1995–96 Rugby Football League season

Season summary

• Stones Bitter Centenary League champions: Wigan (17th title)
• Silk Cut Challenge Cup: Final played in 1996 summer season.
• Regal Trophy Winners: Wigan (8 - 25-16 v St Helens)
• First Division champions: Salford
• Second Division champions: Hull Kingston Rovers
• Charity Shield winners: Leeds Rhinos

Personnel

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

Rules

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

Format

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

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

Highlights

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

Standings

First Division

Second Division

Third Division

Regal Trophy

Main article: 1995–96 Regal Trophy

Statistics

The following are the top points scorers in the 1995–96 season. Most tries

Most goals (including drop goals)

References

Sources

• 1995–96 Rugby Football League season at rlhalloffame.org.uk
• 1995–96 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com
• Great Britain Competitions 1995-1996 at hunterlink.net.au
• Championship 1995/96 at rugbyleagueproject.org

References

1. Hadfield, Dave. (18 August 1995). "Centenary waits for the revolution". The Independent.
2. "Charity Shield (UK) 1995/96".
3. Roberts, Chris. (29 June 1995). "Green light for King". Huddersfield Daily Examiner.
4. Whalley, John. (21 February 1995). "Tough policing needed to make wage cap work". The Daily Telegraph.
5. Roberts, Chris. (1 May 1995). "Super league critics force RL re-think". Huddersfield Daily Examiner.
6. Fitzpatrick, Paul. (9 May 1995). "Widnes offer a deal". The Guardian.
7. Tingle, Richard. (10 February 1996). "'Centenary season has been a disaster'". Hull Daily Mail.
8. (27 March 1997). "Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1997". Headline.