158-836: The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington , England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium , and compete in Super League , the top tier of British rugby league . Warrington Wolves are the only British based club to have played every season in the top flight. They have won the League Championship three times and the Challenge Cup nine times. The club's traditional home colours are white primrose and blue and have local rivalries with Widnes , St Helens and Wigan . Although
316-605: 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,
474-596: A cross-county league, Warrington were one of the 14 teams that were to form the Northern Rugby Football League. In 1903–04, Warrington defeated Bradford Northern in a semi-final replay to earn a place in the final of the Challenge Cup. Warrington put up a fine performance against Halifax but lost 8–3. After two Challenge Cup final defeats, Warrington finally succeeded in bringing home the cup in 1904–05, Warrington beat Hull Kingston Rovers 6–0 in front of
632-470: A crowd of 19,638. A highest to date league finish of fifth was achieved in the same season. Warrington's second Challenge Cup victory came two years later in 1907, when Warrington beat Oldham 17–3. A Lancashire Cup final defeat to Broughton Rangers occurred in the same season. In 1908, 14 November the first touring Australian rugby league team visited Warrington. The Kangaroos embarked upon a massive six months tour of Britain taking in 45 matches. Their timing
790-507: A cup final 24–9 win the Challenge Cup. The icing on the cake was the top eight play-off trophy, secured after a 13-12 success over St. Helens for a four-cup haul. In 1974-5 Wire returned to Wembley for the Challenge Cup final only to have their celebrations spoiled by Widnes while they also had to settle for runners-up in the Floodlit Trophy. In contrast to recent seasons, nothing went right for Warrington in 1975–76. They finished tenth in
948-565: 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,
1106-615: A disappointing 9th on the table. The 2023 RFL Championship season and the 2024 RFL Championship season showed that hope was still there as The Bulls managed to get to the semi finals in both seasons but fell short after two losses to Toulouse Olympique. The Bradford Northern club had played at a number of venues including the Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill and Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club's ground in Birch Lane . By
1264-400: A first ever top four play-off, in 1925–6. Swinton were beaten in the semi-final, but the final against Wigan ended in disappointment. After a bad start to the 1927–28 season and a poor previous season, culminating in an all-time low in 1928 when the club suffered its then record defeat 68–14 at Hunslet, Warrington notched up victories over Hull Kingston Rovers, Huddersfield and finally Leeds in
1422-405: 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
1580-492: A friendly match against Wigan was arranged. They were officially switched on for the match on Tuesday 28 September, Wigan winning the match. Warrington's home game against Widnes became the first rugby league match to be broadcast on BBC albeit only to the south of England. The final of the Lancashire Cup was reached by gaining a 21–10 victory over Oldham in the semi-final. The final against Rochdale Hornets , at Knowsley Road ,
1738-429: A game of football, having a complete team or even being able to guarantee a ground. The creation of Bradford City led to demands for association football at Park Avenue too. The ground had already hosted some football matches including one in the 1880s between Blackburn Rovers and Blackburn Olympic F.C. In 1895, a Bradford side had beaten a team from Moss Side, Manchester, by 4–1 in front of 3,000 spectators. Following
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#17328553813231896-573: A hat-trick in this match. This was followed up by away wins at Whitehaven and Swinton . Bradford's season was ultimately disappointing with failure to reach the Qualifiers , this meant Bradford would miss out on a chance of promotion On 14 November 2016, Bradford Bulls were placed in administration for the third time since 2012. On 16 November, the Rugby Football League (RFL) cancelled Bradford's membership, making their future uncertain. In
2054-553: A lottery, which played an important part in the club's finances in future seasons. In the 1959–60 season, they won the Lancashire Cup for the first time in 22 years, playing all their games away from home. St. Helens were the final hurdle but the Wire managed a 5–4 win at Central Park. This ended a period of four seasons without silverware. In 1961, Warrington reached the championship final held at Odsal, but Leeds had total control over
2212-404: A major part in a good cup run took the Wire to the 1950 Challenge Cup final. This time they were to play local rivals Widnes. They led 14-nil at half-time, eventually taking the trophy by 19-nil. This was Wire's first Challenge Cup triumph at Wembley. The 1950–1 season saw Warrington finish the year as Lancashire League winners, Lancashire Cup runners-up and championship runners-up. Warrington lost
2370-449: A match involving Warrington and Zingari (probably a Withington, Manchester club of that name) and in subsequent weeks there were matches with Sale and Free Wanderers. This club folded after its ground was lost to development work. Warrington Zingari Football Club was formed in 1876 by seven young local men. Zingari is the Italian word for gypsies and was commonly adopted by clubs that lacked
2528-437: 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
2686-458: A new 'Northern Union' and resigned from the RFU . The new competition drew the top teams from Yorkshire and Lancashire led to a rise in the standard of opponents. Warrington defeated Hunslet 5–4 in their opening match but this was followed by four successive defeats. In a tough first season, Warrington finished 13th out of 22. After only a single season of the cross-county competition, the Northern Union
2844-699: A permanent base. The team initially played on a field in the Howley Wharf area. Warrington Zingari's first recorded game was an away game against Penketh on 28 October 1876, resulting in a defeat by a goal to nil. When the earlier Warrington club folded, Warrington Zingari decided to take the vacant Warrington Football Club name for the start of the 1877–8 season. Over the next seven years, Warrington Zingari would have five new homes – off Sankey Street at two different sites, off Wilderspool Causeway at two different sites and Slutchers Lane. Amalgamations followed with Padgate Excelsior in 1881 and Warrington Wanderers in 1884 but
3002-434: A piece. The replay was held at Odsal , Bradford and a record 102,569 paid to see Warrington defeat Halifax 8–4. Thousands more got in for free and estimates of the total crowd were in the region of 120–130,000. The week after the two teams met again in the championship final at Maine Road . Warrington secured another victory by four goals to Halifax's two goals and a try. The club had done the league and cup double as well as
3160-629: 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
3318-453: 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
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#17328553813233476-578: A strong and stable professional club and will work with all interested parties to deliver that outcome. After the Bulls went into liquidation in January 2017 the Rugby Football League invited bids to form a new club based in Bradford who would be allowed to take the place of the Bulls in the 2017 Championship but started with a 12-point penalty deduction. The RFL issued a set of criteria for anyone wishing to bid for
3634-507: A stylised boar's head similar to the one atop the Bradford city coat of arms. When the club was rebranded Bradford Bulls the crest was changed to a similar design to that of the Chicago Bulls . Bradford's traditional playing colours are a red, amber and black hoop, on a white background. Bradford's home strips are predominantly white with a red, amber and black hoop or "V". Away strips have had many designs and colours, but usually integrate
3792-417: A sudden stop in 1956–7. It was a transformation period for Warrington with many big name players top names ending their Wire careers. Ces Mountford used a total of 40 players during the campaign, the highest since World War Two and a figure that was not beaten until 1976–7. Unsurprisingly, Wire finished only tenth in the league. Attendances were down on previous seasons and on 19 January 1957, Warrington launched
3950-519: A summer archery contest that generated enough money to ensure their survival, its members were persuaded to swap codes and play association football instead. Manningham was invited to join the Football League in 1903, in an attempt to promote football in a rugby-dominated region, and the newly renamed Bradford City A.F.C. was voted into full membership of the Second Division without having played
4108-415: 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
4266-483: A total of 740 tries in 620 games for Warrington. The Wire won all the code's major honours during his period at the club. Warrington got off to a bad start to the 1947–8 season but the club signed new forwards Harold Palin , Bill Darbyshire and Bill Riley . Warrington then went two months without defeat. The club also signed centres Albert Pimblett and Bryn Knowelden . With these new signings, Warrington went undefeated in 20 games from December 1947 to April 1948, won
4424-401: 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
4582-542: 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
4740-468: 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
4898-432: 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
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5056-536: 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
5214-413: 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
5372-579: 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
5530-476: 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. Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford , West Yorkshire , England, and compete in
5688-451: 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
5846-489: The Bradford Park Avenue Association Football Club . The minority faction decided to split and form a new club to continue playing in the Northern Union, appropriately called "Bradford Northern", which applied for and was granted Bradford FC's place in the 1907–08 Northern Rugby Football Union season . Bradford Northern's first home ground was the Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill , to
6004-500: The COVID-19 abandoned rugby league season of 2020 plus three league fixtures of the 2021 season, however they returned to Odsal during the 2021 season when stock car promotors YorStox successfully returned professional stock car racing as co-tenants at the now multi-use venue, absorbing stadium hire costs, a flattened shale track laid to re-enable motorsports events. The Bulls' acting chief executive, Mark Sawyer, told Rugby League Live at
6162-516: The Championship , the second tier of British rugby league . The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup five times and three World Club Challenge titles. They have also won many smaller things such as The RFL Yorkshire Cup 11 times. The club was originally founded as Bradford Northern , but were renamed Bradford Bulls in 1995. Bradford's main rivalries are with Leeds , Halifax and Huddersfield . They have played
6320-471: The George Hotel in Huddersfield in response to a dispute over "broken time" payments to players who were thus part-time professionals. These 22 clubs formed the Northern Rugby Football Union (which eventually became the Rugby Football League ) and rugby league football was born. Bradford enjoyed some success in the new competition. In the 1903–04 Northern Rugby Football Union season ,
6478-706: The Harlem Globetrotters , wrestling , show jumping and kabaddi . The stadium's largest attendances was 102,569, when Halifax played Warrington on 5 May 1954 in the Challenge Cup Final replay. Due to financial concerns amidst rising administration costs of using the single-use RFL -owned stadium, the rent reported to be £450,000 rent per year, the Bradford Bulls left Odsal in 2019, temporarily playing at Crown Flatt in Dewsbury including home matches of
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6636-613: 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
6794-670: 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
6952-722: 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
7110-572: 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
7268-459: The Super League play-offs before the club were knocked out in the grand final eliminator by Hull Following an eighth consecutive defeat, the Bulls' worst run in Super League, McNamara's contract was mutually terminated on 13 July 2010. Lee St Hilaire was coach for the rest of the 2010 season. Mick Potter became coach in 2011. Despite the club being placed in receivership in 2012, the team
7426-548: 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
7584-510: The 'Wirepullers' an 8–8 draw. Two members of the Kangaroo squad, Dan Frawley and Larry O'Malley later signed for Warrington and played the next season at Wilderspool. Warrington have the best record of any club side against the touring Kangaroos with eight wins, one draw, and seven defeats from sixteen matches. In 1913, Warrington reached their fifth Challenge Cup Final, with wins over Keighley, Hull Kingston Rovers, Salford and Dewsbury. The final
7742-488: The 1933–34 season, Warrington played Australia and for once were beaten. Warrington also had the honour of playing the first rugby league match against a French side, captained by Jean Galia . In a season of firsts a match was played in Dublin to introduce the game to Ireland. A good crowd saw Wigan beat Warrington by 32–19. The highlight of the 1935–36 season was a place in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley. Barrow were beaten in
7900-525: The 1940s with a number of cup wins: the Yorkshire cup in 1940–41 , 1942–43 , 1944–45 , 1945–46 , 1948–49 and 1949–50 ; and the Challenge Cup 1943–44 , 1946–47 and 1948–49 . In the Championship Bradford found it difficult to win either before the war or after despite being runners up in 1942–43 and 1947–48. On Saturday 3 November 1945, Bradford Northern met Wakefield Trinity in the final of
8058-466: 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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#17328553813238216-518: 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
8374-451: 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,
8532-430: The Bradford Bulls had issued a warning surrounding the club's finances, calling for more financial support from the RFL. Despite a £22,000 profit in their latest set of accounts, the chief executive Jason Hirst warned it will take the increasing backing of owners, benefactors, sponsors, supporters and volunteers to keep the Bulls in the black. Up until the Super League era the club was known as Bradford Northern and used
8690-551: The Bradford Bulls played their home games at Valley Parade , groundsharing with football club Bradford City A.F.C , prior to leaving Odsal for Crown Flatt , Dewsbury in 2019, Odsal Stadium has been the home ground of Bradford Northern/Bulls since 1934 along with regular speedway and stock car racing meetings over the years, BriSCA F1 Stock Cars and BriSCA F2 Stock Cars . having returned to Odsal since 2021. Odsal Stadium had also hosted many other sports, including association football, American football , basketball , featuring
8848-647: 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
9006-512: The Bulls in September 2012. During the 2012/13 season the Bulls appointed Dr Allan Johnston to the backroom staff to support the players wellbeing and performance. This appointment was thought to be the first of its kind in Rugby League. In late December 2013 it was announced that chairman Mark Moore and directors Ian Watt and Andrew Calvert had resigned. In 2014, relegation was reintroduced to
9164-565: The Bulls played against 2001 NRL Premiers, the Newcastle Knights in the 2002 World Club Challenge . Noble oversaw Bradford's victory. He took the Bulls to the 2002 Super League Grand Final which was lost to St. Helens . On 20 April 2006, Steve McNamara was promoted to head coach of Bradford following Brian Noble 's departure to Wigan . At the time he was the youngest coach in Britain. In his first season in charge, he guided Bradford to
9322-521: The Lancashire Cup final to Wigan 28–5 at Swinton in front of a record 42,541 supporters. Warrington paid their third visit in four years to Maine Road to face Workington in the championship final. Despite leading 8–3 at half-time, Wire went down to a 26–11 defeat. In 1951 Ces Mountford was appointed coach with a ten-year contract after Chris Brockbank ended 15 years at the helm to take up a hotel business in Blackpool. The pinnacle of Warrington's achievements
9480-466: The Lancashire Cup. Wire secured the league championship for the second successive season in 1954-5 They beat Halifax in the semi-final on the way to the final against Oldham at Maine Road . For the second consecutive season Warrington took the honours, the final score was 7–3. Warrington won the Lancashire League as well to make it ten pieces of silverware in eight years. That championship success
9638-441: The Lancashire League and gained a place in the championship top four play-off. The club's first championship win came that season. Warrington defeated Huddersfield in the league semi-final. The final, against Bradford Northern , was staged at Maine Road and Warrington took the trophy by a margin of 17–5. Warrington won the 1948–9 Lancashire League after 19 straight wins at the start of the season. The record attendance at Wilderspool
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#17328553813239796-525: 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
9954-471: 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
10112-592: The Premiership final and success in the Yorkshire Cup final when they beat Featherstone Rovers 20–14. David Hobbs became coach at Northern in 1990 until he left for Wakefield Trinity in 1994. Bradford lost the Regal Trophy against Warrington 12–2 in 1990–91. Peter Fox returned to Bradford for a second spell as coach in 1991, and in 1993–94, Bradford finished as runners-up behind Wigan on points difference. Fox left
10270-411: 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,
10428-553: The Second Division Championship and were promoted back to the First Division. During this season Keith Mumby made his début, becoming the Bradford's youngest player at only 16 years of age, kicking 12 goals and scoring a try in the match against Doncaster . He went on to make a record 576 appearances for the club. In 1974–75 Bradford won the Regal Trophy 3–2 against Widnes . Peter Fox joined Bradford as coach for
10586-478: The Super League with two teams being relegated. Bradford were deducted 6 points for entering administration early on in the season and the Bulls were relegated from the top division of rugby league in Britain for the first time in 40 years. Francis Cummins was sacked around the time of relegation and replaced by James Lowes and won most of their remaining games. Bradford began their first Championship campaign in 40 years against Leigh away where they narrowly lost
10744-538: The Warrington players and the match ended in a 0–0 draw, the replay never took place as Warrington were unable to raise a team and so forfeited the trophy. Warrington's first trophy in the new era followed the next season when the Wire picked up the South West Lancashire League when a play-off was required to beat Widnes after the teams finished level on points. The 1901–2 season saw the reestablishment of
10902-634: The West Lancashire and Border Towns Trophy. Whilst Warrington were founder members of the West Lancashire League in 1889, they decided not to play in the competition in the 1890-1 and 1891–2 seasons, but became inaugural members of the Lancashire Club Championship First Class Competition in 1892–3. On 28 August 1895, the committee decided to join with 21 other clubs throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire to form
11060-590: The Yorkshire Cup final 10–5 against Castleford and lost again in 1982–83, this time 18–7 against Hull F.C. Keith Mumby won the award for First Division Player of the Year while Brian Noble won the Young Player award. In 1985, Ellery Hanley left Northern to join Wigan for a then record transfer deal, worth £80,000 and a player exchange involving Steve Donlan and Phil Ford. By November 1987, Bradford had cash-flow problems and
11218-425: 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 Frank Whitcombe scoring the try converted by George Carmichael and lifted the Yorkshire Cup for the fourth time in six seasons. Bradford defeated Leeds 8–4 to win the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley in 1947. The 1947–48 Challenge Cup final
11376-447: 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
11534-421: 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
11692-500: The change at Bradford City, a meeting was called of the Bradford FC members on 15 April 1907 to decide the rugby club's future. An initial vote appeared to favour continuing in rugby league , but then opinion shifted towards rugby union and the chairman, Mr Briggs, used his influence to swing the committee behind the proposed move to association football. This act, sometimes referred to as "The Great Betrayal", led to Bradford FC becoming
11850-627: The club becoming "Bradford Cricket, Athletic and Football Club". The club's headquarters were at the Talbot Darley Street, and later The Alexandra, Great Horton Road. The club achieved its first major success by winning the Yorkshire Cup in 1884. After the 1890–91 season, Bradford along with other Yorkshire Senior clubs Batley, Brighouse, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Hunslet, Leeds, Liversedge, Manningham and Wakefield decided that they wanted their own county league starting in 1891 along
12008-477: The club in 1995. In 1996, the first tier of English rugby league clubs changed from a winter to a summer season and played the inaugural Super League season. Bradford dropped the 'Northern' name to become Bradford Bulls. Australian Brian Smith took over as head coach in 1995, with Matthew Elliott as his assistant. The Bulls won the Super League title in the 1997 season, the last before the Play off/ Grand Final structure
12166-443: The club is registered as Bradford Bulls 2017 Limited at Companies House, and the team continue to be known as Bradford Bulls, also retaining the club colours, stadium and several players from the 2016 squad. On 20 January 2017 Geoff Toovey was named as coach and Leon Pryce as captain. However, a delay in processing his paperwork left Toovey unable to fulfil his role and led to Leigh Beattie being appointed as interim coach. Before
12324-469: 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
12482-453: The company been wound up then the team would be allowed to complete their fixtures for the 2012 Super League season under the possible ownership of a supporters trust. On 2 July 2012, the club's administrator, Brendan Guilfoyle, made sixteen members of staff, including the coach Mick Potter and chief executive Ryan Duckett, redundant, but announced that the club would attempt to fulfill its fixtures. Mick Potter continued as an unpaid coach until
12640-414: The early 1920s, however, Birch Lane's limitations were clear and Northern began to seek another home. Precarious finances prevented the club being able to take up an offer to develop land off Rooley Lane or to upgrade and move back to Greenfield, but in 1933, Bradford City Council gave them the opportunity to transform land at Odsal Top into their home ground. Apart from two seasons in 2001 and 2002 when
12798-670: The early years of the competition, and also the Huddersfield Giants and St Helens whom they faced in two successive Challenge cup finals during the golden era. Since the Bulls were relegated to the RL Championship in 2014, their main local rivalry is now between themselves and the Halifax Panthers , the Championship a division below the Super League. They also have a lesser local rivalry with Keighley Cougars , although this
12956-465: The end of the season. On 31 August 2012 a bid for the club from a local consortium, headed by Bradford businessman Omar Khan , was accepted by the administrator and was ratified by the RFL in early September. Days later the RFL also granted the new owners a one-year probationary licence enabling the club to compete in Super League XVIII in 2013. Francis Cummins was appointed as head coach of
13114-467: The ensuing weeks several bids to buy the club were made but despite one bid being acceptable to the RFL, none were accepted by the administrator and the club went into liquidation on 3 January 2017. Following liquidation the RFL issued a statement saying: While a number of alternatives were considered the Board was most mindful of the planning already undertaken by all other clubs in the competition structure,
13272-430: The final, however Leeds ran out 18–2 winners. Chris Brockbank became Wire's first team manager in 1936. In the 1937–38 season, Oldham and Widnes were both knocked out by Warrington as they headed for another Lancashire Cup victory, this time 8–5 over Barrow. During World War II, it was difficult to play matches and therefore pay the bills. To help out the club committee decided that a Limited Company of 10,000 £1 shares
13430-406: The first round, the second round was drawn away at Halifax with Warrington winning the replay at Wilderspool 18–15. Wigan were then beaten 5–2 to set up a semi-final against Salford at Wigan. Warrington was short of regular players and were thought to stand little chance, but as ever in they rose to the occasion to gain victory. Fifteen special trains were laid on as the town made its way to London for
13588-408: The first time in 1977–78. Bradford won the Premiership final 17–8 against Widnes and were also Championship runners-up. In 1978–79 Bradford appeared in another Premiership final this time losing 24–2 to Leeds . A year later Bradford won the Championship and Regal Trophy, Peter Fox winning the award for Coach of the Year. In 1980–81 the club made it back-to-back championships. In 1981–82, Bradford lost
13746-658: 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
13904-530: 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
14062-413: The formation of a new club, and those present promised a £1000 to help get plans for the new organisation underway. Amongst those who led proceedings were former players Joe Phillips and Trevor Foster . On 20 July 1964, Bradford Northern (1964) Ltd came into existence. The club's new side had been built for around £15,000 and had Jack Wilkinson as coach. On 22 August 1964, Hull Kingston Rovers provided
14220-407: 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
14378-406: 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
14536-505: The freehold being held in trust for club members. At first, the beginning of the First World War did not impact rugby league competitions, as authorities decided to continue with normal fixtures, in part due to the mistaken belief that the war would be short. Competitive fixtures were suspended for the 1915–16 season and Warrington did not play any friendly matches due to difficulty raising a team. Wire recommenced playing in 1916 following
14694-533: The game. By the end of the regular season they entered the Super 8s finishing second. In the Qualifiers Bradford failed to make the top three for automatic entry to Super League for 2016, finishing 5th which meant a trip to Wakefield to play them in the first ever Million Pound Game. Bradford would lose 24–16, condemning them to a second year in the Championship. In preparation for the 2016 season, Bradford completed
14852-566: 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
15010-411: 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
15168-423: The introduction of conscription which meant that they would not be accused of keeping men from volunteering for the First World War. After the war ended, Warrington took part in the hastily arranged Lancashire League played during 1918–9. In the Lancashire League, a runners-up spot was achieved in 1920–1. After a bad start to the 1921–22 season, Warrington won 12 out of 13 matches. This included an 8–5 victory over
15326-440: 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 ,
15484-412: 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
15642-463: The last game at Odsal stadium for the next year and a half, and bade a temporary farewell to the 85-year-old home ground for the team. In November 2019, Nigel Wood, Mark Sawyer, and Eric Perez took over the ownership of the club, although Perez's involvement would only be temporary, as interim chair for a few months. The Bulls returned to Odsal in May 2021. In the 2022 RFL Championship season, Bradford finished
15800-716: The league and crashed out of the Lancashire Cup and the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competitions in the opening round. Challenge Cup hopes ended in the third round at home to Widnes but they were lucky not to have been knocked out in the first round by amateurs Leigh Miners at Wilderspool. Warrington struggled to a 16-12 success. 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,
15958-537: The league but beat New Zealand at Odsal in the first floodlit football match of any code in the North of England. In 1953, a crowd of 69,429 watched Bradford play Huddersfield in the Challenge Cup 's third round. This was Bradford's highest ever attendance. They also won the Yorkshire Cup final 7–2 against Hull. Bradford and Leigh were the first rugby league clubs to stage matches on a Sunday in December 1954, although there
16116-504: 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
16274-546: The lines of a similar competition that had been played in Lancashire. The clubs wanted full control of 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. In 1895, along with cross-town neighbours Manningham F.C. , Bradford was among 22 clubs to secede from the Rugby Football Union after the historic meeting at
16432-428: The local council refused to help financially, but appointed a special committee to administer the clubs' finances. In December 1987, desperate for cash, Bradford transfer-listed 22 players for a total of £210,000 plus Phil Ford for £120,000. In 1987–88 Bradford won the Yorkshire Cup final replay against Castleford 11–2 after drawing 12–12. Ron Willey coached Bradford Northern for a short stint in 1989–90 and led them to
16590-723: The majority of their existence at Odsal and their traditional kit colours are white with red, amber and black chevrons. The original Bradford Football Club was formed in 1863 and played rugby football , subsequently joining the Rugby Football Union . Initially the club played at Horton Cricket Ground, All Saints Road but were asked to leave because of damage to the pitch. They then moved to Laisteridge Lane and later North Park Road in Manningham . A nomadic existence continued as they then went on to Peel Park , then Girlington and Apperley Bridge . Bradford Football Club and Bradford Cricket Club bought Park Avenue in 1879 and this resulted in
16748-439: The match and ran out 25–10. This also turned out to be the last match for long serving coach Ces Mountford. Ernie Ashcroft took over as coach for the 1961–62 season. Easter Monday 1962 saw Brian Bevan's last match for Warrington, a 29–17 defeat of Leigh. There was a split into two divisions in 1962–3 with Warrington gaining sixth spot in the top flight. During the early part of the 1965–66 season floodlights were installed and
16906-411: The match at Wilderspool. The Warrington team that day was Jimmy Tilley , Jack Fish , George Dickenson , Ike Taylor , Lewis Treharne , Ernest Brooks , John Jenkins , William Dowell , Alfred Boardman , Billy O'Neill , George Thomas , Peter Boardman , and John Willie Chester . The Australians came back to Wilderspool for "revenge" later in the tour but tries from Jack Fish, and John Jenkins earned
17064-453: 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
17222-530: 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
17380-413: 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
17538-548: 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
17696-514: The new club and there were 12 expressions of interest of which four were converted into bids submitted to the RFL. On 13 January the RFL announced that a consortium to run the new club had been selected and notified of the decision. The new owner was publicly announced on 17 January as Andrew Chalmers , the former chairman of the New Zealand Rugby League . Also involved is former player and coach, Graham Lowe . The parent company of
17854-455: 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
18012-494: The official foundation date for the club is given as 1876, rugby football was certainly played in the town before that date and there was an earlier club bearing the name of Warrington Football Club. Under the heading 'Outdoor Sports – Football' the Widnes Guardian of 25 January 1873 reports on a recent game between Warrington and Wigan at the unnamed ground of the former. On 6 December 1873 that same newspaper carried details of
18170-404: 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
18328-481: The opposition in the reformed club's first match and 14,500 spectators turned out to show their support, as Odsal hosted its first 10,000 plus gate for a Bradford Northern match since 1957. The reformed club won its first cup in 1965–66 by beating Hunslet 17–8 in the final of the Yorkshire County Cup . In 1972–73 Bradford lost the Challenge Cup final against Featherstone Rovers 33–14. In 1973–74 Bradford won
18486-475: 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
18644-400: 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
18802-542: 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
18960-501: 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
19118-496: 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
19276-515: The season tickets already purchased and the players and staff who will now be seeking employment in and around the sport in 2017. Accordingly the Board has agreed that the wider interests of the sport is best satisfied if it offers a place in the Kingstone Press Championship to any new club in Bradford and that such a club start the 2017 season on minus 12 points. The RFL believes that Rugby League needs Bradford and that Bradford deserves
19434-585: The season with the League Leader's Trophy. Next season, 1973-4 was arguably Warrington's most successful for 20 years. The Captain Morgan Trophy competition was run for the first and only time and Wire clinched it with a 4–0 defeat of Featherstone. Warrington followed that up with a 27–16 defeat of Rochdale Hornets in the John Player final and then Murphy's men beat Featherstone for the second time that season in
19592-424: The semi-final of the Challenge Cup. The final against Swinton was played at Central Park , Wigan , with an estimated 12,000 travelling from the town to watch the match. Warrington were beaten 5–3, but a contentious decision could have cost the Wire the match. The Kangaroos visited Wilderspool again in 1929, Wire were without five regular players either playing for Lancashire or injured. Despite this, Warrington beat
19750-524: 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
19908-409: The signings of several experienced players, such as Centre Kris Welham from Super League side Hull Kingston Rovers , as well as Oscar Thomas , Mitch Clark, Johnny Campbell , Jonathan Walker and Kurt Haggerty from London Broncos , Doncaster , Batley and Leigh . Bradford started the season strongly, with a win over fellow promotion hopefuls Featherstone Rovers by 22–12. Omari Caro scored
20066-587: The south of the city. They based themselves at the Greenfield Hotel. Northern moved to Birch Lane in 1908. Bradford council offered the club a site for a new stadium between Rooley Lane and Mayo Avenue in 1927. However the NRFU said the site was too small and the club kept on looking. Before moving to Odsal , Bradford Northern had had two other homes at Greenfield Athletic Ground in Dudley Hill and at Birch Lane which
20224-526: 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
20382-633: 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
20540-460: The start of the 2018 season, the Bulls appointed the highly experienced John Kear as coach, and under his guidance, gained promotion to the Championship. In August 2019, Bulls chairman Andrew Chalmers announced that the club could no longer afford to play at Odsal and were to relocate to Dewsbury for two years after the preferred alternatives, Valley Parade and Horsfall Stadium were deemed too expensive. On 1 September 2019, Bradford Bulls played
20698-402: The team created a club record eight successive defeats. Warrington improved for the Challenge Cup; reaching the semi-finals, only missing out on a Wembley trip after losing a tense replay against St Helens. Murphy had brought renewed optimism to Wilderspool and average attendances went up by more than a thousand. Success came in 1972–3. Warrington lost only one of their opening 22 games and ended
20856-401: The team finished level on points with Salford at the top of the league and then won the resulting play-off 5–0. In 1905–06 , Bradford beat Salford 5–0 to win the Challenge Cup and were runners-up in the Championship . In 1906–07 , Bradford won the Yorkshire County Cup 8–5 against Hull Kingston Rovers . During this time Manningham F.C. had run into financial difficulties and, despite
21014-419: The team retained the name Warrington. Both the Lancashire and Cheshire Rugby Unions suspended all their competitions in the 1880s, clubs such as Warrington, St Helens, Widnes, Wigan and Runcorn that wanted to play in cup competitions formed a West Lancashire and Border Towns Union which ran a league competition until 1895 and competitions for a few years after 1895. In 1886, Warrington won their first silverware,
21172-402: The time: "Staging motorsport events is the first piece in the jigsaw puzzle towards how we're going to balance the books at Odsal", stressing that he believed Bulls supporters were positive about the return of motorsports, quoted as saying "The feedback we get from our Bradford supporter base is that a number of them are interested in watching motorsport. In September 2024 it was revealed that
21330-428: The tourists 17–8. In 1932–33, the Lancashire Cup was won by beating St Helens in a close fought match, the final result being 10–9 to Warrington. St. Helens Recs. and Wigan were disposed of on the way to that particular victory. As well as doing well in the league the team had reached the Challenge Cup final for the seventh time. This was the first time Warrington played at Wembley. The Wire lost 21–17 to Huddersfield. In
21488-515: The traditional red, amber and black into the design. In some cases, Bradford have been known to have a third kit that has had many different designs such as the 2024 season where the third kit pays homage to a shirt, the design of which was 90 years old to celebrate the time they have spent at Odsal. Bradford's main rivals historically whilst playing in the Super League , were the Leeds Rhinos who they have played in multiple finals, especially during
21646-482: 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
21804-559: 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
21962-443: The visiting Australasian team of the 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain . Warrington beat St. Helens Recs and Leigh to reach the final of the Lancashire Cup . Wire beat Oldham 7–5, despite playing with only 12 men for most of the match after centre Collins sustained a broken collar bone. After finish in a record low position of 20th in 1923–4, the club improved to ninth the following season, before finishing second, and securing
22120-566: 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
22278-469: 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
22436-472: Was agreed with Greenall Whitley for land on the east side of their existing ground, a pitch previously used by Latchford Rovers Rugby Club. In 1900–01, Warrington reached the final of the Challenge Cup , facing Batley. A crowd of 29,000 turned out at Leeds to see Warrington battle hard but be beaten by two tries to nil. Warrington also appeared in the renamed South West Lancashire Cup against Leigh two days later. The strenuous game against Batley took its toll on
22594-514: Was boosted by a number of clubs defecting from the RFU. The Northern Union reverted to two county based leagues, and Warrington took part in the Lancashire Senior Competition, but could only manage a mid-table finish. The Wire fared better in the new Northern Union Challenge Cup and made it to the semi-final against eventual winners Batley before bowing out. In 1898, Warrington moved to their Wilderspool Stadium home. A 10-year lease
22752-488: 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
22910-476: 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
23068-602: Was implemented in 1998. When Smith left, Elliot coached the Bradford Bulls to the 1999 Super League Grand Final and in 2000 the Bulls won the Challenge Cup for the first time in 51 years with victory over Leeds in Edinburgh . Brian Noble was appointed Bradford head coach in November 2000. Noble took the Bradford Bulls to the 2001 Super League Grand Final in which they defeated the Wigan Warriors . As Super League VI champions,
23226-487: Was lost 9–5 to the mighty Huddersfield "Team of all the Talents". Warrington scored first through a try by Bradshaw converted by Jolley and gave a wonderful display in what was considered to be the best Cup Final of the pre-war era. A disappointing league season had seen Warrington finish 18th, their lowest pre Great War. So the Challenge Cup performances were a tremendous achievement. Warrington purchased Wilderspool in 1914 with
23384-451: Was not good as the north of England was hit by strikes in the cotton mills, which badly affected attendances as fans could not afford to watch the pioneering Aussies. On Saturday 14 November 1908 Warrington played the Kangaroos. Warrington won the match 10–3, with Jackie Fish the hero scoring one try and Ike Taylor the other, Fish and George Dickenson kicked a goal each. A crowd of 5,000 watched
23542-603: Was notable as it was the first rugby league match to be attended by the reigning monarch, King George VI , who presented the trophy. It was also the first televised rugby league match as it was broadcast to the Midlands. Bradford lost 8–3 to Wigan and Frank Whitcombe became the first player to win the Lance Todd trophy on the losing side. The 1949 Challenge Cup final was sold out for the first time as 95,050 spectators saw Bradford beat Halifax . In 1951–52 Bradford were runners up in
23700-498: Was on the verge of making the semi-finals of Super League as Potter remained as unpaid coach. In March 2012 the club announced that it was in financial difficulties and needed £1 million to keep the club afloat. A public appeal saw a lot of new funds pour in from supporters, but following the issue of a winding up petition from HMRC for unpaid taxes the holding company for the club was forced to go into administration on 26 June 2012. The Rugby Football League announced that had
23858-523: Was opposition from the Sunday Observance lobby. Bradford's support declined rapidly in the 1963 season, attracting a record low crowd of 324 against Barrow . The club went out of business on 10 December 1963, having played just 13 matches; winning 1 and losing 12, scoring 109 points and conceding 284, the results were declared null and void, and expunged from the 1963–64 season 's records. A meeting on 14 April 1964 saw 1,500 people turn out to discuss
24016-537: Was part of the Bowling Old Lane cricket ground, although at times they also had to hire Valley Parade as the capacity at Birch Lane was insufficient for large matches. On 20 June 1933 Bradford Northern signed a ten-year lease with Bradford council for a former quarry being used as a waste dump at Odsal Top. It was turned into the biggest stadium outside Wembley . The Bradford Northern team played its first match there on 1 September 1934. Success came to Bradford in
24174-409: Was reached in 1953–4. Consistent league form secured the Lancashire League, and saw a second-placed finish in the championship and qualified for the top four play-off. St. Helens came to Wilderspool and were well beaten 11–5. They despatched Leeds in the Challenge Cup to get to their second final of the season, they were to play Halifax in both games. The intense Wembley final ended in a draw, two goals
24332-410: Was replaced by Peter Harvey . The change made little difference as the club won only 11 out of 24 matches. The club also had debts of around £33,000. The club was saved by a take-over bid from new chairman Ossie Davies and as part of the rescue package on 20 May 1971, Alex Murphy was appointed the new player-coach of the club. After crashing out of the Lancashire Cup and the Floodlit Trophy in 1971–2,
24490-456: Was set on 13 March 1948 when 34,304 spectators saw Warrington play Wigan. They reached the 1948–9 Lancashire Cup final but Wigan beat them to take the trophy. In the league Warrington lost only five matches all season. Huddersfield exacted one of Wire's few defeats in the play-off final as Wire missed out on back-to-back championships by just one point, 13–12. Wire paid a then record fee of £4,600 for Ally Naughton from Widnes. Naughton would play
24648-530: Was the last to date for Wire. The 1955–56 season saw a tournament titled the ITV Floodlit Competition. Eight clubs participated in a series of games played at football grounds in the London area, with Warrington eventually running out 43–18 victors over Leigh at Loftus Road . Warrington made it to the 1956 championship final held at Maine Road but lost to Workington Town . Wire's run of success came to
24806-633: Was to be created. The Warrington Football Club Limited was born. Warrington dropped out of the wartime Lancashire league in 1941–42 due to Wilderspool Stadium being requisitioned by the United States Air Force for storage, and did not return to league competition until 1945–46. The early post-war years saw a boom in rugby league in general, and the glory years of the Warrington club. An Australian winger named Brian Bevan made his debut for Warrington in 1945. He would be Warrington's top try scorer in all but one season until his retirement in 1962 with
24964-418: Was won 16–5. It was Ashcroft's only trophy in his time as Wire coach. Success was proving difficult for Warrington. Attendances had dwindled, costs were rising and the club were having financial difficulties. Wire appointed a new coach Jackie Fleming in 1967 who won the Lancashire League (1967-8) then Joe Egan in 1969. After a disastrous start to the 1970–71 season, coach Joe Egan decided to stand down. He
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