Rugby League Super 8s

Rugby League Super 8s
Current season or competition: 2016 Super 8s
Sport	Rugby league
Instituted	2015
Number of teams	39
Country	England  Wales  France  Canada (RFL)
Holders	Super League Wigan Warriors Qualifiers Leeds Rhinos Championship Shield Bradford Bulls League 1 Rochdale Hornets League 1 Shield Newcastle Thunder
Broadcast partner	Sky Sports BBC Sport (Highlights)

The Rugby League Super 8s are a feature of the British rugby league system. The Super 8s were introduced in 2015 despite vociferous opposition from both players and supporters, and are played in the top three professional divisions. Following the completion of the regular season home-and-away fixtures in Super League, the Championship and League 1, teams are split into smaller divisions of 8 based on their finishing positions on the league table; the teams then play an additional fixture against each of the seven other teams in their division to determine the final standings.

Regular Season

Super League

The Super League season sees teams play each other home and away, and one team for a third time at the Magic Weekend. After 23 games, the league table is frozen and the teams are split up into "Super 8s". Teams finishing in the top 8 will play 7 more games each as they compete in the Super League Super 8 group for a place in the Grand Final. Teams finishing in the bottom four will join the top 4 teams from the Championship in The Qualifiers Super 8 group and also play 7 more games each for a place in the next years Super League competition.

Championship

The Championship season sees teams play each other home and away, and one team for a third time at The Summer Bash. After 23 games, the league table is frozen and the teams are split up into "Super 8s". Teams finishing in the top 4 will play 7 more games each as they compete in the Qualifiers to try and earn a place in next seasons Super League. Teams finishing in the bottom 8 compete in the Championship Shield Super 8 group and also play 7 more games each.

League 1

League 1 teams play on a bi weekly round with a different team missing a game each week. After the regular season, points are carried forward and the top 8 and bottom 7 split into the League 1 Super 8s where the top 5 teams will progress to the Play-offs and the League 1 Shield.

Super League Super 8s

After 23 games the league table is frozen and the teams are split up into 2 of the 3 "Super 8's". Teams finishing in the top 8 will go on to contest "Super League" and will all retain a place in the competition for the next season, as they go on to play 7 more games each, as they compete for a place in the Grand Final. Teams finishing in the bottom four (9-12) will be put alongside the top 4 teams from the Championship, in "The Qualifiers" Super 8 group. Where these teams will reset their season standings to 0 and also play 7 extra games each, as they attempt to earn a place in the following Super League competition.

Super League

Play-Offs

• 1st Vs 4th
• 2nd Vs 3rd

Grand Final

The Qualifiers

The Qualifiers Super 8s sees the bottom 4 teams from Super League table join the top 4 teams from the Championship. The points totals are reset to 0 and each team plays 7 games each, playing every other team once. After 7 games each the teams finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will gain qualification to the next years Super League season. The teams finishing 4th and 5th will play in the "Million Pound Game" at the home of the 4th place team which will earn the winner a place in the next years Super League; the loser, along with teams finishing 6th, 7th and 8th, will be relegated to the Championship.

Million Pound Game

The Million Pound Game is a promotion play-off in the Qualifiers between the teams finishing 4th and 5th. The game is played at the ground of the team finishing 4th and the winner earns a place in the next season's Super League while the loser plays the next season in the Championship.

Championship Shield

The third of the three "Super 8" groups sees teams finishing 5th to 12th in the regular Championship table. Like the Super League 8s, these teams retain their original points and play 7 extra games, with the teams finishing in the top 4 places after these extra games contesting play-offs similar to Super League, with 1st v 4th and 2nd vs 3rd, with the winners contesting the Championship Shield Grand Final.

The two teams finishing at the bottom of this Super 8s group (7th and 8th) will be relegated to League One and be replaced by two promoted sides.

League 1 Super 8s

The top eight teams in League 1 play each other once more, with the top four teams having four home fixtures and the bottom four having three. Teams who finish the Super 8s in the top two will play in the Promotion Final. The winner will be promoted and the loser will play 5th in the Playoffs.

Play Offs

The playoffs are split into 2:

• Promotion Final

1st v 2nd

The winner gains promotion to the Championship and the loser then plays 5th

2nd v 5th

3rd v 4th

• Playoff Final

The winners of the last 2 playoff games play in the Playoff Final where one team will be promoted.

2nd v 5th Winner V 3rd v 4th Winner

League 1 Shield

The bottom 8 teams in League 1 at the end of the regular season compete for the League 1 Shield. They play each other once, home or away before 1st and 2nd qualify to play in the League 1 Shield Final. There is no automatic relegation.

See also

• Super League
• Championship (rugby league)
• League 1 (rugby league)

References

External links