page_title: Toronto Wolfpack
section_title: 2017–present: First seasons
hierarchical_section_title: Toronto Wolfpack / History / 2017–present: First seasons
caption_attribution_description: English: Liam Kay
context_page_description: The Toronto Wolfpack is a professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario, which competed in the British rugby league system's top-tier, the Super League; the club withdrew from the 2020 Super League season and Challenge Cup due to "overwhelming financial challenges", and has stated that it intends to field a team in 2021.
  The club is the first North American team to play in the Rugby Football League system, the first fully professional rugby league team in Canada, and the first transatlantic rugby league team.
context_section_description: On 22 January 2017, the Wolfpack played their first professional game, a pre-season friendly against Hull F.C. at the KCOM Stadium. The final score was 26–20 in favour of Hull. The club played its first competitive match on February 25, 2017, resulting in a 14–6 victory in the third round of the Challenge Cup against the amateur NCL champions: Siddal.
  On 4 March, Toronto played its first League 1 match, away at London Skolars. They won the match 76–0. Their first home match was played on May 6, where they defeated Oxford in front of 6,281 fans at Lamport Stadium.
  The Wolfpack would go on to have a successful campaign, winning all fifteen of their regular season matches and five out of seven playoff games. The Wolfpack finished the season with 41 points from 22 games and points difference of +921.
  Promotion to the Championship, and the Kingston Press League 1 Title, was secured on 9 September 2017 with the Wolfpack defeating Barrow Raiders 26–2 in front of 7,972 spectators. They closed with a win against Doncaster in front of a record attendance of 8,456.
  The following season saw continued success by the Wolfpack; winning the league leaders shield in the championship competition. Following a round 4 defeat to London Broncos they put together an 18-game winning streak from March 2018  which was eventually broken with a home defeat to Featherstone Rovers in late July. They performed creditably in the Super 8s with five wins from seven games, defeating Super League sides Widnes Vikings and Leeds Rhinos. However, they fell short of automatic promotion on points difference and London Broncos beat the Wolfpack 4–2 at Lamport Stadium in the Million Pound Game, condemning the Wolfpack to another season in the Championship.
  In June 2019, a group of 19 "older" Rugby League players and 2 supporters made up from around the world, toured to Toronto in Canada to introduce "Masters Rugby League" to the Canadians. Masters is a modified version of the game of Rugby League and players must be over 35 years of age to play. With no upper age limit, older and players of any ability are all welcome. The Masters format was first played in New Zealand in 1992. By 2004 it was introduced to Australia and to the UK in 2008, France in 2017 and Ireland in early 2019).
  Masters players from traditional Rugby League areas such as Lancashire, Cumbria and Yorkshire joined with players from the less traditional Rugby League areas, such as London, South East and the North East of England. With two players Joining from the Southern Hemisphere, (New Zealand and Australia) the tour party was a truly International mix of players from ages 36 to 77, touring under the name “South London Silverbacks Masters”. So with support from The Toronto WolfPack, and some very hardworking and dedicated Rugby League volunteers in Canada, who managed to form two teams as opposition (Toronto Wolfpack Masters and the Ontario Greybeards Masters), the tour went ahead.
  Two Masters games were played at the Lamport Stadium in Toronto and the tourists were also guests at Barrie High School, spending the day helping Toronto Wolfpack staff with a Rugby League skills day. This tour has “Sown the seeds of Masters RL” in Canada and thanks go to all who volunteered, helped and sponsored the three teams involved. Hopefully Rugby League, Masters and all the other variants of Rugby League will be introduced and/or continue to grow in popularity in Toronto, Canada and North America.
  On October 5, 2019, the Wolfpack were promoted to Super League for the first time in club history after their 24–6 victory over Featherstone Rovers in the 2019 Million Pound Game.
  In November 2019, the Wolfpack made international headlines when they signed dual-code international Sonny Bill Williams on a two-year deal. The signing came in the wake of Williams' third appearance in a Rugby Union World Cup and saw him return to Rugby League, the sport where his career began.
  In July 2020, Toronto Wolfpack withdrew from the 2020 Super League due to financial difficulties and new  logistics needed for international travel
caption: Liam Kay with the Wolfpack during a match in February 2018
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