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2020 Super League season

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Super League XXV
LeagueSuper League
Duration20 rounds (reduced from 29)
Teams11 (reduced from 12)
Matches played94
Points scored7,574
Highest attendance19,599
Hull FC Vs Hull KR
(7 February)
Lowest attendance3,350
Salford Red Devils Vs Huddersfield Giants (14 February)
(Excludes games behind closed doors)
Average attendance4,171[a]
Attendance300,339;
Broadcast partners
2020 season
ChampionsSt Helens
8th Super League title
15th British title
League Leaders ShieldWigan Warriors
Runners-upWigan Warriors
Biggest home win
Biggest away winWakefield Trinity 0–58 Catalans Dragons (15 August)
Man of SteelEngland Paul McShane
Top point-scorer(s)Scotland Lachlan Coote (152)
Top try-scorer(s)England Ash Handley (15)
Left League
Toronto Wolfpack

Super League XXV, known as the 2020 Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the 25th season of the Super League and 126th season of rugby league in Great Britain. St Helens were the reigning champions going into Super League XXV.

At the start of the season, the competition consisted of twelve teams: ten from England, one from Canada, and one from France. Due to financial pressures related to the season suspension, Canadian side Toronto Wolfpack withdrew from the league in July 2020, and the league continued with just 11 teams.

The league was suspended on 16 March, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a resumption to a revised format started again on 2 August. Among the changes were the cancellation of the annual Magic Weekend, which was scheduled to be played at St James' Park, Newcastle.[1] The Grand Final was scheduled to be held at Old Trafford, Manchester, but the venue became unavailable in October due to host club Manchester United's Champions League fixtures.[2][3] On 22 October, it was announced that the Grand Final would now be played at Hull F.C.'s KCOM Stadium.[4]

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

[edit]
See also: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rugby league

Fixture postponement

[edit]

On 16 March 2020, the RFL announced that all rugby league games had been suspended initially, until at least April, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.[5] However, on 24 March, Super League clubs held a Board meeting via conference call, attended in part by senior officials of the Rugby Football League, for further discussion of how to respond to the current public health crisis. It was agreed that until further notice, all rugby league fixtures will be suspended indefinitely.[6]

On 21 April, the RFL announced that the Magic Weekend fixtures scheduled to take place at St James' Park had been postponed due to the current lockdown situation.[7]

Season resumption

[edit]

On 26 June 2020, it was announced that the competition will resume on Sunday 2 August 2020, with two games outstanding from rounds 2–7 to be played at a single venue.[8]

The results of matches played before the suspension will count towards the league table and 15 rounds are planned post-resumption. At the end of the season the top four teams will compete in two semi-finals with the winners meeting in the Super League Grand Final. This has a provisional date at the end of November 2020.[9]

The revised fixture list was published on 16 July, with the opening fixtures played on 2 August and then the all six round 8 games to be played at Headingley, Leeds on 8 and 9 August.[10] On the same day, Toronto announced that all the club's games for the remainder of the season would be played in England.[11]

Super League and Sky Sports agree on 2020 rights fees

[edit]

On 22 June, it was announced that The RFL and Sky Sports had reached agreement over clubs' 2020 TV revenues, which recognises the huge disruption to this season's fixture calendar, and the significant impact it has had on broadcasting schedules. The agreement is subject to the sport resuming when government and public health advice allows.[12]

Toronto Wolfpack withdrawal

[edit]

On 1 April 2020, Toronto Wolfpack issued a statement regarding their first three fixtures scheduled to be played at Lamport Stadium in Canada. Due to the suspension of rugby league, and the coronavirus pandemic events, the decision to confirm these postponements had been taken, following regular consultation with the Wolfpack, and given the specific issues around international travel to and from Canada.[13]

On 20 July, the club announced that they would be taking no further part in the restarted season, citing the "financial challenges" the club would be facing, including loss of gate money, medical testing and the hire of grounds in England, but that the club hoped that they would be competing in Super League in 2021.[14] The RFL and Super League issued a statement in response to the announcement, which said that both bodies were "very disappointed" by Toronto's decision, and that discussions about Toronto's future involvement in Super League would have to be held.[15]

It was later announced that Toronto's results were to be expunged, although individual player's records would not be affected, however any Man of Steel points earned in the matches against Toronto would be erased.[16]

On 3 August 2020, The RFL issued a further statement regarding Toronto, stating that they had terminated their contract for the remainder of 2020 season.[17]

Competition format

[edit]

Although matches recommenced in August and the number of games was reduced from 29 to 22, a number of games were postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests among players and staff of the clubs. In response the RFL took the decision on 9 September to change the way league positions were determined. For the first time since the 1944–45 wartime emergency season league position was determined by win percentage (number of wins divided by number of games played) rather than by competition points, acknowledging that some clubs were unlikely to fulfil all their fixtures. The change was introduced immediately. The top four clubs would still qualify for the play-offs but must have played at least 15 games in order to participate in the play-offs.[18] During a meeting of Super League clubs at the beginning of November, Hull Kingston Rovers announced that due to the number of their squad affected by COVID-19 the club could not fulfil its remaining fixtures. The clubs therefore agreed to end the regular season after round 20 and extend the play-offs to include the top six clubs (rather than just the top four) as of 6 November. The clubs and the RFL also agreed to remove the requirement that teams had to have played a minimum of 15 matches to qualify for the play-offs.[19]

Teams

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class=notpageimage|
Locations of Super League XXV teams
class=notpageimage|
Locations of Super League XXV teams

The season featured eleven of the twelve teams that participated in Super League XXIV. London Broncos were relegated after finishing bottom of Super League XXIV.[20] They were replaced by the 2019 RFL Championship winners Toronto Wolfpack, who played in Super League for the first time since being founded in 2017.[21] Due to their home ground Lamport Stadium being unavailable during the Canadian winter, Toronto were to play their first ten games in England, after initial plans fell through to play three home games in European cities such as Dublin, Republic of Ireland or Barcelona, Spain.[22]

The traditional two matches played on Good Friday and Easter Monday were to have been reduced to only one over the Easter weekend due to concerns over player welfare.[22]

A change to the rules saw clubs able to name a squad of 21 players two days prior to match days rather than 19 in previous seasons. However, should a club add a player to the announced squad, they would lose one of their eight interchanges for the match in question (players on dual registration deals with lower league clubs are exempt).[23]

Legend
  Reigning Champions
  Previous season League Leaders
  Promoted
Team 2019 position Stadium Capacity City/Area
Castleford Tigers
(2020 season) 		5th The Mend-A-Hose Jungle 12,000 [24] Castleford, West Yorkshire
Catalans Dragons
(2020 season) 		7th Stade Gilbert Brutus 13,000 [25] Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Huddersfield Giants
(2020 season) 		10th John Smith's Stadium 24,121[26] Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Hull
(2020 season) 		6th KCOM Stadium 25,400[27] Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Hull Kingston Rovers
(2020 season) 		11th Lightstream Stadium 12,225[28] Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Leeds Rhinos
(2020 season) 		8th Headingley 21,062 [29] Leeds, West Yorkshire
Salford Red Devils
(2020 season) 		3rd (Runners up) AJ Bell Stadium 12,000[30] Salford, Greater Manchester
    St. Helens
(2020 season) 		1st (League leaders & champions) Totally Wicked Stadium 18,000[31] St. Helens, Merseyside
Wakefield Trinity
(2020 season) 		9th Beaumont Legal Stadium 9,333[32] Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Warrington Wolves
(2020 season) 		4th Halliwell Jones Stadium 15,200[33] Warrington, Cheshire
Wigan Warriors
(2020 season) 		2nd DW Stadium 25,133[34] Wigan, Greater Manchester

Rule changes

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Both golden point extra time and the shot clock, introduced in 2019, were retained for 2020 although the shot clock timings were reduced by 5 seconds each with only 30 seconds available for the forming of scrums and 25 seconds for the taking of a goal line drop out.[35]

As part of the work to restart the season, two major rule changes were made in July 2020 to apply for the rest of the season. Scrums were removed from the game and were replaced by a play-the-ball and an Australian innovation "six again" was adopted which replaces penalties for defensive infringements at rucks with a new set of six for the attacking team.[36]

Results

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Main article: Super League XXV results

Extra time

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Game 1 (Wakefield v Hull FC)

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The first game to go to golden-point was the round 6 game between Wakefield and Hull F.C. on 6 March 2020. Hull won the match 27–26, thanks to a Marc Sneyd drop goal, after the scores were tied at 26-all after 80 minutes.

Game 2 (Huddersfield Giants v Leeds Rhinos)

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The second game to go to golden-point was the rearranged round 2 game between Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos on 2 August 2020. Leeds won the match 27–26, thanks to a Luke Gale drop goal, after the scores were tied at 26-all after 80 minutes.

Game 3 (St Helens v Hull KR)

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The Third game to go to golden-point was the round 12 game between St Helens and Hull KR on 11 September 2020. St Helens won the match 21–20, thanks to a Theo Fages drop goal, after the scores were tied at 20-20 after 80 minutes.

Forfeiture

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Round 19 saw the first occasion of a game being forfeited. Salford were due to play Warrington on 30 October but on 28 October Salford announced that the club was unable to complete the fixture due to being unable to raise a team and that they would therefore to forfeit the game. Under the RFL operational rules the game was awarded to Warrington as a 24–0 win.[37]

Regular season table

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PP Pts PCT Qualification[c]
1 Wigan Warriors (L) 17 13 0 4 408 278 146.8 26 76.47 Semi-finals
2 St Helens (C) 17 12 0 5 469 195 240.5 24 70.59
3 Warrington Wolves[A] 17 12 0 5 365 204 178.9 24 70.59 Elimination semi-finals
4 Catalans Dragons 13 8 0 5 376 259 145.2 16 61.54
5 Leeds Rhinos 17 10 0 7 369 390 94.6 20 58.82
6 Hull F.C. 17 9 0 8 405 436 92.9 18 52.94
7 Huddersfield Giants[B] 18 7 0 11 318 367 86.6 14 38.89
8 Castleford Tigers 16 6 0 10 328 379 86.5 12 37.50
9 Salford Red Devils[C] 18 8 0 10 354 469 75.5 16 44.44
10 Wakefield Trinity 19 5 0 14 324 503 64.4 10 26.32
11 Hull Kingston Rovers 17 3 0 14 290 526 55.1 6 17.65
Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners
Notes:
  1. ^ Does not include games played behind closed doors.
  2. ^ Although this game was played at a neutral venue, Wigan were the designated home team for the match.
  3. ^ Where teams have the same win percentage, position is decided by points scored percentage (points scored divided by points conceded).[38]

Play-offs

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The play-off format was varied twice during the year. Originally planned to use the same top-five team competition as had been used in 2019, the reactions to the COVID-19 situation meant firstly in September, a change to a top-four straight knock-out system and then in October a subsequent change to a top-six system.[42]

Wigan and St Helens (who finished first and second respectively in the regular season table) had byes to the semi-finals, whilst the four teams who finished third to sixth (Warrington Catalans, Leeds, Hull FC) contested in two elimination finals, with the winner of those two games, Hull playing Wigan, and Catalans playing St Helens.

Despite being defeated in the elimination finals, Warrington and Leeds were retained on standby, should any of the four teams in the semi-finals, be unable to fulfil their fixture. On 17 November they were both officially stood down, when all the COVID tests for the semi-finalists came back negative.[43] The highest ranked losing team from the semi-finals (Catalans), remained on standby to compete in the grand final, if either finalists were unable to do so.[44]

Elimination play-offs Semi-finals Grand final
1 Wigan Warriors 29
3 Warrington Wolves 14 6 Hull FC 2
6 Hull FC 27 1 Wigan Warriors 4
2 St Helens 8
2 St Helens 48
4 Catalans Dragons 26 4 Catalans Dragons 2
5 Leeds Rhinos 14

Week 1: Elimination play-offs

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Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
Elimination final 1
Warrington Wolves 14–27 Hull FC 12 November 2020, 19:45 Halliwell Jones Stadium Liam Moore
Elimination final 2
Catalans Dragons 26–14 Leeds Rhinos 13 November 2020, 19:45 Halliwell Jones Stadium Chris Kendall
Source:[45][46]

Week 2: Semi-finals

[edit]
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
Semi-final 1
Wigan Warriors 29–2 Hull FC 19 November 2020, 19:45 DW Stadium Chris Kendall
Semi-final 2
St Helens 48–2 Catalans Dragons 20 November 2020, 19:45 Totally Wicked Stadium Liam Moore
Source:

Week 3: Grand final

[edit]
Main article: 2020 Super League Grand Final
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
Wigan Warriors 4–8 St Helens 27 November 2020, 20:00 KCOM Stadium, Hull Chris Kendall
Source:

Player statistics

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  • Updated to match(es) played on 13 November 2020

Discipline

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End-of-season awards

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The Super League end of season awards were made on 23 November. The award winners were:[47]

Steve Prescott Man of Steel award

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Paul McShane was one of five candidates shortlisted for the award, the others being Aidan Sezer (Huddersfield Giants), Lachlan Coote (St Helens), Liam Farrell and Bevan French (both of Wigan Warriors).[48]

Attendances

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Notes

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  1. ^ Salford forfeited a game against Warrington. Under RFL operational rules, the game is recorded as a 24–0 victory for Warrington and converse loss for Salford with the points scored/conceded applying to both teams.[39]
  2. ^ Huddersfield were placed on standby to take the place of any of the four teams in the elimination finals should one be unable to fulfil their fixture.[40]
  3. ^ Salford deducted three wins by the Rugby Football League for failing to meet the terms of a financial commitment agreed in 2013.[41]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Magic Weekend 2020 Cancelled". superleague.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Super League to return in August with Grand Final towards the end of November". ITV News. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. ^ Shaw, Matthew (20 October 2020). "Super League seek new Grand Final venue – Super League grounds to come into consideration". TotalRL.com. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  4. ^ Darbyshire, Drew (22 October 2020). "Super League Grand Final to take place at Hull's KCOM Stadium". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Super League fixtures Suspended until April". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Season Suspension Update". superleague.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Magic Weekend postponed". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Super League to return on August 2". www.expressandstar.com. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  9. ^ "restart date announced". superleague.co.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Super League release fixture schedule for rest of 2020 season". Love Rugby League. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  11. ^ Darbyshire, Drew (16 July 2020). "Toronto Wolfpack to play rest of 2020 season in UK". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Super League and Sky Sports Agree on 2020 Rights Fees". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Wolfpack Fixture Update". superleague.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Toronto withdraw from 2020 Super League". BBC Sport. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Statement | Toronto Wolfpack". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Toronto Wolfpack's results expunged". Yorkshire Post. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Update | Toronto Wolfpack". www.superleague.co.uk. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  18. ^ Shaw, Matthew (9 September 2020). "Super League table to be determined by win percentage, not league points". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Super League: New play-off structure announced and end of regular season brought forward". Sky Sports. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  20. ^ Heppenstall, Ross (13 September 2019). "London Broncos relegated from Super League after Wakefield defeat". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  21. ^ Bower, Aaron (4 November 2019). "Toronto to kick off with Headingley 'home game' against Castleford". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Super League 2020 fixtures: St Helens start v Salford, Toronto open v Castleford". BBC Sport. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  23. ^ "Clubs will lose interchange if pre-named squads are changed from 2020". BBC Sport. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  24. ^ "The Jungle (Wheldon Road)". castlefordtigers.com.
  25. ^ "Stade Gilbert Brutus". catalan dragons.com.
  26. ^ "Kirklees Stadium". johnsmithsstadium.com.
  27. ^ "KCOM Stadium". kcomstadium.com/.
  28. ^ "Craven Park, Hull". hullkr.co.uk.
  29. ^ "Headingley Rugby Stadium". therhinos.co.uk.
  30. ^ "AJ Bell Stadium". ajbellstadium.co.uk/.
  31. ^ "Totally Wicked Stadium". saintsrlfc.com.
  32. ^ "Belle Vue (Wakefield)". wakefieldtrinity.com.
  33. ^ "Halliwell Jones Stadium". halliwelljonesstadium.co.uk/.
  34. ^ "DW Stadium". dwstadium.com.
  35. ^ BBC Sport (25 November 2019). "Super League: Five second shot clock reduction to make games faster for regular season from 2020". BBC Sport.
  36. ^ Brooks, Jenna (6 July 2020). "RFL confirms rule changes for rugby league's restart". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  37. ^ Shaw, Matthew (28 October 2020). "Salford forced to forfeit game with Warrington due to having just 13 fit men". TotalRL.com. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  38. ^ "2020 Betfred Super League Competition Update". Rugby Football League. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  39. ^ "Super League: Huddersfield v Castleford, and Warrington v Salford cancelled". BBC Sport. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  40. ^ "Huddersfield season officially over". www.giantsrl.com. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  41. ^ "Salford Red Devils: Super League club deducted three wins over financial breach". BBC Sport. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  42. ^ "Super League ends regular season early and unveils six-team play-off system". Morning Star. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  43. ^ Shaw, Matthew (17 November 2020). "Super League semi-finalists get Covid all-clear". TotalRL.com. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  44. ^ "Super League play-offs brought forward". BBC Sport. 8 November 2020.
  45. ^ "Super League: Warrington Wolves 14-27 Hull FC". BBC Sport. 12 November 2020.
  46. ^ "Super League play-offs: Catalans Dragons 26-14 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. 12 November 2020.
  47. ^ "Tigers' McShane named 2020 Man of Steel". BBC Sport. 23 November 2020.
  48. ^ "Super League Man of Steel 2020: Wigan duo Bevan French and Liam Farrell on five-man shortlist". Sky Sports. 17 November 2020.
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