Super League XXV,known as the2020 Betfred Super Leaguefor sponsorship reasons, was the 25th season of theSuper Leagueand 126th season ofrugby leaguein Great Britain.St Helenswere the reigning champions going into Super League XXV.
| Super League XXV | |
|---|---|
| League | Super League |
| Duration | 20 rounds(reduced from 29) |
| Teams | 11(reduced from 12) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored | 7,574 |
| Highest attendance | 19,599 Hull FCVsHull KR (7 February) |
| Lowest attendance | 3,350 Salford Red DevilsVsHuddersfield Giants(14 February) (Excludes games behind closed doors) |
| Average attendance | 4,171[a] |
| Attendance | 300,339; |
| Broadcast partners | |
| 2020 season | |
| Champions | St Helens 8th Super League title 15th British title |
| League Leaders Shield | Wigan Warriors |
| Runners-up | Wigan Warriors |
| Biggest home win |
|
| Biggest away win | Wakefield Trinity0–58Catalans Dragons(15 August) |
| Man of Steel |  Paul McShane |
| Top point-scorer(s) |  Lachlan Coote(152) |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Ash Handley(15) |
| Left League | |
| Toronto Wolfpack | |
At the start of the season, the competition consisted of twelve teams: ten from England, one from Canada, and one from France. Due to financial pressures related to the season suspension, Canadian sideToronto Wolfpackwithdrew from the league in July 2020, and the league continued with just 11 teams.
The league was suspended on 16 March, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,but a resumption to a revised format started again on 2 August. Among the changes were the cancellation of the annualMagic Weekend,which was scheduled to be played atSt James' Park,Newcastle.[1]The Grand Final was scheduled to be held atOld Trafford,Manchester,but the venue became unavailable in October due to host clubManchester United'sChampions League fixtures.[2][3]On 22 October, it was announced that the Grand Final would now be played atHull F.C.'sKCOM Stadium.[4]
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
editFixture postponement
editOn 16 March 2020, theRFLannounced that all rugby league games had been suspended initially, until at least April, due to theCOVID-19outbreak.[5]However, on 24 March, Super League clubs held a Board meeting via conference call, attended in part by senior officials of the Rugby Football League, for further discussion of how to respond to the current public health crisis. It was agreed that until further notice, all rugby league fixtures will be suspended indefinitely.[6]
On 21 April, theRFLannounced that the Magic Weekend fixtures scheduled to take place atSt James' Parkhad been postponed due to the current lockdown situation.[7]
Season resumption
editOn 26 June 2020, it was announced that the competition will resume on Sunday 2 August 2020, with two games outstanding from rounds 2–7 to be played at a single venue.[8]
The results of matches played before the suspension will count towards the league table and 15 rounds are planned post-resumption. At the end of the season the top four teams will compete in two semi-finals with the winners meeting in theSuper League Grand Final.This has a provisional date at the end of November 2020.[9]
The revised fixture list was published on 16 July, with the opening fixtures played on 2 August and then the all six round 8 games to be played atHeadingley,Leeds on 8 and 9 August.[10]On the same day, Toronto announced that all the club's games for the remainder of the season would be played in England.[11]
Super League and Sky Sports agree on 2020 rights fees
editOn 22 June, it was announced that The RFL and Sky Sports had reached agreement over clubs' 2020 TV revenues, which recognises the huge disruption to this season's fixture calendar, and the significant impact it has had on broadcasting schedules. The agreement is subject to the sport resuming when government and public health advice allows.[12]
Toronto Wolfpack withdrawal
editOn 1 April 2020,Toronto Wolfpackissued a statement regarding their first three fixtures scheduled to be played atLamport Stadiumin Canada. Due to the suspension of rugby league, and the coronavirus pandemic events, the decision to confirm these postponements had been taken, following regular consultation with the Wolfpack, and given the specific issues around international travel to and from Canada.[13]
On 20 July, the club announced that they would be taking no further part in the restarted season, citing the "financial challenges" the club would be facing, including loss of gate money, medical testing and the hire of grounds in England, but that the club hoped that they would be competing in Super League in 2021.[14]The RFL and Super League issued a statement in response to the announcement, which said that both bodies were "very disappointed" by Toronto's decision, and that discussions about Toronto's future involvement in Super League would have to be held.[15]
It was later announced that Toronto's results were to be expunged, although individual player's records would not be affected, however any Man of Steel points earned in the matches against Toronto would be erased.[16]
On 3 August 2020, TheRFLissued a further statement regarding Toronto, stating that they had terminated their contract for the remainder of 2020 season.[17]
Competition format
editAlthough matches recommenced in August and the number of games was reduced from 29 to 22, a number of games were postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests among players and staff of the clubs. In response the RFL took the decision on 9 September to change the way league positions were determined. For the first time since the1944–45 wartime emergency seasonleague position was determined by win percentage (number of wins divided by number of games played) rather than by competition points, acknowledging that some clubs were unlikely to fulfil all their fixtures. The change was introduced immediately. The top four clubs would still qualify for the play-offs but must have played at least 15 games in order to participate in the play-offs.[18]During a meeting of Super League clubs at the beginning of November,Hull Kingston Roversannounced that due to the number of their squad affected by COVID-19 the club could not fulfil its remaining fixtures. The clubs therefore agreed to end the regular season after round 20 and extend the play-offs to include the top six clubs (rather than just the top four) as of 6 November. The clubs and the RFL also agreed to remove the requirement that teams had to have played a minimum of 15 matches to qualify for the play-offs.[19]
Teams
edit
The season featured eleven of the twelve teams that participated inSuper League XXIV.London Broncoswere relegated after finishing bottom of Super League XXIV.[20]They were replaced by the2019 RFL ChampionshipwinnersToronto Wolfpack,who played in Super League for the first time since being founded in 2017.[21]Due to their home groundLamport Stadiumbeing unavailable during the Canadian winter, Toronto were to play their first ten games in England, after initial plans fell through to play three home games in European cities such asDublin,Republic of IrelandorBarcelona,Spain.[22]
The traditional two matches played onGood FridayandEaster Mondaywere to have been reduced to only one over theEaster weekenddue to concerns over player welfare.[22]
A change to the rules saw clubs able to name a squad of 21 players two days prior to match days rather than 19 in previous seasons. However, should a club add a player to the announced squad, they would lose one of their eight interchanges for the match in question (players on dual registration deals with lower league clubs are exempt).[23]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Reigning Champions | |
| Previous season League Leaders | |
| Promoted | |
Rule changes
editBoth golden point extra time and the shot clock, introduced in 2019, were retained for 2020 although the shot clock timings were reduced by 5 seconds each with only 30 seconds available for the forming ofscrumsand 25 seconds for the taking of agoal line drop out.[35]
As part of the work to restart the season, two major rule changes were made in July 2020 to apply for the rest of the season. Scrums were removed from the game and were replaced by aplay-the-balland an Australian innovation "six again"was adopted which replaces penalties for defensive infringements at rucks with a new set of six for the attacking team.[36]
Results
editExtra time
editGame 1 (Wakefield v Hull FC)
editThe first game to go to golden-point was the round 6 game between Wakefield and Hull F.C. on 6 March 2020. Hull won the match 27–26, thanks to aMarc Sneyddrop goal, after the scores were tied at 26-all after 80 minutes.
Game 2 (Huddersfield Giants v Leeds Rhinos)
editThe second game to go to golden-point was the rearranged round 2 game between Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos on 2 August 2020. Leeds won the match 27–26, thanks to aLuke Galedrop goal, after the scores were tied at 26-all after 80 minutes.
Game 3 (St Helens v Hull KR)
editThe Third game to go to golden-point was the round 12 game between St Helens and Hull KR on 11 September 2020. St Helens won the match 21–20, thanks to aTheo Fagesdrop goal, after the scores were tied at 20-20 after 80 minutes.
Forfeiture
editRound 19 saw the first occasion of a game being forfeited. Salford were due to play Warrington on 30 October but on 28 October Salford announced that the club was unable to complete the fixture due to being unable to raise a team and that they would therefore to forfeit the game. Under the RFL operational rules the game was awarded to Warrington as a 24–0 win.[37]
Regular season table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PP | Pts | PCT | Qualification[c] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wigan Warriors(L)
|
17 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 408 | 278 | 146.8 | 26 | 76.47 | Semi-finals |
| 2 |  St Helens(C)
|
17 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 469 | 195 | 240.5 | 24 | 70.59 | |
| 3 |  Warrington Wolves[A]
|
17 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 365 | 204 | 178.9 | 24 | 70.59 | Elimination semi-finals |
| 4 |  Catalans Dragons
|
13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 376 | 259 | 145.2 | 16 | 61.54 | |
| 5 |  Leeds Rhinos
|
17 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 369 | 390 | 94.6 | 20 | 58.82 | |
| 6 |  Hull F.C.
|
17 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 405 | 436 | 92.9 | 18 | 52.94 | |
| 7 |  Huddersfield Giants[B]
|
18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 318 | 367 | 86.6 | 14 | 38.89 | |
| 8 |  Castleford Tigers
|
16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 328 | 379 | 86.5 | 12 | 37.50 | |
| 9 |  Salford Red Devils[C]
|
18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 354 | 469 | 75.5 | 16 | 44.44 | |
| 10 |  Wakefield Trinity
|
19 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 324 | 503 | 64.4 | 10 | 26.32 | |
| 11 |  Hull Kingston Rovers
|
17 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 290 | 526 | 55.1 | 6 | 17.65 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C)Champions;(L)League Leaders' ShieldWinners
Notes:
Play-offs
editThe play-off format was varied twice during the year. Originally planned to use the same top-five team competition as had been used in 2019, the reactions to the COVID-19 situation meant firstly in September, a change to a top-four straight knock-out system and then in October a subsequent change to a top-six system.[42]
Wigan and St Helens (who finished first and second respectively in the regular season table) had byes to the semi-finals, whilst the four teams who finished third to sixth (Warrington Catalans, Leeds, Hull FC) contested in two elimination finals, with the winner of those two games, Hull playing Wigan, and Catalans playing St Helens.
Despite being defeated in the elimination finals, Warrington and Leeds were retained on standby, should any of the four teams in the semi-finals, be unable to fulfil their fixture. On 17 November they were both officially stood down, when all the COVID tests for the semi-finalists came back negative.[43]The highest ranked losing team from the semi-finals (Catalans), remained on standby to compete in the grand final, if either finalists were unable to do so.[44]
| Elimination play-offs | Semi-finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Wigan Warriors
| 29 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Warrington Wolves
| 14 | 6 | Hull FC
| 2 | |||||||||
| 6 | Hull FC
| 27 | 1 | Wigan Warriors
| 4 | |||||||||
| 2 | St Helens
| 8 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | St Helens
| 48 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Catalans Dragons
| 26 | 4 | Catalans Dragons
| 2 | |||||||||
| 5 | Leeds Rhinos
| 14 | ||||||||||||
Week 1: Elimination play-offs
edit| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | ||||||
| Elimination final 1 | ||||||||
| Warrington Wolves
|
14–27 | Hull FC
|
12 November 2020, 19:45 | Halliwell Jones Stadium | Liam Moore | |||
| Elimination final 2 | ||||||||
| Catalans Dragons
|
26–14 | Leeds Rhinos
|
13 November 2020, 19:45 | Halliwell Jones Stadium | Chris Kendall | |||
| Source:[45][46] | ||||||||
Week 2: Semi-finals
edit| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | ||||||
| Semi-final 1 | ||||||||
| Wigan Warriors
|
29–2 | Hull FC
|
19 November 2020, 19:45 | DW Stadium | Chris Kendall | |||
| Semi-final 2 | ||||||||
| St Helens
|
48–2 | Catalans Dragons
|
20 November 2020, 19:45 | Totally Wicked Stadium | Liam Moore | |||
| Source: | ||||||||
Week 3: Grand final
edit| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | |||
| Wigan Warriors
|
4–8 | St Helens
|
27 November 2020, 20:00 | KCOM Stadium,Hull | Chris Kendall |
| Source: | |||||
Player statistics
edit
- Updated to match(es) played on 13 November 2020
Discipline
edit|
|
|
End-of-season awards
editThe Super League end of season awards were made on 23 November. The award winners were:[47]
- Steve Prescott Man of Steel:Paul McShane(Castleford Tigers)
- Coach of the year:
Adrian Lam(Wigan Warriors) - Top Tackler:Michael Lawrence(Huddersfield Giants) with 749 tackles
- Metre-maker:Ash Handley(Leeds Rhinos) with 2541 metres
- Top Try Scorer:Ash Handley (Leeds Rhinos) scoring 14 tries
- Young player of the year:Harry Newman(Leeds Rhinos)
- Spirit of Super League:Rob Burrow(Leeds Rhinos) and
Mose Masoe(Hull KR)
Steve Prescott Man of Steel award
editPaul McShane was one of five candidates shortlisted for the award, the others beingAidan Sezer(Huddersfield Giants),Lachlan Coote(St Helens),Liam FarrellandBevan French(both ofWigan Warriors).[48]
Attendances
edit|
Club attendances
|
Top 10 attendances
|
Notes
edit- ^Salford forfeited a game against Warrington. Under RFL operational rules, the game is recorded as a 24–0 victory for Warrington and converse loss for Salford with the points scored/conceded applying to both teams.[39]
- ^Huddersfield were placed on standby to take the place of any of the four teams in the elimination finals should one be unable to fulfil their fixture.[40]
- ^Salford deducted three wins by the Rugby Football League for failing to meet the terms of a financial commitment agreed in 2013.[41]
References
edit- ^"Magic Weekend 2020 Cancelled".superleague.co.uk.Retrieved29 June2020.
- ^"Super League to return in August with Grand Final towards the end of November".ITV News.26 June 2020.Retrieved16 July2020.
- ^Shaw, Matthew (20 October 2020)."Super League seek new Grand Final venue – Super League grounds to come into consideration".TotalRL.com.Retrieved20 October2020.
- ^Darbyshire, Drew (22 October 2020)."Super League Grand Final to take place at Hull's KCOM Stadium".Love Rugby League.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"Super League fixtures Suspended until April".BBC Sport.Retrieved16 March2020.
- ^"Season Suspension Update".superleague.co.uk.Retrieved24 March2020.
- ^"Magic Weekend postponed".BBC Sport.Retrieved21 April2020.
- ^"Super League to return on August 2".www.expressandstar.com.26 June 2020.Retrieved16 July2020.
- ^"restart date announced".superleague.co.uk.Retrieved26 June2020.
- ^"Super League release fixture schedule for rest of 2020 season".Love Rugby League.16 July 2020.Retrieved16 July2020.
- ^Darbyshire, Drew (16 July 2020)."Toronto Wolfpack to play rest of 2020 season in UK".Love Rugby League.Retrieved16 July2020.
- ^"Super League and Sky Sports Agree on 2020 Rights Fees".www.rugby-league.com.RFL.Retrieved16 July2020.
- ^"Wolfpack Fixture Update".superleague.co.uk.Retrieved1 April2020.
- ^"Toronto withdraw from 2020 Super League".BBC Sport.20 July 2020.Retrieved20 July2020.
- ^"Statement | Toronto Wolfpack".www.rugby-league.com.RFL. 20 July 2020.Retrieved20 July2020.
- ^"Toronto Wolfpack's results expunged".Yorkshire Post.23 July 2020.Retrieved23 July2020.
- ^"Update | Toronto Wolfpack".www.superleague.co.uk.3 August 2020.Retrieved12 August2020.
- ^Shaw, Matthew (9 September 2020)."Super League table to be determined by win percentage, not league points".Total Rugby League.Retrieved9 September2020.
- ^"Super League: New play-off structure announced and end of regular season brought forward".Sky Sports.3 November 2020.Retrieved3 November2020.
- ^Heppenstall, Ross (13 September 2019)."London Broncos relegated from Super League after Wakefield defeat".The Telegraph.Retrieved5 November2019.
- ^Bower, Aaron (4 November 2019)."Toronto to kick off with Headingley 'home game' against Castleford".The Guardian.Retrieved5 November2019.
- ^ab"Super League 2020 fixtures: St Helens start v Salford, Toronto open v Castleford".BBC Sport. 5 November 2019.Retrieved5 November2019.
- ^"Clubs will lose interchange if pre-named squads are changed from 2020".BBC Sport. 9 January 2020.Retrieved9 January2020.
- ^"The Jungle (Wheldon Road)".castlefordtigers.com.
- ^"Stade Gilbert Brutus".catalan dragons.com.
- ^"Kirklees Stadium".johnsmithsstadium.com.
- ^"KCOM Stadium".kcomstadium.com/.
- ^"Craven Park, Hull".hullkr.co.uk.
- ^"Headingley Rugby Stadium".therhinos.co.uk.
- ^"AJ Bell Stadium".ajbellstadium.co.uk/.
- ^"Totally Wicked Stadium".saintsrlfc.com.
- ^"Belle Vue (Wakefield)".wakefieldtrinity.com.
- ^"Halliwell Jones Stadium".halliwelljonesstadium.co.uk/.
- ^"DW Stadium".dwstadium.com.
- ^BBC Sport (25 November 2019)."Super League: Five second shot clock reduction to make games faster for regular season from 2020".BBC Sport.
- ^Brooks, Jenna (6 July 2020)."RFL confirms rule changes for rugby league's restart".Sky Sports.Retrieved17 July2020.
- ^Shaw, Matthew (28 October 2020)."Salford forced to forfeit game with Warrington due to having just 13 fit men".TotalRL.com.Retrieved29 October2020.
- ^"2020 Betfred Super League Competition Update".Rugby Football League. 9 September 2020.Retrieved9 September2020.
- ^"Super League: Huddersfield v Castleford, and Warrington v Salford cancelled".BBC Sport.28 October 2020.Retrieved28 October2020.
- ^"Huddersfield season officially over".www.giantsrl.com.11 November 2020.Retrieved12 November2020.
- ^"Salford Red Devils: Super League club deducted three wins over financial breach".BBC Sport.3 November 2020.Retrieved3 November2020.
- ^"Super League ends regular season early and unveils six-team play-off system".Morning Star.4 November 2020.Retrieved9 November2020.
- ^Shaw, Matthew (17 November 2020)."Super League semi-finalists get Covid all-clear".TotalRL.com.Retrieved17 November2020.
- ^"Super League play-offs brought forward".BBC Sport.8 November 2020.
- ^"Super League: Warrington Wolves 14-27 Hull FC".BBC Sport.12 November 2020.
- ^"Super League play-offs: Catalans Dragons 26-14 Leeds Rhinos".BBC Sport.12 November 2020.
- ^"Tigers' McShane named 2020 Man of Steel".BBC Sport.23 November 2020.
- ^"Super League Man of Steel 2020: Wigan duo Bevan French and Liam Farrell on five-man shortlist".Sky Sports.17 November 2020.