Rugby in England

The England Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It promotes and runs the sport, organises international matches for the England national team, and educates and trains players and officials.

The England Rugby is an industrial and provident society owned by over 5,000 member clubs, representing over 2.5 million registered players, and forms the largest rugby society in the world, and one of the largest sports organisations in England. It is based at Twickenham Stadium, London.

## **History**

On 4 December 1870, Edwin Ash of Richmond and Benjamin Burns of Blackheath published a letter in The Times suggesting that "those who play the rugby-type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play".

On 26 January 1871, 32 members representing 21 London and suburban football clubs that followed Rugby School rules (Wasps and Ealing Trailfinders were invited but both failed to attend) assembled at the Pall Mall Restaurant in Regent Street. E.C. Holmes, captain of the Richmond Club assumed the presidency. It was resolved unanimously that the formation of a Rugby Football Society was desirable and thus the Rugby Football Union was formed. A president, a secretary and treasurer, and a committee of 13 were elected, to whom was entrusted the drawing-up of the laws of the game upon the basis of the code in use at Rugby School. The RFU were against payment of players and staff (amateur), as many influential members believed that it would "corrupt" the game.

Many clubs, however, didn't share that viewpoint. the most staunch supporters of player payments were the clubs of Northern England. they constantly made efforts to make the game accessible to the working class, in direct opposition to the upper or middle class image the game had at that time, and, since most of those northern clubs were made of working class people who couldn't afford to miss time from work to play games, they felt they had no choice but to convince the RFU to listen to their pleas. Conflict arose over the controversy regarding broken time, the issue of whether players should receive compensation for taking time off work to play. The northern clubs were heavily working class, and thus, a large pool of players had to miss matches due to working commitments, or forego pay to play rugby. In 1892, charges of professionalism were laid against rugby football clubs in Bradford and Leeds, both in Yorkshire, after they compensated players for missing work, but these were not the first allegation towards these northern bodies, nor was it unheard of for southern clubs to be faced with similar circumstances. The RFU became concerned that these broken time payments were a pathway to professionalism.

This was despite the fact that the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was allowing other players to be paid, such as the 1888 England team that toured Australia, and the account of Harry Hamill of his payments to represent New South Wales (NSW) against England in 1904.

Then, after years of conflict, top southern England clubs have decided to stop the infighting and invited the northern clubs so that they can open talks about professionalism, eventually leading to an all important vote in 1893. Every concerned parties were nervous, as they knew this vote will shape the future of the sport for years to come. Amidst a really close vote that ended 32 for to 28 against, the RFU has decided to allow payment for players, finally ending years of internal strife.

This was a huge relief for the poorer northern clubs, and especially the players, who now could make a living playing the game, just like their compatriots in football. With those news also came the announcement of a brand new competition for professional clubs only. after much debate, It has been decided that 22 clubs will take part in the Rugby Football League's first season, to begin play on September 7th, 1895, all chosen due to either their prestige, their influence on the game and their adequate facilities:

**CHARTER CLUBS OF THE RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE:**

1. Harlequins, from London
2. Leicester (now Leicester Tigers)
3. Blackheath, from London
4. Northampton Saints
5. Wasps, from London
6. Gloucester
7. Leeds
8. Halifax
9. Wigan
10. Manningham (the club switched codes to association football in 1903, becoming Bradford City A.F.C.)
11. St. Helens
12. Hull
13. Oldham
14. Wimbledon
15. Richmond from London
16. Bradford (almost left in 1907, however instead some members left and form a new association football club, Bradford Park Avenue, maintaining Bradford RFC)
17. Warrington
18. Clapham Rovers from South London (now disbanded)
19. Huddersfield
20. Bristol
21. Marlborough Nomads (disbanded in 1911)
22. Leigh

The rest of the clubs were placed in the 2nd Division, with the regional leagues representing the lower echelons of the brand new rugby pyramid.

## **Challenge Cup**

The Challenge Cup involving amateur, semi-professional and professional clubs in Britain organized by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The competition is a knockout tournament throughout, consisting of 10 rounds. A system of byes ensures higher level clubs enter the competition at later stages. There is no seeding, the fixtures in each round are determined by a random draw.  The first 4 rounds are played for 4 consecutive weeks in March and the final 4 rounds is played in April. The final is played on the last Saturday of April.

The final is played on the last weekend of July at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. "Abide with Me", sung before the game. The Lance Todd Trophy, named in memory of Lance Todd, is awarded to the man-of-the-match in the Challenge Cup Final.  Normal tiebreaker rules are applied to every round. The Qualifying Round is on the 1st weekend of December, from the 1st round until semi-finals, matches are played in consecutive weekends from the 1st weekend of January.

**Semi-Final Venue History**

The Semifinals were held in neutral venue since 1999 similar to the FA Cup semifinals, it was decided to hold it in football stadiums, dubbed "Magic Weekend":

* 1999 & 2000: Stadium of Light, Sunderland. Home to Sunderland A.F.C.
* 2001-2003: City Ground, Nottingham. Home to Nottingham Forest F.C.
* 2004-2006: Elland Road, Leeds. Home to Leeds United F.C. and Yorkshire Rugby
* 2007-2009: Ricoh Arena, Coventry. Home to Coventry City F.C. (at the time)
* 2012-2014: Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Home to Sheffield United F.C.
* 2015-2018: Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Home to Manchester City F.C.
* 2019-2021: New White Hart Lane, London. Home to Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
* 2022-2024: Anfield, Liverpool. Home to Liverpool F.C.

1. **Qualifying round:** 40 amateur teams.
2. **1st round:** All 16 National Division 3 clubs enter, played over 4 days (36 teams)
3. **2nd round:** All 16 National Division 2 clubs enter, played over 4 days (36 teams)
4. **3rd round:** All 16 National Division 1 teams enter, played over 4 days (36 teams)
5. **4th round:**All 14 Super League teams enter the draw, played over 4 days (32 teams).
6. **5th round:** Top 8 Premiership teams enter the draw, played over 3 days (16 teams).
7. **Quarter finals:** Last 8, played over 2 days
8. **Semi finals:** Last 4. Played as a double-header in a neutral venue
9. **Final:** Final 2. Played in Old Trafford, Manchester

## **1895 Cup**

The 1895 Cup (known as the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup due to sponsorship), is a competition for 48 clubs (all National League One, National League Two and National League Three clubs) who are split into 16 groups of 3, the top team from the group advances to the knockout stage. The final is played in Old Trafford, Manchester before the Challenge Cup final

1Part of the Summer Bash, so this may not be indication of actual attendance of cup final.

2 Played before the Challenge Cup final

## **NatWest Schools Cup**

The NatWest Schools Cup is an annual English secondary school rugby cup competition. The Final is held at Copthall Stadium, London home to Saracens. Competitions are held at the U18 and U15 age group levels. At each age level there are several competitions.

## **United Rugby Championship (URC) (logo v2)**

URC is the top-level professional rugby league club competition in Great Britain, PRO Rugby Championship DAC, a private company limited by shares based in Ireland. The organisation is responsible for running and operating the URC and is owned by the member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with 1 vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs elect a chairman, CEO, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league.

#### **URC formation**

In 1996, the RFL First Division clubs voted to break away from the RFL, PRO Rugby Championship DAC was formed as a limited company and appoint their own chairman, CEO and board of directors to oversee the day-to-day running of the league as well as have more control over TV and sponsorship money, much like the Premier League did in Football. The new first division league was called the "URC". 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 and a salary cap restricted clubs from spending more than 60% of their income on players.

#### **Format**

Super League features 20 teams, a team will play the other 19 teams once and then 3 "rival" matches once again for a total of 22 matches. The team that finishes top is declared the champion, the bottom team is automatically relegated to the Championship, teams that finished between 9th-11th will compete in the Qualifiers. The season starts on the 1st weekend of April until last weekend of September, no games are played in July as the Challenge Cup is played.

#### **Salary Cap**

The base cap is £20 million, with an "academy credit" of up to £800,000 (£100,000 per player for up to 8 players). Any player who has played for the same club for 10 consecutive seasons will have half their salary excluded from the salary cap for his 11th and subsequent seasons.

A club may use the academy credit on a player that: (i) joined the club before his 18th birthday, (ii) is under age 24 at the start of the season, and (iii) earns a salary of more than £30,000. Under the credit scheme, the first £100,000 of a qualifying player's salary is not counted against the cap.

Clubs are allowed 3 "Marquee Players" who can exceed a club's salary cap as long as they can afford the players wages. Clubs are permitted to register a maximum of 5 overseas players. Before a Super League and Challenge Cup fixture, a club must announce their squad of 19 players by 2pm on the second day before the match day.

#### **Awards**

* **Man of Steel** **–** After each game, rugby sports commentators vote to award 3 votes to the best player, 2 votes to the 2nd best player, and 1 vote to the 3rd best player. Additionally, a player will lose 3 votes for each week of suspension that he incurs during the season. The votes for each round are made public up to Round 11 then are kept secret; this allows the final winner to be kept secret until the ECPR Awards ceremony.
* **Young Player of the Year –** Best under-20 player of the season voted by the fans
* **Coach of the Year –** Best coach of the season voted by the fans
* **Albert Goldthorpe Medal –** Top Try Scorer
* **Steve Prescott Trophy** **–** Top Points Scorer
* **Dream Team** **–** Best 13 players in their respective positions, voted by members of the sports press

**Ownership**

Cardiff Arms Park (irl Millennium Stadium) is moved north a bit, New parking spaces is placed where IRL Cardiff Arms Park is, Motorpoint Arena next to Millennium Stadium (similar to Ericsson Exhibition Hall next to Ricoh Arena), called the Cardiff International Arena. Stadium Plaza (Vue, Lazar Quest, Superbowl and Pure Gym) is part of the CIA Arena complex (similar to how Vue is in The O2 Arena). Media Wales and BT Square House relocated to where Motorpoint Arena is IRL, Motorpoint Arena demolished as part of plans to create a "canal quarter" in the city centre. Wood Street is car parking for Cardiff Arms Park.

St Helens Cricket and Rugby Ground is rebuilt and spilt into 2 separate stadiums similar to Headingly Stadium in Leeds, the green patch next to St Helens Ground will be used to build rugby stadium, any vacant space from the rebuilt will be car-park space, the white car park next to it will become a multi-story car-park. Swansea Cricket Club and Glamorgan Cricket will play at St Helens Cricket Ground as well as Swansea Cricket Cup final and Swansea Cricket Schools Cup final. St Helens Rugby Ground will be used by Wales national women's team, Swansea RFC, Varsity Rugby match biannually, Swansea Rugby Cup final, Swansea Rugby Schools Cup final

Queen’s Park FC is delighted to announce we have secured high-quality training facilities at Lochinch Sports Pavilion in Pollok Country Park. Lesser Hampden

Rugby ball

**NOTE:** Crusaders is irl Saracens.

Varsity day matches between Coventry University and the University of Warwick is played at Coventry Building Society Arena.

### **URC Under-20s**

The **URC Under-20s** is the top league of professional rugby league for players aged 20 years or younger in Britain. Contested by the same teams that compete in the URC. The competition runs parallel to the URC, with URC20 matches played immediately prior to the SL senior games. The URC20 enforces a salary cap and puts a heavy focus on life outside rugby for the players

## **Championship**

The British Championship is the second-tier competition organised by the England Rugby, the governing body for the sport in England, and consists of 16 teams. A team will play the other 15 teams once afterwards the top 8 teams played each other once more in the Super 8s (bringing the total to 22 games), the top 5 teams qualify for The Qualifiers.

The bottom 8 teams played each other once more (bringing the total to 22 games) with the top 4 teams competing for the Championship Shield, 1v4 and 2v3 with the higher-placed team get the home advantage in the semi-final and final, the bottom 2 teams in the League 1 Shield table is relegated to National League 2. The season begins on the 1st weekend of November until 1st weekend of April.

#### **Teams**

1Newcastle play 1 game (The Big One) at the SportsDirect.com Park.

* AJ Bell Stadium is built on 2 Adelphi Wharf. Housing complex (where the real life AJ Bell Stadium is) is in Barton-up-Irwell (instead of in Adelphi Street like IRL), as well as an Aldi store (location)
* Ashburton Grove is where irl Emirates Stadium is (home to Arsenal F.C. irl)
* Gosforth Park is where ASDA Superstore is, an ASDA Superstore (with a petrol station and car park) is instead build on the site of Newcastle Greyhound Stadium. Kingston Park is a recreational park

Australia

New Zealand

#### **Reason**

Leigh-The Spinners-A reference to Leigh Spinners a Grade II\* listed double cotton spinning mill in the town.

Huddersfield-Cowbell Army-Due to the presence of Cowbells amongst the crowd.

### **The Qualifiers**

Week 1:

1. Championship Grand Final (1 v 2, No.1 gets home advantage; winner promoted to SRL, loser in next stage)
2. KPC3 v KPC4 (No. 3 gets home advantage; loser stays Championship, winner next stage)
3. SL9 v SL10 (No.9 gets home advantage; winner stays in SRL, loser next stage)
4. SL11 v KPC5 (SRL team gets home advantage; loser in Championship, winner in next stage)

Week 2:

1. Loser of Match 1 v Winner of Match 2 (higher placed team gets home advantage; loser stays Championship, winner qualifies for MPG)
2. Loser of Match 3 v Winner of Match 4 (SRL team or higher placed team, gets home advantage; winner in SRL, loser in MPG)

Week 3:

* Million Pound Game between Winner of Match 1 of Week 2 and the Loser of Match 2 of Week 2 (higher placed team gets home advantage; winner in SRL, loser in Championship)

## **League 1**

League 1 is the 3rd tier competition organised by the England Rugby, the governing body for the sport in England, and consists of 16 teams. A team will play the other 15 teams once afterwards the top 8 teams played each other once more in the Super 8s (bringing the total to 22 games), the team that finishes top of Super 8s is promoted as champions to National League 1, teams that finished 2nd-7th advances to the play-offs. The bottom 8 teams played each other once more (bringing the total to 22 games) with the top 4 teams competing for the League 1 Shield, 1v4 and 2v3 with the higher-placed team get the home advantage in the semi-final and final, the bottom 2 teams in the League 2 Shield table is relegated to League 2.  The final is played at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool.

Park Lane Stadium purchased by Man Utd. Man Utd reserves and U18 play there.

Sedgley Park turned into a community sports village similar to Leigh Sports Village.

Bradford PA

## **League 2**

League 2 is the fourth-tier competition organised by the England Rugby, the governing body for the sport in England, and consists of 16 teams. A team will play the other 15 teams once afterwards the top 8 teams played each other once more in the Super 8s (bringing the total to 22 games), the team that finishes top of Super 8s is promoted as champions to League 1, teams that finished 2nd-7th advances to the play-offs. The bottom 8 teams played each other once more (bringing the total to 22 games) with the top 4 teams competing for the League 2 Shield, 1v4 and 2v3 with the higher-placed team get the home advantage in the semi-final and final.

1 A hotel, football academy/centre of excellence, leisure complex, retail area and village green alongside the Northern Echo Arena

### **Playoffs**

The 2nd and 3rd place team are given a bye to the semi-finals. The quarter-final is 4th placed team host the 7th place team, and the 5th placed team host the 6th placed team. The winner of the quarter-final matches visit the homes of the 2nd and 3rd placed teams. The winner of the semi-final matches play each other in the final, which is played at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool. The former venue of the Summer Bash (Magic Weekend of the Championship).

## **English club rugby rivalries**

* Bath-Bristol derby: Bristol vs. Bath
* Battle of the Borough Derby: Leigh vs Wigan
* Calder Derby - Castleford v Wakefield Trinity
* Cheshire Derby - Warrington v Widnes
* Cumbria Derby - Whitehaven v Workington Town
* East Lancashire Derby - Oldham Roughyeds vs. Rochdale Hornets
* East Midlands Derby - Leicester Tigers vs. Northampton Saints
* Five Towns Derby: Castleford Tigers vs. Featherstone Rovers
* Boxing Day Derby: St. Helens v Wigan
* Heavy Woollen Derby - Batley v Dewsbury
* Hull Derby - Hull v Hull Kingston Rovers
* Leeds Derby - Leeds v Hunslet
* London Derby - Harlequins v Saracens
* M69 Derby: Coventry v Leicester Tigers
* New West Country derby: Bristol vs. Exeter Chiefs
* Roses Derby: Oldham Roughyeds or Rochdale Hornets vs. Huddersfield or Halifax
* Salford Derby: Salford Red Devils vs. Manchester Swintoners
* South Yorkshire Derby - Sheffield v Doncaster
* The West Yorkshire Derby: Bradford Northern vs Leeds
* West Country derby: Gloucester vs. Bath
* War of the Roses Derby: Leeds vs Wigan

## **English club rugby rivalries**

Calder Derby - Castleford v Wakefield Trinty

Cheshire Derby - Warrington v Widnes

Cumbria Derby - Whitehaven v Workington Town

East Lancashire Derby - Salford v Oldham

East Midlands Derby - Leicester Tigers vs. Northampton Saints

Good Friday Derby - St. Helens v Wigan

Heavy Woollen Derby - Batley v Dewsbury

Hull Derby - Hull v Hull Kingston Rovers

Leeds Derby - Leeds v Hunslet

London Derby - Harlequins v Saracens

M69 Derby - Coventry Wasps v Leicester Tigers

South Yorkshire Derby - Sheffield v Doncaster

West Yorkshire derby - Leeds v Bradford Bulls or Leeds v Huddersfield

## **Celtic League**

#### **Point of diversions**

Cardiff Arms Park is in Cardiff Bay where Viola Arena is IRL, Cardiff International Pool is moved to the vacant land at Empire Way. New parking spaces is placed where Cardiff International Pool is IRL. New parking spaces is placed where Cardiff Arms Park is IRL. Motorpoint Arena next to Millennium Stadium (similar to Ericsson Exhibition Hall next to Ricoh Arena). Stadium Plaza (Vue, Lazar Quest, Superbowl and Pure Gym) as well as Media Wales and BT Square House relocated to where Motorpoint Arena is IRL. Wood Street is car parking for Millennium Stadium.

St Helens Cricket and Rugby Ground is rebuilt and spilt into 2 separate stadiums similar to Headingly Stadium in Leeds, the green patch next to St Helens Ground will be used to build rugby stadium, any vacant space from the rebuilt will be car-park space, the white car park next to it will become a multi-story car-park. Swansea Cricket Club and Glamorgan Cricket will play at St Helens Cricket Ground as well as Swansea Cricket Cup final and Swansea Cricket Schools Cup final. St Helens Rugby Ground will be used by Wales national women's team, Swansea RFC, West Wales regional rugby team (spilt with Neath), Varisty Rugby match biannually, Swansea Rugby Cup final, Swansea Rugby Schools Cup final