User:Northern Wonder

Summary
In total, 21 teams have competed at the World Cup. Of these, only three have won the World Cup, with Australia being by far the most successful with 12 titles. Great Britain has won three titles, however since 1995 have competed separately as England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. New Zealand became only the third team to win the World Cup in 2008.

England, France and Samoa are the only teams to have played in the final and not won. Wales' best result was third under the old format and have made the semi-finals twice while Fiji have appeared in three while Tonga have made the semi-finals just once.

Papua New Guinea achieved fourth place under the old format and have made it to three quarter-finals. Four other teams; Ireland, Lebanon, Scotland and the USA have all made the quarter-finals bringing the total amount of teams to reach the knockout stage to 14.


 * Tournaments between 1954–1992 did not feature semi-final and quarter-final rounds.

League leaders
The British rugby league League Leaders are the team finishing top of the league at the end of the regular season when a playoff system is used to crown the league champions.

History
For the first six seasons of the Championship, first past the post was used to crown the Champions. However, as the competition grew and added more teams not every club was able to fulfil all their fixtures, this creating an uneven fixture list. Due to some teams playing more games than others it was decided ahead of the 1906–07 season that the Championship would be decided by a playoff.

The club finishing top of the table at the end of the regular season would become known as the League Leaders and the winners of the Playoffs would be crowned the Champions.

Between 1906 and 1973 there were only four seasons when the playoff system was not used (excluding unofficial completions during the First and Second World Wars)

It wasn’t until 1964 that the league leaders were awarded with an official trophy, the RFL Championship League Leaders Trophy. This was awarded for 9 seasons until the playoffs were abolished in 1973. For the following 25 seasons the team finishing top were crowned Champions.

In 1998 the RFL decided to reintroduce a playoff system despite the first two seasons of Super League being decided by first past the post. No official trophy was awarded until 2003 when the league leaders were given the League Leaders Shield.

Current clubs

 * Notes
 * a: Founding member of the Super League
 * b: Appeared in every Super League season since 1996
 * c: One of the original 22 RFL teams
 * d: appeared in every top flight season since 1895-96

1895–1905: Foundations
Following the 22 rebel clubs’ decision to split from the Rugby Football Union, the newly formed Northern Rugby Football Union formed its own league which kicked off in 1895 with Manningham winning the first Championship.

As a result of a successful first season, eight more clubs resigned from the RFU and joined the Northern Union. After concerns over travel and the uncertainty of being able to organise a 30 team league it was decided from 1896 that the competition would be split into two separate County Championships in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

The County Championships were played until 1901 when 12 clubs resigned from their respective leagues to form a new league called the Northern Rugby Football League. The new league was initially met with protest from the Yorkshire Senior Competition, however after negotiations with the NRFL it was agreed a Second Division would be established for clubs to join with promotion and relegation between the two divisions.

By 1905 the Second Division had been abolished with clubs merging to create a single division. Due to not every club completing their fixtures, positions were decided by win percentage rather than points.

1906-1920: Introduction of Championship Final
Due to the 1905-06 season being decided by win percentages due to the uneven fixture list, it was decided the Championship would be decided by a playoff. The new Championship Final was inaugurated in the 1906-07 season with the top four clubs entered the playoffs. The first final was held at Fartown between League Leaders Halifax and Oldham with Halifax running out 18-3 winners.

By the 1910s Huddersfield began to dominate the Championship, finishing League Leaders four years in a row and winning three titles.

Despite the First World War starting in 1914, the RFL did not suspend the league until the following year. A Wartime Emergency League was organised in 1915-16 with clubs mostly playing other clubs in close proximity to reduce travel. Due to this the league was not considered an official competition and clubs winning the league are not considered official titles.

Following the end of the war in 1918 no national competition took place in 1918-19 and clubs took part in their County Championships. The Championship officially restarted the next year in 1919-20.

Inter War years: 1920-1945
Following the First World War the Championship continued as it had before with the title being decided by the Championship Final. Between 1920 and 1940, nice different clubs won the Championship.

The 1939-40 season was suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War. Sport was eventually allowed to restart and the RFL organised another Wartime Emergency League where clubs were organised into County Championships with the winners of the Yorkshire and Lancashire leagues playing a two legged final in which Bradford Bulls beat Swinton. Like previous Wartime Emergency Leagues these titles did not count as official Championships. The same structure was repeated again until 1941-42 where clubs played in a single league with a playoff at the end of the season.

1945-1960: Post War years
Following the end of the Second World War the Championship restarted normally as it had done before with 27 teams taking part.

The league continued to grow and be competitive. By the 1950s the league grew to 31 teams with only Wigan and Warrington being able to win back to back titles.

1962-1973: Failed Second Division
By 1961 the 30 club Championship was deemed too big and was split into two divisions for the first time since 1905. The bottom 14 Championship teams in 1961-62 went on to create the new Second Division the following season.

The introduction of an even league meant the Championship Final was abolished and the League Leaders were crowned Champions. Swinton were the first clubs to be crowned Championship by finishing top of the league since the 1900s with Hunslet and Keighley promoted from the Second Division. Swinton retained their title the following season, however there was no promotion or relegation with the RFL deciding to merge the two divisions back into a single Championship.

The Championship Final was resurrected in 1964-65 with an expanded playoff format. Leeds began to dominate the division in the late 60s and early 70s, finishing League Leaders four years in a row between 1966-1970 the first club to do so since Huddersfield in the 1910s. They were unable to win as many Championships however, winning two of the four they made it to with their 1973 final being a shock defeat to Dewsbury.

1962-1973: Failed Second Division
By 1961 the 30 club Championship was deemed too big and was split into two divisions for the first time since 1905. The bottom 14 Championship teams in 1961-62 went on to create the new Second Division the following season.

The introduction of an even league meant the Championship Final was abolished and the League Leaders were crowned Champions. Swinton were the first clubs to be crowned Championship by finishing top of the league since the 1900s with Hunslet and Keighley promoted from the Second Division. Swinton retained their title the following season, however there was no promotion or relegation with the RFL deciding to merge the two divisions back into a single Championship.

The Championship Final was resurrected in 1964-65 with an expanded playoff format. Leeds began to dominate the division in the late 60s and early 70s, finishing League Leaders four years in a row between 1966-1970 the first club to do so since Huddersfield in the 1910s. They were unable to win as many Championships however, winning two of the four they made it to with their 1973 final being a shock defeat to Dewsbury.

1973-1988: Reintroduction of Second Division
By 1973 the RFL had once again decided a 30 team league was too large and reintroduced the Second Division. The bottom 14 clubs of the 1972-73 season split to form the new Second Division. As was done the last time the were two divisions the Championship Final was done away with.

This period in the leagues history was the longest it had gone without a playoff to decide the Champions. Featherstone Rovers and Widnes became the last new teams the win the title.

The structure largely stayed the same with 16 clubs, four of who were relegated each year until 1985-86 when only three were relegated due to the expansion of the Second Division. Four clubs were again relegated in 1986-87 with only two promoted from the second tier due to the First Division being reduced to 14 clubs.

History
Following the first rugby league season in 1895, the national competition was dissolved with clubs opting to play county league competitions due to the cost of travel. In 1901, 14 clubs came together to reform a national championship. The following season, 22 clubs from the Yorkshire and Lancashire Championships opted to join the national Championship with clubs being organised into two divisions for the first time.

The first incarnation of a Second Division only lasted for three seasons with clubs being reorganised into one National Championship again in 1905. The Championship would not be split again until 1962 when a 14 team division was created. This however only lasted for two seasons.

Come 1974 the Second Division was reformed for a third time with 14 clubs where the top four teams were promoted to the First Division. In 1990 only three teams were promoted with the bottom 13 clubs being relegated to form a new Third Division. This had a major impact on the 1991-92 season with the second tier only being made up of eight clubs playing 28 games with two teams promoted and two relegated. There was no relegation in 1992-93 with the Third Division being abolished and the remaining clubs rejoining the Second Division.

The 1994-95 became to be one of the most controversial seasons in the sports history. With the Rugby Football League and bSkyb agreeing to form a Super League competition in 1996, a league restructure began. The bottom 9 clubs were relegated to reform the Third Division. Despite finishing seventh, London Broncos were chosen over league champions Keighley Cougars to be promoted to the First Division and effectively be included in the first season of Super League. The following 1995-96 season was shortened due to the sports switch from winter to summer and no clubs were promoted or relegated.

In 1996 the Second Division was rebranded as Division One, featuring eleven teams with the bottom two relegated and the winners being promoted to Super League. The following 1997 season the top two were promoted and in 1998 promotion and the league title was decided by a playoff for the first time, in which Wakefield Trinity beat Featherstone Rovers.

The second tier was rebranded again in 1999 as the Premiership but was more commonly known as the Northern Ford Premiership due to sponsorship. The Third Division was for a third time abolished and the Premiership featured 18 teams again with a playoff and Grand Final. Hunslet and Dewsbury Rams made the Grand Final in 1999 but neither could be promoted due to their stadiums not meeting Super League minimum standards. This was again the case in 2000 when Dewsbury Rams won the final although runners up Leigh Leopards were also denied promotion. The following two years Widnes Vikings and Huddersfield Giants were both promoted.

For the 2003 season the league was split again with the creation of a 10 team second and third tier, now known as National League One and National League Two. Again the winners and promotion were decided by a playoff and Grand Final. By 2009 promotion was scrapped in favour of licensing and the league was rebranded as the Championship. The league retained the Grand Final but the winning team was not promoted

All Time Super League table
( Seasons correct to 22)
 * Correct up to end of 2021 season
 * Does not include games in The Qualifiers

Honours

 * Notts County
 * League One Playoff Final: 2017-2018
 * League Two: 2016-2017


 * Leeds United
 * Championship: 2019-2020


 * Southampton
 * FA Cup: 2021-2022
 * FA Community Shield: 2022-2023


 * West Ham United
 * Premier League: 2023-2024
 * FA Community Shield: 2024-2025
 * League Cup: 2024-2025
 * Champions League: 2026-2027


 * Liverpool
 * Premier League: 2027-2028
 * League Cup: 2027-2028


 * Charlton Athletic
 * League One: 2029-2030
 * Football League Trophy: 2029-2030

Overview

 * Domestic Leagues
 * Premier League (2): 2023-2024, 2027-2028
 * Championship (1): 2019-2020
 * League One (1): 2029-2030
 * League One Playoff Final (1): 2017-2018
 * League Two (1): 2016-2017


 * Domestic Cups
 * FA Cup (1): 2021-2022
 * League Cup (2): 2024-2025, 2027-2028
 * FA Community Shield (2): 2022-2023, 2024-2025
 * Football League Trophy (1): 2029-2030


 * Continental Cups
 * Champions League (1): 2026-2027

