2021 RFL Championship

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2021 Betfred Championship
LeagueChampionship
Duration2 April 2021 – 9 October 2021
Teams14
Matches played45
Points scored4,518
Highest attendance9,235 (Toulouse Olympique vs Featherstone Rovers, 10 October 2021)
Lowest attendance200 (London Broncos vs York City Knights, 11 July 2021)
Broadcast partnersOurLeague
Sky Sports (play-offs only)
2021 season
ChampionsToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique (1st title)
Championship Leaders' ShieldToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique (1st title)
Runners-upFevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers
Biggest home win70–0 (Toulouse Olympique vs Widnes Vikings, 9 May 2021)
Biggest away win12–82 (Newcastle Thunder vs Toulouse Olympique, 18 September 2021)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from ChampionshipToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique
Relegated to League 1Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham
Swintoncolours.svg Swinton Lions

The 2021 Rugby Football League Championship is a rugby league football competition played in England, and France. It is the second tier of the three tiers of professional rugby league in England, below Super League, and above League 1. The sponsors for the league are the bookmakers, Betfred and the league will continue to be known as the Betfred Championship.

Teams[]

The league comprises 14 teams playing 22 matches each in the regular season. Each teams will play nine others twice (home and away) and play the other four teams just one (home or away).[1]

Locations of the 2021 RFL Championship teams
Locations of 2021 RFL Championship teams in France
Locations of the 2021 RFL Championship teams in West Yorkshire
Team Stadium Capacity Location
Batley colours.svg Batley Bulldogs
() 		Mount Pleasant 7,500 Batley, West Yorkshire
Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls
(2021 season) 		Crown Flatt
Odsal Stadium[2] 		5,800
22,000 		Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Bradford, West Yorkshire
Ramscolours.svg Dewsbury Rams
() 		Crown Flatt 5,800 Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Fevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers
() 		Post Office Road 8,000 Featherstone, West Yorkshire
Faxcolours.svg Halifax
() 		The Shay 14,000 Halifax, West Yorkshire
Broncoscolours.png London Broncos
(2021 season) 		Trailfinders Sports Ground 4,000 West Ealing
Gthundercolours.svg Newcastle Thunder
() 		Kingston Park 10,200 Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle
Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham
() 		Bower Fold[3] 6,500 Stalybridge, Greater Manchester
Sheffeagles colours.svg Sheffield Eagles
() 		Keepmoat Stadium[4] 15,231 Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Swintoncolours.svg Swinton Lions
() 		Heywood Road 3,387 Sale, Greater Manchester
ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique
() 		Stade Ernest-Wallon 19,500 Toulouse, France
Haven colours.svg Whitehaven
() 		Recreation Ground 7,500 Whitehaven, Cumbria
Widnes colours.svg Widnes Vikings
() 		DCBL Stadium 13,350 Widnes, Cheshire
Balmain colours.svg York City Knights
(2021 season) 		York Community Stadium 8,005 York, North Yorkshire

Fixtures and results[]

Main article: 2021 RFL Championship season results

The governing body, the Rugby Football League (RFL) decided that the Summer Bash will not be played due to restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom which will limit or prohibit the attendance of spectators.[1]

Following an RFL meeting with both the Championship and League 1 clubs, it was agreed that golden point extra time would be suspended for this season, following concerns over the welfare of players and staff.[1]

The RFL also issued guidance on clubs travelling to France to play Toulouse. While UK COVID-19 quarantine rules require travellers to isolate for five days on return from France, the RFL stated that it was permissible for the part-time clubs in the Championship to postpone fixtures against Toulouse. The postponement did not apply to London Broncos as the club's players are full-time.[5]

Cancelled and forfeited matches[]

In March 2021 the RFL announced that the part-time clubs in the Championship would not have to travel to France to play Toulouse while the quarantine rules requiring travellers to isolate for five days were in force. This ruling did not apply to the full-time club, London Broncos.[6] London were due to travel to Toulouse for a match on 17 April but declined to do so. The RFL therefore awarded the two competition points to Toulouse with the score recorded as 24–0. The match does not count towards the number of games played by London towards qualification for the play-offs.[7] The RFL also referred London to the off-field compliance board for failing to fulfil a fixture.[7] At a subsequent meeting the compliance board deducted 2 points from London for beaching the operational rules by failing to fulfil the match.[8]

Toulouse's game against Bradford, scheduled for 19 June 2021 was cancelled on 4 June due to the quarantine rules. There were no free dates in the calendar to accommodate re-scheduling so the game was not played.[9]

London's game against Widnes scheduled for 25 July was cancelled on 20 July, after London Broncos reported more than seven players requiring to isolate, the match was postponed then cancelled as the clubs agreed there was no possible date available for re-arranging the fixture.[10]

Other points deductions[]

In August, Featherstone were deducted two competition points (the equivalent of a win) for breaching RFL Operational Rules. In breach of UK government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic the club hosted an indoor gathering on 27 March at which 12 members of the first team were present. Under RFL COVID-19 protocols all the players involved should have been stood-down and ordered to self-isolate. The club did not comply with the protocols and also failed to assist with the RFL investigation into the incident.[11]

Regular season table[]

As a precaution against disruption to fixtures due to COVID-19, league placings will be decided by points percentage, rather than points. After the regular season of 22 rounds, the top six teams will go forward to the play-offs, with the winners being promoted to Super League for 2022. The two teams finishing bottom of the Championship after the regular season will be relegated to League 1.[12]

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
 Pld W D L PF PA PP Pts PCT Qualification[a]
1 ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique[b] 14 14 0 0 698 124 562.9 28 100.00 & advance to semi-final
2 Fevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers 21 20 0 1 943 292 322.9 38[c] 90.48[c] Advance to semi-final
3 Faxcolours.svg Halifax Panthers 21 13 0 8 528 354 149.2 26 61.90 Advance to eliminators
4 Batley colours.svg Batley Bulldogs 21 13 0 8 561 411 136.5 26 61.90
5 Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls 20 12 0 8 514 501 102.6 24 60.00
6 Haven colours.svg Whitehaven 22 12 1 9 502 524 95.8 25 56.82
7 Broncoscolours.png London Broncos[b] 20 11 1 8 552 579 95.3 21[d] 52.50[d]
8 Widnes colours.svg Widnes Vikings 21 9 1 11 494 534 92.5 19 45.24
9 Balmain colours.svg York City Knights 20 9 0 11 502 477 105.2 18 45.00
10 Ramscolours.svg Dewsbury Rams 21 8 1 12 360 608 59.2 17 40.48
11 Gthundercolours.svg Newcastle Thunder 20 7 1 12 431 627 68.7 15 37.50
12 Sheffeagles colours.svg Sheffield Eagles 20 5 3 12 420 665 63.2 13 32.50
13 Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham 21 2 1 18 308 748 41.2 5 11.90 Relegated to League 1
14 Swintoncolours.svg Swinton Lions 22 2 1 19 404 773 52.3 5 11.36
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) win percentage; 2) points scored percentage (points scored divided by points conceded).
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams must have played at least 70% of scheduled fixtures (16 matches) to qualify for the play-offs. Fixtures involving Toulouse that are cancelled due to quarantine restrictions do not count against either team involved in respect of the 70% requirement.[13]
  2. ^ a b Toulouse were awarded the fixture against London scheduled for 17 April after London declined to travel to France. Toulouse are awarded the two competition points and for points scored percentage the score is recorded as a 24–0 win for Toulouse. The game does not count towards the number of games played by London to determine eligibility for the play-offs
  3. ^ Featherstone deducted 2 points for breach of the RFL Operational Rules in March 2021.[14]
  4. ^ London deducted 2 points for breach of the RFL Operational Rules in failing for fulfil the fixture against Toulouse in April 2021.[15]

Play-offs[]

Main article: 2021 RFL Championship season results § Play-offs
See also: Million Pound Game

The play-off structure and dates were confirmed on 20 August and will take place over three weekends commencing 25 September. The first weekend will see 3rd play 6th and 4th play 5th in a double header. The following weekend will be another double header with 1st playing the lowest ranked play-off winning team and 2nd playing the highest ranked play-off winner. The winners of these two matches will meet in the Million Pound Game on Sunday 10 October.[16]

Team bracket[]

Eliminators Semi-finals Million Pound Game
1 ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique 51
4 Batley colours.svg Batley Bulldogs 23 4 Batley colours.svg Batley Bulldogs 12
5 Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls 10 1 ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique 34
2 Fevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers 12
2 Fevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers 42
3 Faxcolours.svg Halifax Panthers 24 3 Faxcolours.svg Halifax Panthers 10
6 Haven colours.svg Whitehaven 20

Summary[]

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue Referee Attendance
Eliminators
Faxcolours.svg Halifax Panthers 24–20 Haven colours.svg Whitehaven 25 September 2021, 15:15 The MBi Shay Chris Kendall
Batley colours.svg Batley Bulldogs 23–10 Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls 25 September 2021, 17:30 Fox's Biscuits Stadium James Child 1,500 (est)
Semi-finals
ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique 51–12 Batley colours.svg Batley Bulldogs 2 October 2021, 15:15 Stade Ernest-Wallon Liam Moore 6,871
Fevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers 42–10 Faxcolours.svg Halifax Panthers 2 October 2021, 17:30 Millennium Stadium Robert Hicks
Million Pound Game
ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique 34–12 Fevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers 10 October 2021, 18:00 Stade Ernest-Wallon Robert Hicks 9,235

Awards[]

The end of year awards for the 2021 Championship season were announced on 29 September 2021.[17]

Award Winner
Betfred Championship Club of the Year Castleford colours.svg York City Knights
Betfred Championship Player of the Year England Craig Hall (Featherstone Rovers)
Betfred Championship Young Player of the Year England (Oldham)
Betfred Championship Coach of the Year England Craig Lingard (Batley Bulldogs)
Our League Entertainer of the Year Scotland (Whitehaven)

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Easter return for the Betfred Championship". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Bulls to return to Odsal after RFL deal". BBC Sport. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  3. ^ Gordon, James (5 November 2019). "Oldham confirm return to Bower Fold". Love Rugby League.
  4. ^ "Sheffield Eagles to play at Keepmoat in 2021". www.rugby-league.com. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  5. ^ Peter, Smith (11 March 2021). "Betfred Championship: RFL postpones part-time clubs' trips to Toulouse Olympique". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  6. ^ "RFL sets out its policy on Toulouse Championship Participation". TotalRL.com. Total RL. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b Callum, Walker (8 April 2021). "RFL award Toulouse 24-0 win over London Broncos". Serious About Rugby League. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  8. ^ McAllister, Josh (21 July 2021). "London Broncos handed points deduction after refusing to play Toulouse". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  9. ^ Darbyshire, Drew (4 June 2021). "Toulouse home match against Bradford cancelled due to restrictions". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Championship fixture called off due to COVID". Serious About Rugby League. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  11. ^ Smith, Peter (3 August 2021). "Club should be setting an example: Why Rovers were punished for Covid breach". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Championship to adopt Super League play-off format for 2021 season". Sky Sports. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Toulouse home fixtures against Halifax and Batley cancelled". RFL. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Operational Rules Tribunal – Featherstone Rovers". RFL. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Operational Rules Tribunal – London Broncos". RFL. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Sky Sports to televise Betfred Championship Play-offs". www.rugby-league.com. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Betfred Championship and League 1 Awards – winners announced".
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