League 1 (rugby league)
| Country |
 England |
|---|---|
| Other club(s) from |
 Wales Canada |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | Championship |
| Domestic cup(s) | Challenge Cup |
| League cup(s) |
League 1 Cup League 1 Shield |
| Current champions |
 Rochdale Hornets (1st Title) |
| Most championships |
 York Knights Dewsbury Rams (2 titles) |
| TV partners | Sky Sports |
| Website | League 1 |
 2016 | |
League 1, formerly Championship 1 and currently known as Kingstone Press League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition based in England. The competition also features clubs from Canada and Wales. It is the RFL's third-tier competition, below the Championship, with which it has promotion and relegation.
The league was inaugurated in 2003 when the Northern Ford Premiership was divided into two separate leagues, initially named National League One and National League Two. In 2009, the league names were changed to the Championship and Championship 1 respectively, with the latter adopting its current name of League 1 in 2015.
History
1991–2003: Foundation and regular competition
Third-division rugby league competitions in the United Kingdom have existed periodically since 1991. The current incarnation was created in 2003 when the second-division competition below Super League, the Northern Ford Premiership, was split into National Leagues One and Two. Teams that finished in the top ten league positions of the Northern Ford Premiership at the end of the 2002 season formed National League One, while the remaining eight formed National League Two where they were joined by two additional clubs, London Skolars from the Rugby League Conference and York City Knights, who replaced the defunct York Wasps and also joined National League Two for the inaugural season in 2003.
2004–2009: National Leagues
At the end of the 2005 Super League season, an extra team was relegated to National League One in order to accommodate French side Catalans Dragons' entry to the competition. In turn, an additional team was relegated from National League One to League Two, while Blackpool Panthers were elected to National League Two for the 2005 season to replace the defunct Chorley Lynx, leaving 11 teams in League Two. In order to even up the numbers, the Welsh team Celtic Crusaders were admitted to the competition in 2005, first playing in the 2006 season and increasing the division to twelve teams.
2010–2014: Championship 1
In 2009 Super League was expanded to 14 teams, with two additional teams being promoted from National League One. In turn, two additional teams were promoted from National League Two to National League One at the end of the 2008 season, reducing the number of teams in National League Two to 10. National Leagues One and Two were then rebranded as Championship and Championship 1 respectively, with the change being implemented in time for the 2009 season.
South Wales Scorpions were admitted to Championship 1 for the 2010 season, increasing the number of teams in the league to 11. Blackpool Panthers left the league in 2011, once again reducing the number of teams to 10. In 2013, three new teams were admitted to the league; Hemel Stags, Gloucestershire All Golds and Oxford Rugby League. To facilitate this expansion, in 2012 four teams were promoted to the Championship from Championship 1 and no teams were relegated from the Championship, meaning that the 2013 Championship 1 season was contested by 9 teams.
2015–present: League 1
In 2014 expansion and restructure took place with 5 teams relegated from the Championship and Coventry Bears added to expand the league to 14 teams, which was then renamed League 1. A new playoff structure was also introduced with two teams being promoted to the Championship. In 2015 the League 1 Cup was introduced as an additional competition for League 1 clubs. In 2016 Toulouse Olympique joined the league, bringing the total number of teams to 15. Toronto Wolfpack will join the league from 2017, taking the total number of teams to 16.
In 2016, the Super 8s format that had been used in the Super League and Championship was introduced to League 1.
Under the amended structure, the 16 League 1 clubs play a regular season of 15 rounds. Following the conclusion of their regular league seasons, the 16 clubs then compete in a play-off series where they split into 2 divisions of 8 based upon league position:[1][2]
- The top 8 League 1 clubs compete in the League 1 Super 8s. They play each other once (either home or away) to determine which 5 clubs will compete in the playoffs.
- The remaining (bottom 8) League 1 clubs compete for the League 1 Shield. The team finishing bottom collects the wooden spoon.
Clubs
*capacity for Rugby League games may differ from official stadium capacity.
Structure
League 1 has a system of promotion and relegation with the Championship. At the end of the season, two League 1 teams are promoted via end of season playoffs while the bottom two teams in the Championship are relegated to League 1.
There is currently no relegation from League 1, with the bottom team collecting the wooden spoon. Additional expansion teams can be accepted to the league via an application to the RFL.
Regular Season
The 16 League 1 teams play each other once home or away for a total of 15 regular season fixtures. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the league is split into two groups of 8 as part of the Rugby League Super 8s.
Super 8s
The top eight teams in League 1 following the conclusion of the regular season form the League 1 Super 8s, and each play each other once more to complete the league season. The team finishing in first place following the Super 8s phase is awarded the League Leaders Shield and hosts the Promotion Final against the team finishing second – the winners of this final are named Champions and promoted to the Championship. The loser of the Promotion Final enters the playoffs along with the teams finishing third, fourth and fifth to determine the second team to be promoted to the Championship.
| Position | Qualification |
|---|---|
| 1 | Promotion Playoff |
| 2 | Promotion Playoff |
| 3 | Playoff |
| 4 | Playoff |
| 5 | Playoff |
| 6 | Season Complete |
| 7 | Season Complete |
| 8 | Season Complete |
League 1 Shield
The bottom 8 teams in League 1 at the end of the regular season compete for the League 1 Shield. They each play each other once more after which the teams finishing the season in first and second place contest the League 1 Shield Final, to be hosted by the team finishing first.
| Position | Qualification |
|---|---|
| 1 | Final Place |
| 2 | Final Place |
| 3 | Season Complete |
| 4 | Season Complete |
| 5 | Season Complete |
| 6 | Season Complete |
| 7 | Season Complete |
| 8 | Wooden Spoon |
Play Offs
Following the Super 8s phase, the teams finishing first and second in the League 1 Super 8s contest the Promotion Final, while the teams finishing third, fourth and fifth qualify for the play offs along with the loser of the Promotion Final.
Promotion Final
The winners are League 1 Champions and are promoted to the Championship.
- 1st v 2nd
Playoff Final
The loser of the Promotion Final hosts the team finishing fifth, while the team finishing third hosts the team finishing fourth. The winners play in the Playoff Final which is hosted by the highest ranked team.
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Promotion Final runners-up | ||||||||
| 4 | 5th | ||||||||
| Winner of Semi Final 1 | |||||||||
| Winner of Semi Final 2 | |||||||||
| 2 | 3rd | ||||||||
| 3 | 4th | ||||||||
Results
| Year | Grand Final Winners | League Leaders | Promoted | Wooden Spoon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 |  Hunslet |
York |
Hunslet |
 South Wales |
| 2015 |  Oldham |
Oldham |
Oldham  Swinton |
South Wales |
| Year | Champions | League Leaders | Promoted | League 1 Shield Winners | Wooden Spoon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Rochdale |
 Toulouse |
Rochdale Toulouse |
 Newcastle |
 Hemel |
| 2017 | |
|
|
|
|
Winners
| Club | Wins | Winning years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | York City Knights | 2 | 2005, 2010 |
| 2 | Dewsbury Rams | 2 | 2006, 2009 |
| 3 |  Keighley Cougars | 1 | 2003 |
| 4 |  Barrow Raiders | 1 | 2004 |
| 5 |  Celtic Crusaders | 1 | 2007 |
| 6 | Gateshead Thunder | 1 | 2008 |
| 7 | Swinton Lions | 1 | 2011 |
| 8 |  Doncaster RLFC | 1 | 2012 |
| 9 |  North Wales Crusaders | 1 | 2013 |
| 10 | Hunslet Hawks | 1 | 2014 |
| 11 | Oldham Roughyeds | 1 | 2015 |
| 12 | Rochdale Hornets | 1 | 2016 |
Match officials
All rugby league matches are governed by the laws set out by the RFL; these laws are enforced by match officials. Former Super League and International Referee Steve Ganson is the current Acting Head of the Match Officials Department and Technical Director. Former Hull player and Huddersfield Head Coach Jon Sharp was the previous Head of the Match Officials Department of the RFL. Sharp was sacked in July 2015 and took up the role of Head Coach at Featherstone Rovers. He assumed his role at the RFL following Stuart Cummings' departure in March 2013 having previously held the role of Match Officials Coach & Technical Director.
Sponsor
League 1 has had three sponsors since 2003. Between 2003 and 2008 it was called the LHF Healthplan National League 2 before it was renamed the Championship 1 in 2009 and sponsored by Cooperative.
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2003–2008 | LHF Healthplan | LHF Healthplan National League 2 |
| 2009–2012 | Cooperative | Cooperative Championship 1 |
| 2013–2014 | Kingstone Press Cider | Kingstone Press Championship 1 |
| 2015–2017 | Kingstone Press League 1 |
Expansion
Current RFL policy is to add expansion teams to the professional structure via entry to League 1. In 2011, the RFL invited expressions of interest for four additional English teams to join the competition starting in 2013. Of the 16 interested parties, three teams, Gloucestershire All-Golds, Hemel Stags and Oxford RLFC were accepted to join the league and began play in 2013,[3][4][5][6][7] while an additional team, Coventry Bears, were also accepted in September 2012, however it was decided that they would join from the 2014 season to give them additional time to prepare.[8] Coventry again deferred their membership in 2014, eventually joining the league for the 2015 season.
In 2015 it was announced that Toulouse Olympique, after talks with the RFL, had accepted the proposal to rejoin the English league structure in League 1 for the 2016 season, airing their aims for promotion in their maiden League 1 season in a bid to eventually achieve Super League status.[9]
In 2016, it was announced that Toronto Wolfpack would be joining the league from the 2017 season, becoming the first transatlantic professional sports team and the first team to compete in the RFL structure from outside of the UK or France.[10]
| Confirmed expansion clubs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Date | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
| Hemel Stags[4] |
21 February 2012 | Pennine Way | 2,000 | Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire |
 Gloucestershire All-Golds[5] |
9 May 2012 | Prince of Wales Stadium | 480 | Cheltenham, Gloucestershire |
 Oxford[7] |
18 September 2012 | Iffley Road | 500 | Oxford, Oxfordshire |
 Coventry Bears[7] |
2015 | Butts Park Arena | 4,000 | Coventry, West Midlands |
| Toulouse Olympique[9] |
2016 | Stade des Minimes | 4,066 |  Toulouse, Haute-Garonne |
 Toronto Wolfpack[11] |
2017 | Lamport Stadium | 9,600 | Toronto, Ontario |
| Potential future expansion clubs | ||||
| Team | Potential join date | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area |
| Manchester Rangers | 2017/ 2018 | Manchester Regional Arena | 6,500 | Manchester, Lancashire |
| London Chargers | 2018 | London, Greater London | ||
Media
TV
League 1 games in the past have been televised rarely and sporadically. Matches were previously broadcast in the UK on Premier Sports and infrequently on Sky Sports, however as of 2015 the competition does not receive television coverage.
| Period | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| 2008–2011 | Sky Sports Premier Sports |
| 2012–2013 | Premier Sports |
| 2014 | Sky Sports (Grand Final Only) |
| 2015–2021 | Sky Sports |
Radio
Regional radio stations, including BBC Local Radio and local commercial stations, provide coverage of the League 1 clubs.
See also
- Rugby League Championships
- British rugby league system
- Super League
- Rugby League Conference
- Northern Ford Premiership
- National League Cup
References
- ↑ http://media.therfl.co.uk/docs/Policy%20Review%20-%20September%202013.pdf
- ↑ http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-league/25780498
- ↑ "Northampton Town FC to run rugby league team from 2013". BBC Sport. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- 1 2 "Hemel Join Rugby League Championship 1". RFL. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- 1 2 "All Golds to join Championship One". RFL. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- ↑ "Gloucestershire All Golds to join Championship One in 2013". BBC Sport. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Oxford to be admitted to Championship One". BBC Sport. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ↑ "Coventry Bears: Midlands amateur side targeted as semi-pro club". BBC Sport. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- 1 2 "Toulouse Olympique XIII en route to England and League One". Toulouse Official Website. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ↑ "Canadian team to join English rugby league setup". ESPN. 2016-04-24. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
- ↑ http://www.extraordinaryrugby.com/article/32977/kingstone-press-league-1-to
External links
- Official Championship website
- RFL Championship coverage
- Scores from Sky Sports
- RugbyLeague.org Championship 1 Fans Forums
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