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Encyclopedia > Rugby Football League
Rugby Football League
Founded: 1895
RLIF Affiliation: 1948
Headquarters: Leeds, Yorkshire
Chairman: Richard Lewis (2002-)
Nations
Flag of England England
Flag of France France
Flag of Wales Wales
Flag of Republic of Ireland Ireland
Flag of Scotland Scotland
Competitions
Super League
Challenge Cup
National Leagues
Northern Rail Cup
Rugby League Conference
Official Site
www.therfl.co.uk

The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in the United Kingdom. Based in Leeds it administers the Great Britain national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, the Rugby League National Leagues and Super League (Europe). The amateur/junior game is administered in association with the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA). Image File history File links RFLlogo. ... Leeds is a major city in West Yorkshire, England. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2006 estimate... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Wales_(bordered). ... This article is about the country. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II... Super League (Europe) began in March 1996 and is the only full-time professional rugby league competition operating in the northern hemisphere. ... The Challenge Cup (currently known as the Carnegie Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs across Europe. ... The Rugby League National Leagues (currently known as the LHF Healthplan National Leagues as a result of sponsorship) form the basis for rugby league competition in Great Britain below Super League. ... The National League Cup is a rugby league competition for clubs in Great Britains National Leagues. ... The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from United Co-operatives is a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales. ... Rugby league football (often shortened to rugby league) is a full-contact team sport played with a prolate spheroid-shaped ball by two teams of thirteen on a rectangular grass field. ... Leeds is a major city in West Yorkshire, England. ... For the Great Britain and Ireland Lions rugby union football team of the same name, go to British and Irish Lions Great Britain team shirt Great Britain is one of the major national teams playing rugby league. ... The Challenge Cup (currently known as the Carnegie Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs across Europe. ... The Rugby League National Leagues (currently known as the LHF Healthplan National Leagues as a result of sponsorship) form the basis for rugby league competition in Great Britain below Super League. ... Super League (Europe) began in March 1996 and is the only full-time professional rugby league competition operating in the northern hemisphere. ... The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) is the governing body for social and recreational rugby league in the United Kingdom. ...


With the advent of Wales Rugby League, Scotland Rugby League and Rugby League Ireland, the RFL is increasingly becoming an English organisation. Wales Rugby League is the governing body for rugby league in Wales. ... The Scotland Rugby League is the governing body for rugby league in Scotland. ... Rugby League Ireland (RLI) is the official body for rugby leagues development in Ireland within the sport itself, having RLIF affiliation. ...


The RFL is part of the Community Board which also has representatives from BARLA, Combined Services, English Schools Rugby League and Student Rugby League. The Student Rugby League is the organisation which administrates university and college rugby league in the United Kingdom, on behalf of the Rugby Football League and BUSA. Founded in 1967 when a team was created at Leeds University by Andrew Cudbertson, Jack Abernathy and Cec Thompson, other teams soon joined...

Contents

History

Main article: History of rugby league

On 29 August 1895, 22 rugby clubs from across the north of England held a meeting in the George Hotel in Huddersfield, next to the railway station. They voted to secede from the Rugby Football Union and set up their own Northern Rugby Football Union, later known as the Northern Union (NU). The history of rugby league began with the schism of 1895 in the sport of Rugby football. ... A BCRFC match at Boston College Rugby football, often just referred to as rugby, refers to sports descended from a common form of football developed at Rugby School in England. ... Huddersfield is a large town in England near the confluence of the River Colne and the River Holme. ... The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the rugby union governing body in England. ...


The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisation. This has since been supplanted by Super League and the Rugby League National Leagues. gay The Rugby League Championship was the major professional competition organised by the Rugby Football League in Great Britain. ... Super League (Europe) began in March 1996 and is the only full-time professional rugby league competition operating in the northern hemisphere. ... The Rugby League National Leagues (currently known as the LHF Healthplan National Leagues as a result of sponsorship) form the basis for rugby league competition in Great Britain below Super League. ...


The Board

The RFL board consists of 5 members:

  • Richard Lewis, the Executive Chairman for the Rugby Football League. A former Tennis player, coach and Director of Tennis.
  • Maurice Watkins, a sports lawyer from James Chapman & Co in Manchester. He is a director at Manchester United football club, a member of the FA Premier League Legal Working, a member of FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber and a Regional Director for Coutts Bank. He also holds the position of President of the British Association for Sport and Law.
  • Bob Stott, an experienced Director in industry currently on the board of Morrisons Plc.
  • Ian Edwards, a former Media Director at the All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon. He was a sports correspondent for ITN and was Head of Sport at BBC Manchester from 1987 to 1989. He also has rugby league experience at French club Carcassonne and rugby union caps for Welsh club Cardiff RFC.
  • Nigel Wood, finance director of the Rugby Football League. A former accountant for the BBC and chief executive of Halifax RLFC.

For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ... This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ... Manchester Uniteds emblem Manchester United F.C. (often abbreviated to Man United or just Man U, pronounced man-yoo) is an English football club based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. ... For the Scottish equivalent see Scottish Premier League The FA Premier League (often referred to as the Barclays Premiership in England and the Barclays English Premier League or just simply The EPL internationally) is a league competition for football clubs located at the top of the English football league system... The Federation of International Football Associations(French: Fédération Internationale de Football Association), commonly known by its acroymn, FIFA, is the international governing body of association football. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Wimbledon (pronounced ) is a suburb of London, part of the London Borough of Merton and located seven miles (11. ... ITN may refer to: Independent Television News In the news, a section on the Main Page of English Wikipedia This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Carcassonne (Carcassona in Occitan) is a fortified French town, in the Aude département of which it is the préfecture, in the former province of Languedoc. ... A rugby union scrum. ... This article is about the country. ... Cardiff Rugby Football Club was founded 1876. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion (US$7. ... Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. ...

Officials

The head of refereeing in the RFL is former referee Stuart Cummings. The RFL decided that from the 2007 there would be 6 full time referees, previously referees had only been part time. The RFL still employs part time officials to supplement the 6 full time referees in the Super League and to be touch/in-goal judges in the Super League. The National Leagues are still refereed by part-time referees. There are currently 6 full time referees in the RFL: A full time job usually has benefits (such as health insurance) and are often considered careers. ... Part time refers to the amount of time and effort spent by someone in employment (or another activity, such as volunteering) compared to a normal full-time job. ...

  • Ashley Klein
  • Ben Thaler
  • Ian Smith
  • Phil Bentham
  • Steve Ganson
  • Richard Silverwood

Criticism and Controversy

Refereeing Appointments


There was some criticism of the RFL for allowing Steve Ganson, born in St Helens and also a former member of the St Helens RFLC fan club, to be an official in matches involving St Helens RLFC. Ganson was the video referee in the first match of the season between Huddersfield Giants and St Helens in which he disallowed a Huddersfield try. Ganson was also allowed to be the video referee in the local derby between Wigan Warriors and St Helens at the JJB Stadium. It was also suggested that Steve Ganson should not be allowed to referee games involving the Wigan Warriors who have a strong local rivalry with the St Helens club. St Helens is the name of several places: St Helens, Merseyside, which is the home of rugby team St Helens RFC and football (soccer) team St Helens Town F.C. St Helens, Isles of Scilly St Helens, Isle of Wight St. ... St Helens Rugby League Football Club or simply Saints are a professional rugby league club from St Helens, England. ... Huddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club based at the Galpharm Stadium in Huddersfield, in the Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire. ... Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league team based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. ... St Helens is the name of several places: St Helens, Merseyside, which is the home of rugby team St Helens RFC and football (soccer) team St Helens Town F.C. St Helens, Isles of Scilly St Helens, Isle of Wight St. ... The JJB Stadium is a sports stadium located within the Robin Park Complex in Newtown, Wigan, Greater Manchester. ...


Ganson Gate


Ganson Gate is a term used by some some rugby league fans to describe the refereeing mistakes during a Leeds Rhinos verses Bradford Bulls match at the Millennium Magic weekend. The referee Steve Ganson and video referee Ashley Klein made a series of mistakes which allowed Leeds to win the game in the last minute. Both referees apologised for their errors and were not allowed to referee in the Challenge Cup matches the weekend after.[1][2] Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club who are based in Headingley in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire. ... Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, England. ...


See also

The Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) is the world governing body for the sport of rugby league. ... Rugby league is a popular team sport played in England. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Rugby league | Guardian Unlimited Sport (626 words)
Melbourne Storm won the Australian National Rugby League for the second time after beating Manly 34-8 in Sydney.
Richard Lewis is the low-profile outsider who has led rugby league away from the dark days.
Super League's inaugural weekend away in Cardiff was a success with players, coaches and fans alike, says Andy Wilson.
Rugby league - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1984 words)
Rugby league is one of the two codes of rugby, the other being rugby union.
Rugby league's roots can be traced to early football history, like most forms of football, through the playing of ball games, which bear little resemblance to modern games.
Rugby league is played by two teams on a rectangular field with a length generally double the width.
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