Super League I
Encyclopedia
The year 1996's Stones Bitter
Super League I was the official name for the 102nd season of top-level rugby league football, and the first year of Europe's new championship: Super League
. It is also the first season of rugby league to be played in summer. The competition featured all eleven teams from the 1995–96 Rugby Football League season plus one expansion club, Paris Saint-Germain.
In an attempt to "clean up" the ruck:
before 17,873 people at the Charlety Stadium
when new team Paris Saint Germain overcame Sheffield Eagles
30-24. Jacques Fouroux
, the PSG president, described that night, "Ninety eight per cent of them [the crowd] were new to the game, but they understood it right away. They saw tries, lots of commitment and lots of movement. They saw beauty. They attended a great party."
were hoping to maintain their hold on the championship in the newly-formed Super League. However, at the end of the season St Helens were crowned inaugural Super League champions after a win over Warrington Wolves
at Knowsley Road
, finishing in first position on the league ladder. During the year a secondary title, known as the Premiership
was also played, with the final being contested between Wigan Warriors
and the championship winners St. Helens with Wigan coming out victorious and Andy Farrell winning the Harry Sunderland Trophy
.
Workington Town
finished bottom for the second successive season and thus relegated to the first division. To date this is their only Super League season and no other club from Cumbria has competed since, Salford Reds
were promoted to take their place in Super League II
.
Rules to ensure the sustainability of Super League clubs were introduced:
To protect global Super League interests:
Stones Bitter
Stones Bitter is a bitter beer first brewed in 1948 by William Stones Ltd at the Cannon Brewery, Sheffield, England. It was designed for the steelworkers of Sheffield's Lower Don Valley. In 1968 it became a part of Bass Brewery, who extended distribution across the north of England in 1977, and...
Super League I was the official name for the 102nd season of top-level rugby league football, and the first year of Europe's new championship: Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
. It is also the first season of rugby league to be played in summer. The competition featured all eleven teams from the 1995–96 Rugby Football League season plus one expansion club, Paris Saint-Germain.
Rule changes
Four new rules were introduced for the inaugural Super League season:- Scrums were now to be set 20 metres from the touch-lineRugby league playing fieldThe rugby league playing field, also referred to as a pitch or paddock, is the playing surface for the sport of rugby league football and is surfaced exclusively with grass....
, with the aim of creating attacking opportunities. - At the restart after a try has been scored and the conversion attempt has been taken, the side that scored will now kick off to the other team. This change aimed to make contests more even by almost guaranteeing possession for the side that had conceded points. Greg McCallum, the director of referees' coaching, also noted that this convention was "in line with most other sports" and "that is significant when we come to promoting the game in America and Asia".
In an attempt to "clean up" the ruck:
- At the play-the-ball, the side not in possession was barred from striking for the ball.
- Also at the play-the-ball, the tackled player was stopped from being able to tap the ball forwards to himself - even in the absence of markers.
Opening Night
On 29 March 1996, Super League kicked off in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
before 17,873 people at the Charlety Stadium
Stade Sebastien Charlety
Stade Sebastien Charléty, known simply as Stade Charléty or just Charléty, is a multi-use stadium in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France. Officially, the current capacity of the stadium is 20,000 people. The stadium opened in 1938 and was designed by French architect Bernard Zehrfuss...
when new team Paris Saint Germain overcame Sheffield Eagles
Sheffield Eagles
Sheffield Eagles RLFC are an English rugby league club based in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. They currently play in the Co-operative Championship. Their home games are played at Bramall Lane after leaving Don Valley Stadium in late 2009....
30-24. Jacques Fouroux
Jacques Fouroux
Jacques Fouroux was a French rugby union player and coach. He captained France when they won the Grand Slam in 1977, and was the manager when the side repeated the feat in 1981 and 1987.-Player:...
, the PSG president, described that night, "Ninety eight per cent of them [the crowd] were new to the game, but they understood it right away. They saw tries, lots of commitment and lots of movement. They saw beauty. They attended a great party."
Season summary
The reigning champions Wigan WarriorsWigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
were hoping to maintain their hold on the championship in the newly-formed Super League. However, at the end of the season St Helens were crowned inaugural Super League champions after a win over Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
at Knowsley Road
Knowsley Road
Knowsley Road was a stadium located in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home of St Helens RLFC from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted Liverpool FC Reserves...
, finishing in first position on the league ladder. During the year a secondary title, known as the Premiership
Rugby League Premiership
The Rugby League Premiership was a competition for British rugby league clubs that operated between 1973 and 1995. As the Super League Premiership the competition continued to operate until 1997....
was also played, with the final being contested between Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
and the championship winners St. Helens with Wigan coming out victorious and Andy Farrell winning the Harry Sunderland Trophy
Harry Sunderland Trophy
The Harry Sunderland Trophy is awarded to the Man-of-the-Match in the Super League Grand Final by the Rugby League Writers' Association. It is named after Harry Sunderland, who was an Australian rugby league football administrator in both Australia and the United Kingdom...
.
Workington Town
Workington Town
Workington Town is a professional rugby league club playing in Workington in West Cumbria. They play in the Championship 1. Their stadium is called Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team....
finished bottom for the second successive season and thus relegated to the first division. To date this is their only Super League season and no other club from Cumbria has competed since, Salford Reds
Salford City Reds
Salford City Reds are an English rugby league club based in Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1873, they currently play in the Super League. They have won six Rugby Football League Championships and one Challenge Cup...
were promoted to take their place in Super League II
Super League II
Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second championship run by Super League.-Season summary:...
.
Super League I Table
Final Standings| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  St Helens |
22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 950 | 455 | 40 |
| 2 |  Wigan WarriorsWigan Warriors Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011.... |
22 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 902 | 326 | 39 |
| 3 |  Bradford BullsBradford Bulls Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league.... |
22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 767 | 409 | 34 |
| 4 | London Broncos | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 611 | 462 | 25 |
| 5 |  Warrington WolvesWarrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003.... |
22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 569 | 565 | 24 |
| 6 |  Halifax Blue SoxHalifax RLFC Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Known as 'Fax', the official club colours are blue and white hoops, blue shorts and blue socks . They share The Shay stadium with football club FC Halifax Town... |
22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 667 | 576 | 21 |
| 7 |  Sheffield EaglesSheffield Eagles Sheffield Eagles RLFC are an English rugby league club based in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. They currently play in the Co-operative Championship. Their home games are played at Bramall Lane after leaving Don Valley Stadium in late 2009.... |
22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 599 | 730 | |
| 20 | ||||||||
| 8 |  Oldham BearsOldham Roughyeds Oldham Roughyeds is an English professional rugby league club based in Oldham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Championship One. Oldham is one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895.... |
22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 473 | 681 | |
| 19 | ||||||||
| 9 |  Castleford TigersCastleford Tigers Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club based in Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. They participate in the professional European competition Super League. They are sometimes known as 'Cas', 'Cas Tigers', 'Classy Cas' or the 'Black & Amber'... |
22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 548 | 599 | |
| 18 | ||||||||
| 10 |  LeedsLeeds Rhinos Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League... |
22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 555 | 745 | |
| 12 | ||||||||
| 11 | Paris Saint-Germain | 22 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 398 | 795 | |
| 7 | ||||||||
| 12 |  Workington TownWorkington Town Workington Town is a professional rugby league club playing in Workington in West Cumbria. They play in the Championship 1. Their stadium is called Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team.... |
22 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 325 | 1021 | |
| 5 |
| Champions | Relegated |
Operational rules
Player numbering:- The Rugby League Council approved a proposal by Super League chief executives to adopt squad numbering. Players would wear a number (1-25) on their shirts all season in addition to their names.
Rules to ensure the sustainability of Super League clubs were introduced:
- Clubs operated under a series of financial rules that specified spending levels in different areas of club operations, demanded that clubs' accounts be submitted monthly for monitoring.
- A salary capSalary capIn professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
restricted clubs from spending more than 40% of their income on players.
To protect global Super League interests:
- Due to the Super League warSuper League warThe Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...
in Australia, a number of British players signed "loyalty" contracts which gave News CorporationNews CorporationNews Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
a veto power over them in an attempt to prevent transfers to Australian Rugby LeagueAustralian Rugby LeagueThe Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
clubs.