102-1006: Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield , West Yorkshire , England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League , the top tier of the British rugby league system . The club was one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. They have won the League Championship twice and Challenge Cup five times. Wakefield have local rivalries with Castleford Tigers and Featherstone Rovers as well as Leeds Rhinos . Their traditional kit colours are white with
204-754: A stand-off . But Trinity continued to fluctuate between the two divisions. Former player David Topliss stabilised the Dreadnoughts' ship in 1987. He won immediate promotion in 1988 back to the First Division, retiring as a player after the final match of the campaign. He remained at Wakefield purely as a coach and consolidated the club's top tier status by acquiring the services of seasoned internationals like Steve Ella , new captain Mark Graham , Brian Jackson as well as now former Trinity coach Andy Kelly and later John Harbin . Wakefield escaped
306-469: A 17-year-old in 1913. Wakefield closed for the 1915–16 season but recommenced playing in 1916 following the introduction of conscription which meant that would not be accused of keeping men from volunteering for the First World War. In a quiet time for Trinity, they won only one Yorkshire Cup (in 1924–25 against Batley ) and lost four Yorkshire Cups. Parkin decided he wanted to leave in 1930, at
408-409: A 5–5 draw. Four days later the two clubs drew again, with Leeds eventually lifting the trophy after a second replay, the only occasion it took three attempts to settle a Yorkshire Cup Final. A total of 52,402 spectators watched the three games. As of 2017, the 1943–44 season is the only occasion that Wakefield Trinity have finished top of the league. In 1947, Wakefield Trinity centre Frank Townsend
510-617: 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,
612-580: 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,
714-438: A difficult 2022 Super League season with the club struggling near the foot of the table. Following the clubs Magic Weekend loss to Toulouse Olympique , Wakefield found themselves in the relegation zone. However, the club would win five of their remaining seven matches to avoid relegation and finish in 10th place. On 12 September 2022, head coach Willie Poching announced he was departing Wakefield Trinity. Wakefield Trinity started
816-707: A dour 1962 Challenge Cup win over Huddersfield although the Fartowners went on to deny them the double a few days later in the Championship final at Odsal Stadium , Bradford . Wakefield also won the Yorkshire Cup final of 1961–62 and the Yorkshire League of 1961–62. Wakefield Trinity was invited to visit South Africa during June and July 1962. Neil Fox , Harold Poynton , Gerry Round , Derek Turner and Jack Wilkinson , were unable to accompany
918-554: A feasibility study on 12 September 2008, into the project and which concluded that it is not feasible for a new stadium at Thornes Park. That left Wakefield Trinity in a precarious position – Belle Vue is not suitable for the long-term future, and a new stadium is crucial to their Super League survival. In 2009 a new stadium in Stanley was proposed with planning permission expected to be applied for in October 2009. Planning permission
1020-405: 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
1122-455: A match in which his side squandered a 20-point lead – one of several occasions this season Trinity have collapsed in the second half. On 24 July 2006, Wakefield announced former Hull F.C. coach John Kear as Head Coach until the end of the season. Trinity defeated their arch-rivals Castleford by 29–17 at Belle Vue on Saturday 16 September 2006 to preserve their Super League status in an epic match which saw both teams leading for spells of
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#17327807507771224-437: 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
1326-633: 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
1428-461: A record 38–5 win v Hull F.C. under the guidance of coach Ken Traill and loose forward Derek 'Rocky' Turner . Wakefield won their fourth Challenge Cup victory in 1962, running out 12–6 winners against Huddersfield. Many of the scenes from the film This Sporting Life were filmed at the Belle Vue during Wakefield's third round Challenge Cup match against Wigan. The club were victorious in
1530-554: A red or blue V. Between 1999 and 2016 the club was known as Wakefield Trinity Wildcats . The club's predecessor was The Young Mens Society, formed in 1867 by the Holy Trinity Church to promote sports, with the team itself formed in 1873 alongside a similarly named athletics club, Wakefield Trinity Cycling and Athletic Club (now Wakefield District Harriers and Athletics Club). Early matches were played at Heath Common (1873), Manor Field (1875–76) and Elm Street (1877) before
1632-598: A result of the split from the Rugby Football Union and in 1896 formed a separate limited company to avoid accusations of professionalism, although they continued to use Belle Vue until the 1920s. Trinity won the Northern Union Challenge Cup for the first time in 1909, beating Hull F.C. 17–0 at Headingley . The corresponding 1914 final saw the result reversed, with Hull winning 6–0. Jonty Parkin signed for Wakefield Trinity as
1734-453: 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
1836-469: A summer season. When the Rupert Murdoch -funded Super League competition had been proposed, part of the deal was that some traditional clubs would merge. Wakefield were down to merge with Castleford and Featherstone Rovers to form a new club, Calder , which would compete in the newly formed Super League. Although Wakefield voted to merge, the other clubs refused to do so; Wakefield finished below
1938-415: 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
2040-557: A threat of closure by forming their first ever board of directors in August 1991. Topliss stepped down as coach to concentrate on his business. David Hobbs joined Wakefield Trinity as coach in May 1994. He then went to Halifax as Director of Football in January 1995. In 1996, the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inaugural Super League season and changed from a winter to
2142-645: A top 8 finish and a place in the Challenge Cup semi final. 2017 proved to be more successful than many pundits imagined – once again Trinity were in the top 8 of Superleague, despite being many peoples tip to finish last and face a relegation battle. In 2018, Wakefield finished 7th on the table at the end of the Super League XXIII season. The club went on to finish 5th at the end of the Super 8's. In
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#17327807507772244-401: 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
2346-557: 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
2448-474: 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
2550-432: 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
2652-555: 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
2754-413: 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
2856-602: 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
2958-420: 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. 1943%E2%80%9344 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season Too Many Requests If you report this error to
3060-416: The 2019 Super League season , the club finished ninth on the table. In the 2020 Super League season , the club finished second bottom after a difficult campaign. In the 2021 Super League season , Wakefield Trinity finished 10th in the competition. Towards the end of the season, the club terminated head coach Chris Chester . Wakefield later appointed Willie Poching as the new head coach. Wakefield endured
3162-454: 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
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3264-634: 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
3366-658: The KC Stadium in Hull , Trinity produced a remarkable performance and managed to beat Hull despite having two men sin-binned . The semis saw a visit to Wigan and there was real hope in the camp that Wakefield would make the elimination final play off and all looked to be going that way when Trinity led 14–0 but some strange decisions went the way of the Wiganers so it wasn't yet to be but Wakefield fans will look back on these two games with fondness for many years. The away support
3468-704: 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
3570-749: 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
3672-598: 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
3774-556: 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
3876-461: The "Wildcats" nickname in 1998: the year they entered Super League, having won promotion from the first division . Wakefield put together a startling series of results early in the 1999 season, beating some of the most fancied sides and ensuring early in the campaign that they would be safe. The club invested heavily in newcomers. Wakefield also played one of their televised home games at Barnsley F.C's Oakwell stadium against St. Helens. John Harbin
3978-519: The 1950s. Trinity featured in the first league match to be broadcast on British television, a clash with Wigan at Central Park on 12 January 1952. Trinity were runners-up in the league championship in 1959–60 , losing in the Championship Final against Wigan. Wakefield Trinity beat Huddersfield 16–10 in the 1960 Yorkshire County Cup Final at Headingley , Leeds on 29 October 1960. Wakefield returned to Wembley emphatically with
4080-483: The 1967 Rugby Football League Championship Final at Station Road, Swinton on 10 May 1967, with scrum half Ray Owen winning the Harry Sunderland Trophy . The following season they retained their title in the 17–10 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1968 Championship Final at Headingley on 4 May 1968, this time with Gary Cooper taking home the man of the match award. Wakefield now wear two gold stars above
4182-466: 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
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4284-518: 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
4386-455: The 2009 season. In February 2011, the club entered administration to avoid a winding up petition from HMRC over £300,000 in unpaid taxes. Former Hull coach Richard Agar became Wakefield Trinity's head coach before the start of the 2012 Super League XVII season, on a three-year deal. Agar was replaced by James Webster after a poor run of form in June 2014. Webster was sacked halfway into
4488-588: The 2015 season just before the Qualifiers started and was replaced by Brian Smith . They went on to win the inaugural Million Pound Game against Bradford Bulls to play another season in Super League. Smith resigned in March 2016. Chris Chester was appointed head coach 16 March 2016 and revitalised the squad. Compared to the previous season when the team were fighting for survival, Chester guided them to
4590-454: 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,
4692-415: The 2023 Super League season poorly losing their opening nine matches in a row. Wakefield also became the first side of the Super League era to be held scoreless in five games throughout a season after losing 32–0 to Leigh in round 9. After losing their opening 14 games of the 2023 Super League season, Wakefield Trinity recorded their first win of the campaign defeating Leeds 24-14. In the second last round of
4794-493: The 2023 Super League season, Wakefield were officially relegated after losing 20-19 in golden point extra-time against Leigh . It ended Wakefield's 24-year stay in the top flight. After returning to the RFL Championship, Wakefield Trinity claimed the 1895 Cup and finished top of the Championship only losing one match for the entirety of the regular season. They would then go on to reach the Championship grand final where
4896-674: 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
4998-526: The Challenge Cup for a fifth time in 1963, Wakefield had still not been able to secure the league championship title. The Holy Grail would be achieved in the 1966–67 season when the experienced Harold Poynton led a powerful side, which included Neil Fox, Don Fox , Gary Cooper and Ray Owen , to victory over St. Helens in a replay of the championship final. They repeated the title feat the following year against Hull Kingston Rovers but were again denied
5100-534: 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
5202-547: The Northern Union also changed its name to the Rugby Football League and thus over time the sport itself became known as "rugby league" football. In 1895, a schism in Rugby football resulted in the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). The success of working class northern teams led to some compensating players who otherwise would be on their job and earning income on Saturdays. This led to
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#17327807507775304-411: 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,
5406-478: The Second Division during the 1984–85 season is the lowest position that Wakefield Trinity have ever finished. In December 1985, Wakefield did a deal with the local council to enable them to continue at Belle Vue. Five council delegates joined Wakefield's board giving them the majority vote. The ensuing decline was temporarily halted when Wally Lewis signed up for a brief spell with the club, playing as
5508-415: The age of thirty-four, and he was put on the transfer list at £100. Hull Kingston Rovers would not find the money; so Parkin paid the fee himself to secure his release. The game's bylaws were adjusted shortly afterwards, so that no player could ever do that again. On Saturday 27 October 1934, Leeds and Wakefield Trinity met in the final of the Yorkshire Cup at Crown Flatt , Dewsbury . The match ended in
5610-447: 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
5712-421: 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
5814-473: The club crest to signify the two titles won. Wakefield absorbed a number of different coaches at the helm in subsequent years but did not return to Wembley until William "Bill" Kirkbride 's talented charges fell 12–3 to Widnes in 1979 in front of nearly 100,000 fans. Bill Ashurst coached Wakefield Trinity while still playing during the 1981–82 season. Derek Turner was Head Coach for Wakefield Trinity from July 1983 until February 1984. As of 2017, 11th in
5916-458: The club moved to Belle Vue in 1879. After the 1890–91 season, Wakefield along with other Yorkshire Senior clubs Batley, Bradford, Brighouse, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Hunslet, Leeds, Liversedge, Manningham decided that they wanted their own county league starting in 1891 along the lines of a similar competition that had been played in Lancashire. The clubs wanted full control of
6018-469: 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
6120-489: The cut-off point of 10th in the existing top flight and were excluded from the new Super League. As the sport in Britain entered a new era, it would be three years before Wakefield rose again to the top level of the game. Under coach Andy Kelly , Wakefield earned their place in the top flight on the back of their controversial victory over Featherstone Rovers in the inaugural Division One Grand Final in 1998. Wakefield adopted
6222-496: The double when Leeds defeated them in the 1968 'water splash' final at Wembley, a match played during a downpour that saturated the pitch. The game produced the most dramatic of finishes, when Man-of-the-Match, Don Fox had an under-the-posts conversion to win it for Wakefield, but "topped it" on the saturated turf and missed, to leave Leeds 11–10 winners. Trinity were crowned Champions for the only time in successive seasons – 1966–67 and 1967–68. Wakefield Trinity beat St. Helens 21–9 in
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#17327807507776324-630: 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
6426-547: 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
6528-407: 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
6630-406: 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
6732-689: The game. Had Wakefield not won the match they would have been relegated. Instead, their win, dubbed as the 'Battle of Belle Vue' sent Castleford down to the National League One. The match was attended by a sell out crowd of 11,000. In November 2006 the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council set out plans for a new sporting village to be built at Thornes Park that would incorporate a new stadium to be used by Trinity, along with gymnastics and boxing facilities and swimming pools. The council published results of
6834-585: 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
6936-411: 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
7038-542: The initial 22 clubs to form the Northern Union after the acrimonious split from the Rugby Football Union in 1895. Belle Vue was purchased in 1895, in order to provide a permanent base for Trinity. The money was provided by the Wakefield Trinity Cycling and Athletic Club and was also initially used for cycling and athletics competitions. The athletic club split from the rugby club as
7140-440: 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 ,
7242-412: 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
7344-700: The league but the Yorkshire Rugby Football Union would not sanction the competition as it meant giving up control of rugby football to the senior clubs. Prior to schism of 1895 which led to the formation of the Northern Rugby Union, Wakefield Trinity participated nine times in thirteen years in the final of the Yorkshire Cup (T'owd Tin Pot), a trophy that is nowadays contested solely by rugby union clubs. They were one of
7446-511: 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
7548-486: The league. Peter Roe was sacked in July 2002 and was replaced by his assistant Shane McNally . With Adrian Vowles as his co-coach the pair guided Trinity to their first-ever SL play-off position, finishing in 6th place. In 2004, after a slow start to the season Trinity finished stronger than any other team in the competition giving their fans some hope of a little glory at the club which had been missing for too long. Away at
7650-453: 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
7752-537: 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
7854-413: 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
7956-561: 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
8058-460: 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
8160-684: The opponents would be Toulouse Olympique. Wakefield would win the match 36-0 to claim the title. On 24 October 2024, Wakefield Trinity were promoted back to the Super League through the IMG grading system replacing the London Broncos. 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,
8262-404: 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
8364-475: 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
8466-400: 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
8568-542: 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
8670-501: 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
8772-496: 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
8874-524: 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
8976-526: 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
9078-663: 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
9180-573: The squad in Alan Skene , Jan Prinsloo and Colin Greenwood , with the rest of the party made up of Fred Smith , Ken Hirst , Ken Rollin , Keith Holliday , Dennis Williamson , Milan Kosanović , Geoff Oakes , Brian Briggs , Albert Firth and Don Vines . They were winners of all six matches. The tour opened on Saturday 30 June 1962 at Milner Park, Johannesburg, where the local Johannesburg Celtic club were overpowered by 52–6. Despite winning
9282-606: The team on the six-match tour, as they were in Australia with the GB tourists. Wakefield Trinity's Chairman Stuart Hadfield was also touring with the national team as Great Britain manager. Trinity therefore added four South African players who were playing for British clubs at that time to their squad. They were Fred Griffiths ( Wigan ), Tom van Vollenhoven ( St. Helens ), Wilf Rosenberg (Hull F.C.) and Edward "Ted" Brophy ( Leigh ). Wakefield had three South Africans of their own in
9384-482: 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
9486-517: 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
9588-574: The war produced a return to winning ways as Trinity, with names such as James "Jim" Croston and Billy Stott , pipped Wigan to the Cup 13–12. On Saturday 27 October 1951, 25,495 were at Fartown , Huddersfield to see Wakefield Trinity defeat Keighley 17–3 in the Yorkshire Cup Final. The club was not destined to return to Wembley until 1960 and had to slake its thirst for silverware on two Yorkshire Cup and two Yorkshire League victories in
9690-527: 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
9792-472: 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
9894-497: 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
9996-439: Was fatally injured in a match at Post Office Road , Featherstone . On Saturday, 3 November 1945, Bradford Northern met Wakefield Trinity in the final of the Yorkshire Cup held at Thrum Hall , Halifax . Wakefield began the match as favourites, they had lost only one of thirteen matches thus far in the season. However, Bradford won 5–2 and lifted the Yorkshire Cup for the fourth time in six seasons. The first Wembley final after
10098-664: Was granted for the new ground in Newmarket, subject to section 106 agreements, and since this news the club have yet again stalled in progress. The 2009 season was Wakefield's best-ever Super League season with the club finishing 5th on 32 points and qualifying for a home tie in the end of season play-offs. 2010 was a disappointment to the club, after losing Shane Tronc, Terry Newton and Danny Brough, and despite bringing in Danny Kirmond, Charlie Leaeno and Julien Rinaldi, they still finished in 10th position, five places lower than
10200-479: 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
10302-412: Was outstanding for both efforts. Shane McNally was sacked in June 2005 after a disappointing start to the season. Tony Smith took over as caretaker coach from Shane McNally and led Trinity to survival in 2005 but following four straight defeats which saw Wakefield drop into the relegation zone Smith was sacked on Monday, 17 July 2006. Smith's last game in charge was a 26–20 defeat against Huddersfield,
10404-539: Was the coach of Wakefield between October 2000 and October 2001, Wakefield's final game of the 2001 season was a relegation battle with Salford with Wakefield condemning Huddersfield to relegation. He decided to leave the club at the end of 2001. Peter Roe was appointed Head Coach in November 2001. After years of struggling to keep up with the Super League pace which saw Trinity finish next to bottom on most of their attempts they finally got around to making headway up
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