nine other Australian Rugby League clubs. That season the Reds were the best performing of the three expansion teams introduced, winning 11 of their 22 games, including 8 at home, which drew an average crowd of around 13,000, larger than that of many Sydney teams. The Reds even recruited local identity and decorated WAFL and West Coast Eagles ( AFL ) player Adrian Barich . Barich, having grown up in Canberra reverted from Australian rules football to rugby league, finishing his career with seasons with
4704-453: 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
4788-402: The minor premiers were defeated they had a right of challenge, but if they were not defeated there was no true "grand final." From 1954 a mandatory grand final was introduced in which there was a knockout minor semi-final between third and fourth and a second-chance major semi between first and second. The winner of the major semi went to the grand final and a preliminary final was played between
4872-537: 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
4956-413: 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
5040-561: 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
5124-605: The next season. Darwin Rugby League product Aaron Barnes was named the Reds' player of the year. Unfortunately for financial reasons the Reds snr team was withdrawn from the Bundy Cup for 2010. In 2010, the WA Reds entered an Under 18's team in the S. G. Ball Cup competition. The first trial game on 30 January 2010 was against the runners-up of the Western Australia Rugby League competition
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#17327734064885208-405: 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
5292-475: 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
5376-400: 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
5460-471: 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 , 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
5544-403: 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 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,
5628-503: The popular cigarette brand). The NSWRFL had also commenced a very popular and successful mid-week competition in 1973, originally known as the Amco Cup , but also as the Tooth Cup and the National Panasonic Cup. The success of this competition, which included teams from both Brisbane and New Zealand ultimately created pressure for further expansion of the NSWRL competition. In 1984 , the New South Wales Rugby Football League changed its name to New South Wales Rugby League. In 1988 , for
5712-542: 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
5796-482: The rugby league. In 1897, 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
5880-501: 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
5964-400: 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 the ground, with the ball usually set in a kicking tee , and the opposing team not allowed to directly challenge
6048-496: 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
6132-524: 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
6216-526: 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
6300-663: 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
6384-441: 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 the invention of the sport previously called murderball and is not directly linked to rugby union, wheelchair rugby league has grown out of
6468-571: 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
6552-550: The very first time, two Queensland teams joined the competition, with the inclusions of the Brisbane Broncos and the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants . This saw the premiership competition move beyond the outer borders of New South Wales. At the same time, as a result of mounting pressure from the central coast of New South Wales, Newcastle returned to the competition with a new franchise. Their return saw
6636-580: 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
6720-434: The winner of the minor preliminary semi played the loser of the major preliminary semi in the minor semi-final (which was played as before under the final four system. 1932, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971 1935, 1937, 1939, 1949, 1952, 1965, 1969 1964, 1965, 1966, 1977, 1979 1971, 1975, 1985, 1992, 1993, 1996 In addition to Reserve Grade, there was a Third Grade competition contested from 1908 until
6804-412: The winner of the minor semi and the loser of the major semi to decide who would meet the winner of the major semi. In 1973 a final five was devised with the top team going straight into the major semi, the second and third teams playing a major preliminary semi, and the fourth and fifth playing a sudden-death minor preliminary semi. The top team played the winner of the major preliminary semi-final, whilst
6888-472: 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
6972-479: 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
7056-758: Was not until 1982 that the competition saw significant expansion outside of the Sydney area. The two new inclusions were from the Australian Capital Territory – the Canberra Raiders – as well as a team from the southern New South Wales region – the Illawarra Steelers . This corresponded with the adoption of commercial sponsorship of the competition for the first time, seeing it become the Winfield Cup (named after
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