1995–96 Rugby Football League season

1995–96 Rugby Football League season
LeagueCentenary Championship
Duration20 Rounds
TeamsFirst Division: 11
Second Division: 11
Third Division: 11
Highest attendance19,526
Wigan vs St. Helens (26 Dec 95)
Lowest attendance761
London Broncos vs Sheffield Eagles (17 Dec 95)
Broadcast partnersSky Sports
First Division
Champions Wigan
Top point-scorer(s) Bobbie Goulding (285)
Top try-scorer(s) Martin Offiah (28)
David Plange (28)
New franchise
Awarded to Paris Saint-Germain
Second Division
Champions Salford
Third Division
Champions Hull Kingston Rovers

The 1995–96 Rugby Football League season was the 101st season of rugby league football. Eleven English teams competed from August 1995 until January 1996 for the Stones Bitter Centenary Championship. The season was kept brief to accommodate the first season of the forthcoming new Super League competition, which would see top-level rugby league in the UK changed to a summer sport. It was also punctuated by the 1995 World Cup which took place in Britain throughout October. The 1996 Challenge Cup rounds started immediately after the Centenary Championship and the final was played in summer, during Super League I.

Season summary

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Personnel

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During pre-season, Kath Hetherington of Sheffield was elected as president of the Rugby Football League, succeeding Batley's Ronnie Teeman. Eleven years after becoming the first female member of the league's board of directors, she became the first woman to ascend to the presidency.[1]

Rules

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Prior to the signing of the agreement paving the way for the Super League, the RFL had voted in February on an wage cap, limiting player salaries to 50 percent of a team's income.[2]

Format

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The 1995–96 First Division season served as a trial run of sorts for the Super League's inaugural season, which would follow it in the spring of 1996, and its format changes were largely made in anticipation of the latter's launch. Following intense negotiations, it was decided that only the top ten teams from the 1994–95 season, joined by second-tier capital representatives London Broncos (all the projected British entrants in the Super League), would participate in a condensed 1995–96 First Division. There would be no promotion or relegation between it and the inaugural Super League campaign (only the purpose-built Paris team would be added). The lower league clubs were split between a Second and a Third Division, marking a return to the three-tier professional pyramid last used in 1993.[3]

While the new setup was generally considered an appropriate compromise, 1994–95 second-tier champion Keighley and Widnes, a traditionally strong team which had missed the 10-team cutoff after an uncharacteristically poor season, launched legal proceedings after being left out. Hoping for a compromise, Widnes proposed a one-off 1995–96 schedule consisting of a 16-team, dual conference setup where the top five clubs within each conference would advance to the Super League. While some agreed that the plan would make the transitional season more meaningful, it did not come to pass, and their legal challenges were ultimately unsuccessful as well.[4]

Highlights

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The absence of relegation was blamed for a sizeable dip in attendance. Combined with a salary hike resulting from the announcement of the Super League, the season was a financial failure for many clubs, and powerhouse Wigan reported losses of about £450,000 at the end of the shortened campaign.[5]

Standings

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First Division

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Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Wigan 20 18 0 2 810 316 +494 36
2 Leeds 20 14 0 6 552 405 +147 28
3 Halifax 20 12 1 7 456 463 -7 25
4 St. Helens 20 12 0 8 732 508 +224 24
5 Sheffield Eagles 20 10 0 10 482 528 -46 20
6 Castleford 20 9 1 10 448 566 -118 19
7 Bradford Northern 20 8 0 12 418 476 -58 16
8 Oldham 20 8 0 12 382 535 -153 16
9 Warrington 20 7 0 13 443 514 -71 14
10 London Broncos 20 7 0 13 466 585 -119 14
11 Workington Town 20 4 0 16 317 610 -293 8
Champions

Second Division

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Team Pld W D L PF PA Pts
1 Salford Reds 20 17 1 2 661 278 35
2 Keighley Cougars 20 13 2 5 491 255 28
3 Widnes 20 13 1 6 475 334 27
4 Hull 20 11 0 9 571 420 22
5 Featherstone Rovers 20 11 0 9 420 431 22
6 Whitehaven 20 10 2 8 345 435 22
7 Wakefield Trinity 20 10 0 10 346 422 20
8 Rochdale Hornets 20 8 1 11 365 483 17
9 Huddersfield 20 6 0 14 395 485 14
10 Batley 20 5 1 14 302 492 11
11 Dewsbury 20 2 0 18 261 597 4

Third Division

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Team Pld W D L PF PA Pts
1 Hull Kingston Rovers 20 18 0 2 744 231 36
2 Leigh Centurions 20 16 0 4 592 335 32
3 Hunslet Hawks 20 14 0 6 514 315 28
4 Swinton 20 13 0 7 521 331 26
5 Carlisle 20 12 0 8 600 309 24
6 Ryedale-York 20 10 1 9 442 415 21
7 Bramley 20 9 1 10 400 434 19
8 Barrow Braves 20 6 0 14 342 488 12
9 Chorley Chieftains 20 5 1 14 324 608 11
10 Doncaster Dragons 20 5 0 15 348 646 10
11 Highfield 20 0 1 19 249 964 1

Regal Trophy

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Main article: 1995–96 Regal Trophy

Statistics

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The following are the top points scorers in the 1995–96 season.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Roberts, Chris (June 29, 1995). "Green light for King". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. p. 22  – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .
  2. ^ Whalley, John (February 21, 1995). "Tough policing needed to make wage cap work". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 33  – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .
  3. ^ Roberts, Chris (May 1, 1995). "Super league critics force RL re-think". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. p. 3  – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .
  4. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (May 9, 1995). "Widnes offer a deal". The Guardian. London. p. 19  – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .
  5. ^ Tingle, Richard (10 February 1996). "'Centenary season has been a disaster'". Hull Daily Mail. p. 15  – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .
  6. ^ Fletcher, Raymond; Howes, David (27 March 1997). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1997. London: Headline. pp. 163–7. ISBN 978-0-7472-7764-4.

Sources

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