48-413: Ruben James Wiki ONZM (born 21 January 1973) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative centre-turned-prop forward, he retired with the record for most international appearances of any rugby league player in history. As of 2023, he is still the highest capped Kiwi player ever. At club level Wiki played for
96-427: A Roman numeral rather than year (e.g. Super League 1996 was known as Super League I). The first game was on 29 March which saw PSG beat Sheffield 30–24 in front of 17,873 people at Charlety Stadium . The inaugural Super League title was won by St Helens, breaking Wigan's stronghold for the first time since 1989 while Workington were relegated. St Helens were unable to defend their title as Super League's second season
144-505: A club. After 2007 automatic promotion and relegation was suspended for Super League with new teams to be admitted on a licence basis with the term of the licence to start in 2009. The RFL stated that clubs applying to compete in Super League would be assessed by criteria in four areas (stadium facilities, finance and business performance, commercial and marketing and playing strength, including junior production and development) with
192-404: A hundred years, proved unpopular. On Good Friday 1995 it was announced that Toulouse had pulled out and Widnes had their own place alongside Warrington, this as well as anti-merger campaigns and debates in parliament effectively killing any change of mergers happening. The first major change before the Super League happened in the 1994–95 season. It was decided the teams finishing in the top ten of
240-462: A place in Super League in 1999, which was won by St Helens who beat Bradford in the Grand Final. Gateshead had a successful debut season on the field finishing two points off the playoffs however off the field the club was suffering financial difficulties. By the end of the season Gateshead announced they would merge with Hull Sharks who were to revert to being known as Hull FC. Gateshead weren't
288-457: A place in the Super League, while those who achieved a C Licence underwent further scrutiny before the RFL decided who made the final cut. First licensing period In June 2008, the RFL confirmed that the Super League would be expanded from 12 teams to 14 in 2009 with the playoffs also expanding to 8 teams, and on 22 July 2008 the RFL confirmed the teams awarded licences. The teams announced were
336-476: A playoff would decide the Champions. This was not new to rugby league as a playoff system had been in use for most of the sports existence although one hadn't been used since 1973. Confusingly a playoff did take place at the end of the season but was separate from the official league season and thus didn't count towards anything. Old Trafford the venue for the old Premiership Playoff Final would be used to host
384-518: A technical coach to teach the rules of rugby league to the rugby union players. He also became a player for the final game against the combined Wallabies and Kangaroos alumni team. In 2002 and 2003 Wiki was named the Canberra Raiders' player of the year . In 2006, he was named in a Kiwi All Time XIII at a gala awards dinner celebrating New Zealand's centenary of rugby league alongside his good friend Stacey Jones . Wiki and Jones are
432-699: A trip to Laos . In 2010 Wiki took up a role as a High Performance Assistant with the Warriors. On 22 January Wiki was named the New Zealand Rugby League 's national High Performance Manager, a role which will ensure he is involved with the New Zealand national rugby league team . Since 2008, he opened a youth gym back in Otahuhu, Auckland . In 2023, Wiki participated in season 3 of Match Fit , where former rugby players return to play against
480-726: Is the top-level of the British rugby league system . At present the league consists of twelve teams, of which eleven are from Northern England , reflecting the sport's geographic heartland within the UK and one from southern France . The Super League began in 1996, replacing the existing First Division and, significantly, switching from a traditional winter season to a summer season. The regular season typically runs from February to September with each team playing 27 games; 11 home games, 11 away games, Magic Weekend and an additional 4 'loop fixtures' decided by league positions. The top six then enter
528-585: The Canberra Raiders , winning the 1994 NSWRL Premiership with them before finishing his career with the New Zealand Warriors . He currently works as the NZRL 's High Performance Manager and a High Performance Assistant with the New Zealand Warriors . Of Samoan and Māori heritage, Wiki was an Otahuhu Leopards junior. Alongside future All Black captain Tana Umaga , Wiki wreaked havoc for
SECTION 10
#1732780215575576-651: The Junior Kiwis in 1992. He represented the New Zealand Māori side in 1992 and 1993, playing on the wing at the 1992 Pacific Cup . Wiki commenced playing in Australia's Winfield Cup for the Canberra Raiders ' first grade side in the 1993 NSWRFL season . In 1993 he played for Auckland . In 1994, he teamed up with Mal Meninga as centre to score a premiership win for the Canberra Raiders. He
624-727: The play-off series leading to the Grand Final which determines the champions. As of 2024 there is no relegation to the Championship . The Super League champions take on the champions of the Australian National Rugby League in the World Club Challenge . Twenty-four clubs have competed since the inception of the Super League since 1996: nineteen from England, three from France, one from Wales and one from Canada. Four of them have won
672-479: The 12 existing Super League teams along with National League 1 teams, Celtic Crusaders and Salford . Celtic Crusaders became the first Welsh team to play in Super League and the only team to be awarded a licence who had never played in the Super League previously. Featherstone Rovers , Halifax , Leigh and Widnes all failed to attain a licence. Leigh and Widnes, especially, were disappointed with their exclusions with Leigh's chairman being extremely critical of
720-465: The 12 founding teams being: Along with the new league, new rules were introduced. Squad numbers were adopted, a video referee was at every televised game and the salary cap was introduced to stop clubs overspending and to allow for a more level playing field. Super League was also more Americanised with clubs adopting nicknames and the league seasons copying the NFL Super Bowl by being known as
768-522: The Australian counterparts. He joined in the first season that featured former rugby league stars. He was the assistant coach for the team, and became an emergency substitute player against NZ Women's Open Tag team. He was also named on the bench and played as a substitute against Kangaroos due to Shontayne Hape and Henry Fa'afili deemed medically ineligible to play contact rugby. In 2024, Wiki returned in season 4 of Match Fit: Union vs. League as
816-704: The First Division as Lindsay wanted the Super League to have greater national coverage. This resulted in a legal challenge from Keighley and Widnes who were both denied a place in the Super League. The 1995–96 season would be the last to be played in winter and fittingly was the sports centenary year. The season was kept short, starting in August and finishing in January, with the 1995 World Cup taking place in October. Super League finally kicked off in 1996 with
864-593: The First Division would be in the Super League. Teams finishing 11–15 would be relegated to the Second Division while the bottom team would be relegated to the new Third Division. In the current Second Division the top seven teams would remain while the rest would make up the Third Division. Controversy occurred at the end of 1994–95 when Keighley won the Second Division but were denied promotion due to fourth placed London Broncos being fast tracked to
912-539: The French leagues was also planned to be invited but the French government refused their backing unless there was a team from Paris, thus Paris Saint-Germain were founded as the second French club playing under the same name and colours as the association football club. As well as two French clubs being involved, several merges between English clubs were put forward: The proposal to merge neighbouring clubs, many of whom were local rivals and had been part of communities for
960-635: The Future". Lindsay's Super League was given a boost during the mid 90s Australian Super League war . A Rupert Murdoch backed Super League in Australia was trying to gain broadcasting supremacy over the Australian Rugby League . In an attempt to gain the upper hand, Murdoch, whose broadcasting company bSkyb already had the rights to the First Division , approached the RFL. A £77 million offer and an £87 million payment aided
1008-574: The RFL. By the end of the 2008 season, Salford and Celtic Crusaders finished 13th and 14th respectively and the Grand Final was won by the League Leaders, Leeds Rhinos for a fourth time. The following season Crusaders made the playoffs but were knocked out in the first round. League Leaders Wigan won the Grand Final. By 2011 the Crusaders were suffering financial difficulties and entered administration and were deducted four points. Salford on
SECTION 20
#17327802155751056-709: The Rugby League World Cup. Wiki snubbed the chance to join a Super League side for the 2009 season, and entered into retirement from first grade rugby league in 2008. In 2009 Wiki came out of retirement to play for the Samoan Residents, a team representing his Mother's homeland, in a one-off match which raised money for the Samoan tsunami relief fund. In August 2009, Wiki appeared on the New Zealand travel programme Intrepid Journeys with
1104-592: The Shay, it's no contest; if you compare playing records, it's no contest; and if you compare the financial position, we have kept our head above water and they haven't." Wakefield had been favourites to lose their licence before Crusaders' withdrawal. After two licensing periods the system started to fall out of favour. Some highlighted clubs such as Wakefield and Castleford which had failed to build new stadiums but were twice awarded licenses over Championship clubs who many thought would be better suited to Super League. There
1152-566: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 574390746 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:50:15 GMT Super League The Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred , and legally known as Super League Europe Ltd. )
1200-400: The conclusion of their regular league seasons, the 24 clubs then competed in a play-off series where they split into 3 leagues of 8 based upon league position: Funding for clubs was tiered in both leagues to prevent relegation-related financial difficulties. In preparation for the new structure, two clubs would be relegated from Super League in 2014 to reduce the league to 12. By the end of
1248-529: The decision. It was agreed a 14 team Super League would take place in 1996, switching the sport from winter to summer and making every team full time. As part of the agreement, the Super League would be a European competition. Rugby league held a traditional heartland in the South of France and so Toulouse Olympique were invited (however never ended up taking a place in Super League I). A second club from
1296-459: The final evaluations and decisions being taken by the RFL board of directors. Successful applicants were licensed for three years of Super League competition and three-yearly reviews of Super League membership took place to ensure ambitious clubs lower down the leagues can still be successful. Points attained by each club's application are translated into licence grades A, B or C. Clubs who achieved an A or B Licence would be automatically awarded
1344-421: The final in golden point extra time 12–16 after the scores were locked at 12-all after 80 minutes. Wiki retired having played 55 test matches for New Zealand between 1994 and 2006, at the time the most test matches played by any rugby league footballer in the world. He captained the New Zealand national rugby league team in 18 of those tests. Wiki's biography, Ruben Wiki , was published in 2006. He became only
1392-514: The first three years. Their inclusion in Super League meant two clubs would be relegated in 2005. Bottom team Leigh were relegated with 11th placed Widnes. By the mid-2000s standards on the field had improved and attendances increased but many clubs still played out of crumbling stadiums and most of the sport was still played in the North of England. There was also the emergence of the "Big Four" (Bradford, Leeds, Wigan, and St Helens) who were dominating
1440-422: The first time in 20 years that New Zealand had kept Australia scoreless in a test match. In the final Wiki was named man-of-the-match and became the first player of any nation to reach fifty test caps. After playing his 55th test match in the 2006 Tri Nations final Ruben Wiki announced his retirement from the international game along with other New Zealand veterans Nigel Vagana and Stacey Jones . New Zealand lost
1488-631: The game. This became not only a personal ritual but was embraced by the team as a post match tradition. His sister, Germaine Wiki, has represented the Kiwi Ferns . He is married with two children, including daughter Mackenzie who represents Cook Islands in rugby league and from 2023 plays for the Canberra Raiders NRLW team. Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit Too Many Requests If you report this error to
Ruben Wiki - Misplaced Pages Continue
1536-450: The league during its first 10 seasons. Announced in May 2005, to try and combat the issues facing Super League, the RFL introduced licences as the new determinant of the Super League competition's participants from 2009 with relegation scrapped, two new teams would expand the league to 14. The licences were awarded after consideration of more factors than simply the on-the-field performance of
1584-401: The new Grand Final in which the top five Super League teams would contest. The first Grand Final took place at Old Trafford in front of a sellout crowd of 40,000 who watched Wigan defeat Leeds 12–8, their first league title since the old First Division. Ahead of the expansion to 14 clubs Wakefield Trinity were promoted from the Second Division and a new club, Gateshead Thunder were awarded
1632-408: The on-field criteria needed to submit an application, but despite this only Barrow, Halifax and Widnes decided to submit an application. On 31 March 2011 Widnes were awarded a Super League licence; Barrow did not meet the criteria and were refused a licence; and Halifax's application was to be further considered alongside the other Super League clubs. The Rugby Football League 's final decision
1680-408: The only club struggling, Sheffield announced they could no longer continue and merged with Huddersfield and would be known as Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants. Due to these two clubs resigning from the league it was agreed Super League would revert to 12 teams after just one season. Relegation was reintroduced in 2001 with one team going down each year. The only major change to the league was in 2002 when
1728-457: The only recent players to be named in the side with the majority of the players being from the "immortal" 1950-60s side and the destructive 1980s team. Wiki was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit , for services to rugby league, in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours . Wiki drank a bowl of the Pacific island drink kava after each match, which he credits for his longevity in
1776-428: The other hand despite never making the playoffs in the three years since they were promoted were in a much better financial position. During this period the league was dominated by Leeds and St Helens with Leeds winning three titles and St Helens appearing in every Grand Final. Second licensing period For the 2012–14 seasons Championship sides Batley , Barrow , Featherstone Rovers , Halifax and Widnes all met
1824-499: The playoffs were expanded to six teams. The League Leaders Shield was introduced in 2002 to reward the team who finished top at the end of the regular season. In 2005 it was announced a franchise was to be awarded to a French club, with Toulouse , Villeneuve and Catalans Dragons all applying. In the end Catalans, who were only founded in 2000 after a merger between two Perpignan based clubs, were chosen. Their debut season would be in 2006 and they would be exempt from relegation for
1872-564: The season London Broncos and four-time Champions Bradford Bulls were relegated to the Championship. In June 2015 eight of the 12 Super League clubs voted to allow a Marquee Player that could exceed a club's salary cap as long as they could afford their wages. The marquee player rule came into force for the 2016 Super League season. The first Super 8s season was won by the Leeds Rhinos, with all four Super League clubs surviving
1920-578: The tenth player and first New Zealander to play 300 first grade games in the NRL when he started at prop in the Warriors 28–26 victory against the Wests Tigers on 29 June 2008. He played, what was meant to be his final game with the All Golds as part of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup against the New Zealand Māori rugby league team . Later that year he was an assistant to the New Zealand team which won
1968-442: The title: St Helens (10), Leeds Rhinos (8), Wigan Warriors (7) and Bradford Bulls (4). During the 1950s, British rugby league experienced a boom in popularity. However the twenty years that followed saw attendances and popularity decline. A "Super League" was first suggested as far back as the 1970s as a way to address the decline. By the early 1990s the sport was still struggling with dwindling attendances, poor facilities and
Ruben Wiki - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-405: Was also announced ahead of the 1998 season that there would be no relegation as the league planned to expand to 14 teams from 1999. Following PSG folding, and as a result only English teams being present in the competition, the league was not referred to as a European competition from then on out and acted solely as the top tier of the British rugby league system . The other major change was that
2064-526: Was also unrest in the Championship with clubs feeling their success on the pitch should be rewarded. At the 2013 Annual General Meeting in Bradford , the Super League clubs agreed to reduce the number of clubs to 12 from 2015, and also for a return of promotion and relegation with a 12 club Championship . A radical new league structure was proposed. The 12 Super League and 12 Championship clubs would play each other home and away over 22 rounds. Following
2112-452: Was announced on 26 July 2011, Widnes would join thirteen existing Super League teams with Crusaders having withdrawn their application and Halifax being refused a license. Crusaders CEO Rod Findlay stated that the club's finances were not in a good enough condition to justify their place in Super League. Halifax chairman Mark Steele was critical of the decision to award Wakefield a licence over themselves, saying "If you compare Belle Vue with
2160-529: Was banned for two matches after pleading guilty to a dangerous throw charge on Sydney prop Scott Logan . Wiki played for Canberra until 2004 before moving to the Warriors. Wiki joined the New Zealand Warriors in 2005. Wiki will probably be remembered most as the captain of the Kiwi team that scored an historic 24–0 victory over the Kangaroos in the 2005 Tri-nations . This was the first series win since 1978 and
2208-591: Was dominated by one club, Wigan , who were the only full time professional team. In 1992, the then Chief Executive of the Rugby Football League , Maurice Lindsay reopened the idea for a Super League. He wanted the new league to break the stereotype of rugby league being a sport only played in Northern England, and had a vision for clubs to play out of new facilities under a set of minimum standards in an unpublished document called "Framing
2256-451: Was then involved in controversy when both the Canberra Raiders and new Auckland Warriors tried to register him for the 1995 season. After a long dispute Wiki stayed with Canberra. Wiki was selected for the New Zealand team to compete in the end of season 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament. In the final against Australia he played at centre in the Kiwis' 22–20 loss. In 2001 Wiki
2304-516: Was won by the Bradford Bulls with London Broncos justifying the decision to be fast tracked into Super League by finishing second. Oldham were relegated and PSG, who had finished 11th for the second consecutive time were dissolved after it was discovered some of their overseas players had tourist visas to avoid paying French tax. Due to Oldham being relegated and PSG folding, two teams, Hull Sharks and Huddersfield Giants , were promoted. It
#574425