The 2020 Rugby Football League Championship is a rugby league football competition played primarily in England but including a team from France. It is the second tier of the three tiers of professional rugby league in England, below Super League and above League 1. Following rule changes agreed at the end of the 2018 season, the Super 8's format was abandoned and the Championship was to have featured a play-off system leading to promotion to Super League for one club while results during the regular season would have led to relegation to League 1 for two teams.
| Betfred Championship 2020 | |
|---|---|
| League | Championship |
| Duration | Planned: 27 rounds + play-offs Actual: 5 rounds |
| Teams | 14 |
| Broadcast partners | Sky Sports |
| 2020 season | |
The 2020 Championship comprised 14 teams, which all played one another twice in the regular season, once at home and once away, totalling 26 games. The 2020 season would also have featured the "Summer Bash Weekend" for a sixth time so the regular season totals 27 games for each team.
On 16 March the structure and timing of the competition were placed in doubt as all rugby league games were suspended until 3 April at least as part of the United Kingdom's response to the coronavirus pandemic.[1] The suspension of the season was extended to indefinite.[2]
A discussion between the RFL and club officials in May saw a majority of the Championship clubs reject a suggestion that the season could recommence with games being played behind closed doors.[3] The RFL board met on 20 July and having consulted with the clubs decided to abandon the 2020 season as the majority of clubs did not support playing behind closed doors.[4] The RFL also confirmed that there would be no promotion or relegation between the Championship and Super League in 2020 and the season was declared null and void.[5][4]
Teams
editThe Championship is made up of 14 teams, 11 of whom featured in the 2019 Championship; one, London Broncos, who were relegated from Super League; and two, Whitehaven and Oldham, who won promotion from League 1 in 2019. At the end of the 2019 season Bradford Bulls moved out of their Odsal ground and for 2020 agreed a ground share deal with Dewsbury Rams at the Rams' Tetley's Stadium.
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
 Batley Bulldogs
|
Fox's Biscuits Stadium | 7,500 | Batley, West Yorkshire |
 Bradford Bulls
|
Tetley's Stadium | 5,800 | Dewsbury, West Yorkshire |
 Dewsbury Rams
|
Tetley's Stadium | 5,800 | Dewsbury, West Yorkshire |
 Featherstone Rovers
|
LD Nutrition Stadium | 8,000 | Featherstone, West Yorkshire |
 Halifax
|
The MBi Shay | 14,000 | Halifax, West Yorkshire |
 Leigh Centurions
|
Leigh Sports Village | 12,000 | Leigh, Greater Manchester |
 London Broncos
|
Trailfinders Sports Ground | 4,000 | Ealing, London |
 Oldham
|
Bower Fold[6] | 6,500 | Stalybridge, Greater Manchester |
 Sheffield Eagles
|
Sheffield Olympic Legacy Stadium | 2,500 | Sheffield, South Yorkshire |
 Swinton Lions
|
Heywood Road | 3,387 | Sale, Greater Manchester |
 Toulouse Olympique
|
Stade Ernest-Wallon | 19,500 | Toulouse, France |
 Whitehaven
|
Recreation Ground | 7,500 | Whitehaven, Cumbria |
 Widnes Vikings
|
Halton Stadium | 13,350 | Widnes, Cheshire |
 York City Knights
|
Bootham Crescent | 8,256 | York, North Yorkshire |
Regular season results
editRound 1
edit| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time (GMT) | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| Dewsbury Rams
|
10–36 | Leigh Centurions
|
31 January 2020, 19:30 | Tetley's Stadium | Cameron Worsley | 1,723 |
| Toulouse Olympique
|
22–10 | York City Knights
|
1 February 2020, 18:00 | Stade Ernest-Argeles | Marcus Griffiths | 3,151 |
| Batley Bulldogs
|
18–38 | Featherstone Rovers
|
2 February 2020, 15:00 | The Fox's Biscuit Stadium | Tom Grant | 1,795 |
| Bradford Bulls
|
14–18 | London Broncos
|
Tetley's Stadium | Aaron Moore | 2,697 | |
| Halifax
|
18–17 | Sheffield Eagles
|
The MBI Shay | Billy Pearson | 1,525 | |
| Oldham Roughyeds
|
6–36 | Widnes Vikings
|
Bower Fold | Jack Smith | 1,726 | |
| Whitehaven RLFC
|
0–14 | Swinton Lions
|
Recreation Ground | Gareth Hewer | 803 | |
| Source:[7][8][9][10] | ||||||
Round 2
edit| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time (GMT) | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| Leigh Centurions
|
58–10 | Sheffield Eagles
|
8 February 2020, 15:00 | Leigh Sports Village | Michael Mannifield | 3,104 |
| Toulouse Olympique
|
58–6 | Oldham Roughyeds
|
8 February 2020, 18:00 | Stade Ernest-Wallon | Aaron Moore | 2,318 |
| London Broncos
|
36–20 | Whitehaven RLFC
|
9 February 2020, 15:00 | Trailfinders Sports Ground | Matthew Rossleigh | 735 |
| Widnes Vikings
|
32–12 | Batley Bulldogs
|
Select Security Stadium | Tom Grant | 3,577 | |
| Featherstone Rovers
|
Halifax RLFC
|
TBC[a] | ||||
| Swinton Lions
|
Dewsbury Rams
|
TBC[a] | ||||
| York City Knights
|
Bradford Bulls
|
TBC[a] | ||||
| Source: | ||||||
- ^ a b c Match postponed on original date due to poor weather conditions caused by Storm Ciara
Round 3
edit| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time (GMT) | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| Batley Bulldogs
|
20–10 | Swinton Lions
|
16 February 2020, 15:00 | The Fox's Biscuit Stadium | Billy Pearson | 746 |
| Bradford Bulls
|
22–30 | Featherstone Rovers
|
Tetley's Stadium | Matthew Rossleigh | 3,640 | |
| Leigh Centurions
|
34–0 | York City Knights
|
Leigh Sports Village | Scott Mikalauskua | 2,942 | |
| Sheffield Eagles
|
14–26 | Toulouse Olympique
|
Castle Park | Aaron Moore | 618 | |
| Widnes Vikings
|
12–38 | London Broncos
|
Select Security Stadium | Jack Smith | 3,680 | |
| Whitehaven RLFC
|
14–16 | Oldham Roughyeds
|
16 February 2020, 18:15 | Recreation Ground | Michael Mannifield | 532 |
| Dewsbury Rams
|
18–16 | Swinton Lions
|
18 February 2020, 19:45 | The MBI Shay | Cameron Worsley | 1,151 |
| Source: | ||||||
Round 4
edit| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time (GMT) | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| Batley Bulldogs
|
18–19[a] | Sheffield Eagles
|
1 March 2020, 15:00 | The Fox's Biscuit Stadium | ||
| Halifax RLFC
|
28–4 | York City Knights
|
The MBI Shay | |||
| London Broncos
|
10–34 | Featherstone Rovers
|
Trailfinders Sports Ground | |||
| Oldham Roughyeds
|
12–26 | Bradford Bulls
|
Bower Fold | |||
| Whitehaven RLFC
|
4–40 | Toulouse Olympique
|
Recreation Ground | |||
| Dewsbury Rams
|
20–8 | Widnes Vikings
|
1 March 2020, 18:15 | Tetley's Stadium | ||
| Swinton Lions
|
Leigh Centurions
|
TBC [b] | ||||
| Source: | ||||||
- ^ after golden-point extra time
- ^ original match on 1 March, postponed due to a water-logged pitch
Round 5
edit| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time (GMT) | Venue | Referee | Attendance | |||
| Toulouse Olympique
|
34–14 | Batley Bulldogs
|
7 March 2020, 18:00 | Stade Ernest-Wallon | ||
| Featherstone Rovers
|
35–24 | Swinton Lions
|
8 March 2020, 15:00 | LD Nutrition Stadium | ||
| Leigh Centurions
|
34–20 | Halifax RLFC
|
Leigh Sports Village | |||
| Oldham Roughyeds
|
6–24 | Dewsbury Rams
|
Bower Fold | |||
| Widnes Vikings
|
40–16 | Whitehaven RLFC
|
Select Security Stadium | |||
| York City Knights
|
12–18 | London Broncos
|
Bootham Crescent | 1,364 | ||
| Bradford Bulls
|
28–0 | Sheffield Eagles
|
8 March 2020, 18:15 | |||
| Source: | ||||||
Standings at time of abandonment
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toulouse Olympique
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 48 | +132 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | Leigh Centurions
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 162 | 40 | +122 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Featherstone Rovers
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 137 | 74 | +63 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | London Broncos
|
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 92 | +28 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | Widnes Vikings
|
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 128 | 92 | +36 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | Dewsbury Rams
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 66 | +6 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | Bradford Bulls
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 90 | 60 | +30 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | Halifax
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 82 | 73 | +9 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Batley Bulldogs
|
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 82 | 133 | −51 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Swinton Lions
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 55 | −7 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Sheffield Eagles
|
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 60 | 148 | −88 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Oldham
|
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 46 | 158 | −112 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | York City Knights
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 102 | −76 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Whitehaven
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 54 | 146 | −92 | 0 | 0 |
References
edit- ^ "Coronavirus: Rugby Football League suspends season until 3 April". BBC Sport. 16 March 2020.
- ^ "Rugby League to stand down staff and players". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3, 219. 30 March 2020. p. 3.
- ^ "Championship on the brink of closing for the season". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3, 226. 18 May 2020. p. 3.
- ^ a b "No relegation from Super League in 2020". BBC Sport. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "Championship and League One null and void". Serious About Rugby League. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ Gordon, James (5 November 2019). "Oldham confirm return to Bower Fold". Love Rugby League.
- ^ "Leigh triumph in Betfred Championship opener". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "Toulouse fight back to beat York". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "London make winning start back in Championship". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "BULLDOGS 18-38 ROVERS". 2 February 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.[permanent dead link]