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1995–96 Rugby Football League season#Championship

{{Short description|none}}

{{Infobox rugby football league season

| title = 1995–96 Rugby Football League season

| league = Centenary Championship

| logo =

| pixels =

| caption =

| duration = 20 Rounds

| no_of_teams = First Division: 11
Second Division: 11
Third Division: 11

| highest_attendance = 19,526
Wigan vs St. Helens (26 Dec 95)

| lowest_attendance = 761
London Broncos vs Sheffield Eagles (17 Dec 95)

| attendance =

| TV = Sky Sports

| season = First Division

| season_champs = {{leagueicon|Wigan|16}} Wigan

| season_champ_name = Champions

| league_leaders =

| league_leaders_name =

| second_place =

| premiership_win =

| premiership_win_name=

| MVP =

| MVP_link = Man of Steel Award

| top_scorer = {{leagueicon|St Helens|16}} Bobbie Goulding (285)

| top_scorer_link =

| top try scorer = {{leagueicon|Wigan|16}} Martin Offiah (28)
{{leagueicon|Hull KR|16}} David Plange (28)

| top try scorer_link =

| membership_type = New franchise

| join = {{leagueicon|psg|16}} Paris Saint-Germain

| join_method = Awarded to

| leave =

| leave_reason =

| promote =

| promoted_from =

| relegate =

| relegate_to =

| licence_period =

| awarded =

| removed =

| season2 = Second Division

| season_champs2 = {{leagueicon|Salford City|16}} Salford

| season_champ_name2 = Champions

| league_leaders2 =

| league_leaders_name2=

| second_place2 =

| MVP2 =

| MVP_link2 =

| top_scorer2 =

| top_scorer_link2 =

| top try scorer2 =

| top try scorer_link2=

| promote2 =

| promoted_from2 =

| relegate2 =

| relegate_to2 =

| season3 = Third Division

| season_champs3 = {{leagueicon|Hull KR|16}} Hull Kingston Rovers

| season_champ_name3 = Champions

| league_leaders3 =

| league_leaders_name3=

| second_place3 =

| MVP3 =

| MVP_link3 =

| top_scorer3 =

| top_scorer_link3 =

| top try scorer3 =

| top try scorer_link3=

| membership_type3 =

| join3 =

| join_method3 =

| leave3 =

| leave_reason3 =

| prevseason_link = 1994–95 Rugby Football League season

| prevseason_year = 1994–95

| nextseason_link = Super League I

| nextseason_year = 1996

}}

The 1995–96 Rugby Football League season was the 101st season of rugby league football. Eleven English teams competed from August 1995 until January 1996 for the Stones Bitter Centenary Championship. The season was kept brief to accommodate the first season of the forthcoming new Super League competition, which would see top-level rugby league in the UK changed to a summer sport. It was also punctuated by the 1995 World Cup which took place in Britain throughout October. The 1996 Challenge Cup rounds started immediately after the Centenary Championship and the final was played in summer, during Super League I.

Season summary

=Personnel=

During pre-season, Kath Hetherington of Sheffield was elected as president of the Rugby Football League, succeeding Batley's Ronnie Teeman. Eleven years after becoming the first female member of the league's board of directors, she became the first woman to ascend to the presidency.{{cite news |last=Roberts |first=Chris |date=June 29, 1995 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/831255228/ | title=Green light for King |newspaper=Huddersfield Daily Examiner |page=22 {{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}}}

=Rules=

Prior to the signing of the agreement paving the way for the Super League, the RFL had voted in February on a wage cap, limiting player salaries to 50 percent of a team's income.{{cite news |last=Whalley |first=John |date=February 21, 1995 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/751813083/ | title=Tough policing needed to make wage cap work |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |page=33 {{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}}}

=Format=

The 1995–96 First Division season served as a trial run of sorts for the Super League's inaugural season, which would follow it in the spring of 1996, and its format changes were largely made in anticipation of the latter's launch. Following intense negotiations, it was decided that only the top ten teams from the 1994–95 season, joined by second-tier capital representatives London Broncos (all the projected British entrants in the Super League), would participate in a condensed 1995–96 First Division. There would be no promotion or relegation between it and the inaugural Super League campaign (only the purpose-built Paris team would be added). The lower league clubs were split between a Second and a Third Division, marking a return to the three-tier professional pyramid last used in 1993.{{cite news |last=Roberts |first=Chris |date=May 1, 1995 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/831230120/ | title=Super league critics force RL re-think |newspaper=Huddersfield Daily Examiner |page=3 {{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}}}

While the new setup was generally considered an appropriate compromise, 1994–95 second-tier champion Keighley and Widnes, a traditionally strong team which had missed the 10-team cutoff after an uncharacteristically poor season, launched legal proceedings after being left out. Hoping for a compromise, Widnes proposed a one-off 1995–96 schedule consisting of a 16-team, dual conference setup where the top five clubs within each conference would advance to the Super League. While some agreed that the plan would make the transitional season more meaningful, it did not come to pass, and their legal challenges were ultimately unsuccessful as well.{{cite news |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Paul |date=May 9, 1995 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/260784927/ | title=Widnes offer a deal |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |page=19 {{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}}}

=Highlights=

The absence of relegation was blamed for a sizeable dip in attendance. Combined with a salary hike resulting from the announcement of the Super League, the season was a financial failure for many clubs, and powerhouse Wigan reported losses of about £450,000 at the end of the shortened campaign.{{cite news |last=Tingle |first=Richard |date=10 February 1996 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/899725003/ | title='Centenary season has been a disaster' |newspaper=Hull Daily Mail |page=15 {{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}}}

Standings

=First Division=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
width=20 abbr="Position" |

!width=175 |Team

!width=20 abbr="Played" |Pld

!width=20 abbr="Won" |W

!width=20 abbr="Drawn" |D

!width=20 abbr="Lost" |L

!width=20 abbr="Points for" |PF

!width=20 abbr="Points against" |PA

!width=20 abbr="Points difference" |PD

!width=20 abbr="Points" |Pts

align=center style="background:#FFD700;"

|1

style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|wigan|16}} Wigan

|20

1802810316+49436
2style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|leeds|16}} Leeds

|20

1406552405+14728
3style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|halifax|16}} Halifax

|20

1217456463|
725
4style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|st helens|16}} St. Helens

|20

1208732508+22424
5style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|sheffield|16}} Sheffield Eagles

|20

10010482528|
4620
6style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|castleford|16}} Castleford

|20

9110448566|
11819
7style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|bradford|16}} Bradford Northern

|20

8012418476|
5816
8style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|oldham|16}} Oldham

|20

8012382535|
15316
9style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|warrington|16}} Warrington

|20

7013443514|
7114
10style="text-align:left;"|London Broncos

|20

7013466585|
11914
11style="text-align:left;"|{{league icon|workington|16}} Workington Town

|20

4016317610|
2938

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"

|bgcolor="#FFD700"|Champions

=Second Division=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
width=20 abbr="Position" |

!width=175 |Team

!width=20 abbr="Played" |Pld

!width=20 abbr="Won" |W

!width=20 abbr="Drawn" |D

!width=20 abbr="Lost" |L

!width=20 abbr="Points for" |PF

!width=20 abbr="Points against" |PA

!width=20 abbr="Points" |Pts

1style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|salford city|16}} Salford Reds

|20

171266127835
2style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|keighley|16}} Keighley Cougars

|20

132549125528
3style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|widnes|16}} Widnes

|20

131647533427
4style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|hull|16}} Hull

|20

110957142022
5style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|featherstone|16}} Featherstone Rovers

|20

110942043122
6style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|whitehaven|16}} Whitehaven

|20

102834543522
7style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|wakefield|16}} Wakefield Trinity

|20

1001034642220
8style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|rochdale|16}} Rochdale Hornets

|20

811136548317
9style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|huddersfield|16}} Huddersfield

|20

601439548514
10style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|batley|16}} Batley

|20

511430249211
11style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|dewsbury|16}} Dewsbury

|20

20182615974

=Third Division=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
width=20 abbr="Position" |

!width=175 |Team

!width=20 abbr="Played" |Pld

!width=20 abbr="Won" |W

!width=20 abbr="Drawn" |D

!width=20 abbr="Lost" |L

!width=20 abbr="Points for" |PF

!width=20 abbr="Points against" |PA

!width=20 abbr="Points" |Pts

1style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|hull kr|16}} Hull Kingston Rovers

|20

180274423136
2style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|leigh|16}} Leigh Centurions

|20

160459233532
3style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|hunslet|16}} Hunslet Hawks

|20

140651431528
4style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|swinton|16}} Swinton

|20

130752133126
5style="text-align:left;"|Carlisle

|20

120860030924
6style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|york rlfc|16}} Ryedale-York

|20

101944241521
7style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|crusaders|16}} Bramley

|20

911040043419
8style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|barrow|16}} Barrow Braves

|20

601434248812
9style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|blackpool|16}} Chorley Chieftains

|20

511432460811
10style="text-align:left;"|{{leagueicon|doncaster|16}} Doncaster Dragons

|20

501534864610
11style="text-align:left;"|Highfield

|20

01192499641

Regal Trophy

{{main|1995–96 Regal Trophy}}

Statistics

The following are the top points scorers in the 1995–96 season.{{cite book|last1=Fletcher|first1=Raymond|last2=Howes|first2=David|title=Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1997|date=27 March 1997 |publisher=Headline|location=London|isbn=978-0-7472-7764-4|pages=163–7}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Most tries

class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
Player

! Team

! Tries

Martin OffiahWigan28
David PlangeHull Kingston Rovers28
Anthony SullivanSt. Helens24
Va'aiga TuigamalaWigan22
Jason RobinsonWigan21
Simon AshcroftSwinton20
Joey HayesSt. Helens18
Jason VillerHunslet Hawks18
Gary AtkinsHull Kingston Rovers18
Jason RoachSwinton17
Nathan McAvoySalford Reds17

{{col-2}}

Most goals (including drop goals)

class="wikitable" style="text-align:centre;"
Player

! Team

! Goals

Bobbie GouldingSt. Helens135
Mike FletcherHull Kingston Rovers117
Steve McNamaraHull F.C.101
Paul CookBradford Bulls99
Willie RichardsonCarlisle96
Steve BlakeleySalford Reds93
Andy FarrellWigan92
Martin PearsonFeatherstone Rovers86
Simon IrvingKeighley Cougars81
Chris WilkinsonLeigh Centurions81

{{col-end}}

References

{{reflist}}

Sources

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20081121111401/http://www.rlhalloffame.org.uk/1995_6.htm 1995–96 Rugby Football League season] at rlhalloffame.org.uk
  • [http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=258 1995–96 Rugby Football League season] at wigan.rlfans.com
  • [https://archive.today/20070804161455/http://www2.hunterlink.net.au/~maajjs/gbr/sum/gbr1995.htm Great Britain Competitions 1995-1996] at hunterlink.net.au
  • [http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/Championship_1995-96/summary.html Championship 1995/96] at rugbyleagueproject.org

{{Rugby Football League seasons}}

{{Wigan Warriors}}

{{1996 in rugby league}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Football League Season, 1995-96}}

Category:Rugby Football League seasons

Rugby Football League season

Rugby Football League season