Rugby Super League History

The idea of a Super League was first mooted in Australia by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch back in 1994. Murdoch, the man behind BSkyB, then looked to set up Super League Europe with teams competing from England and France.

In 1996 the dream became a reality when the Rugby Football League signed a lucrative deal with Sky Sports to televise the sport and Super League was born.

There were a number of adjustments from the Australian Super League, the most notable being the change from the game being played in the winter months to the summer – with the season running from February to October.

The top 10 teams in the existing top flight were invited to join the Super League, with the London Broncos being fast-tracked into the League for commercial reasons, along with French side Paris Saint Germain.

After two years Paris were dropped from the competition and all 12 sides were solely from England - until in 2006 French side Catalans Dragons were introduced and then, at the start of the 2009 season, Welsh side Celtic Crusaders joined.

St Helens won the first Super League title in 1996 when the team finishing on top of the League were crowned the champions.

In Super League III the format of the League changed when the play-off system saw the top five sides play for a place in the Grand Final to determine the Super League Champions.

During the 11 seasons since the play-off system was introduced the team finishing top of the League has gone on to win the Grand Final and become champions on six occasions.
In 2009 a further change occurred when promotion and relegation were scrapped to be replaced by a licence system.

From the end of the 2007 season teams had to apply for a place in the Super League, with licences being determined by four categories - stadium facilities, finance and business performance, commercial and marketing, and playing strength, including junior production and development.