2019 RFL Championship
{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox rugby football league season
|title = Betfred Championship 2019
|league = Championship
|logo =
|caption =
|duration = 27 rounds + play-offs
|no_of_teams = 14
|highest_attendance = 9,974
{{leagueicon|Toronto|12}} Toronto Wolfpack v {{leagueicon|Featherstone|12}} Featherstone Rovers (5 October 2019)
|lowest_attendance = 337
{{leagueicon|Rochdale|12}} Rochdale Hornets v {{leagueicon|Toulouse|12}} Toulouse Olympique (13 July 2019)
|avg_attendance = 2,645
|attendance = 428,570; as of round 26 (1 September 2019)
|TV = Sky Sports
|biggest_home_win = {{leagueicon|Toronto|12}} Toronto Wolfpack 70–8 {{leagueicon|Dewsbury|12}} Dewsbury Rams (15 June 2019)
|biggest_away_win = {{leagueicon|Rochdale|12}} Rochdale Hornets 0–82 {{leagueicon|Bradford|12}} Bradford Bulls (8 September 2019)
|season = 2019 season
|season_champs = {{leagueicon|Toronto|12}} Toronto Wolfpack
|season_champ_name = Champions
|league_leaders = {{leagueicon|Toronto|12}} Toronto Wolfpack
|league_leaders_name = League Leaders' Shield
|second_place = {{leagueicon|Featherstone|12}} Featherstone Rovers
|MVP =
|MVP_link =
|top_scorer_link =
|top try scorer =
|top try scorer_link =
|promote = {{leagueicon|Toronto|12}} Toronto Wolfpack
|promote_from = RFL Championship
|promoted_to = Super League
|relegate = {{leagueicon|barrow|12}} Barrow Raiders
{{leagueicon|Rochdale|12}} Rochdale Hornets
|relegate_to = League 1
|playoffs =
|playoffs_link =
|conf1 =
|conf1_link =
|conf1_champ =
|conf1-runner-up =
|conf2 =
|conf2_link =
|conf2_champ =
|conf2-runner-up =
|playoffs_MVP =
|playoffs_MVP_link =
|finals =
|finals_link =
|finals_champ =
|finals-runner-up =
|finals_MVP =
|finals_MVP_link =
|prevseason_link = 2018 RFL Championship
|prevseason_year = 2018
|nextseason_link = 2020 RFL Championship
|nextseason_year = 2020
}}
The 2019 Rugby Football League Championship was a rugby league football competition played primarily in England but including teams from Canada and 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 has been abandoned and the Championship will feature a play-off system leading to promotion to Super League for one club while results during the regular season will lead to relegation to League 1 for two teams.
The 2019 Championship comprised 14 teams, which all played one another twice in the regular season, once at home and once away, totalling 26 games. The 2019 season also featured the "Summer Bash Weekend" for a fifth time so the regular season comprised 27 games for each team.{{cite web |url=https://www.rugby-league.com/2019_structure |title=2019 structure explained |publisher=Rugby Football League |date=14 September 2018 |access-date=23 December 2018}}
The Championship Grand Final was won by Toronto Wolfpack, who by beating Featherstone Rovers 24–6 also won promotion to Super League for the first time in the club's history, ahead of 2020 season. Toronto also won the RFL Championship Leaders' Shield, after finishing top of the league and completing a 100% home record, and only losing 1 game all season.
Betfred remain the sponsors of the Championship. The season started on 3 February 2019.{{cite web |url=https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/2019-championship-fixtures-revealed/ |title=2019 Championship fixtures revealed |publisher=Love Rugby League |date=25 November 2019 |access-date=23 December 2018}}
Teams
The Championship is made up of 14 teams, 11 of whom featured in the 2018 Championship; one, Widnes Vikings, who were relegated from Super League; and two, Bradford Bulls and York City Knights, who won promotion from League 1 in 2018.
{{location map+ |Northern England|float=right |width=450 |caption=Locations of the 2019 RFL Championship teams |places=
{{location map~ |Northern England|lat=53.707222 |long=-1.631667 |label=
{{location map~ |Northern England|lat=54.115 |long=-3.235278 |label=
|position=left}}{{location map~ |Northern England|lat=53.491|long=-2.529 |label=
|position=left}}{{location map~ |Northern England|lat=53.620833|long=-2.18 |label=
}}{{location map~ |Northern England|lat=53.395949|long=-1.425828 |label=
|position=right}}{{location map~ |Northern England|lat=53.416075|long=-2.321261 |label=
|position=right}}{{Location map~ |Northern England |lat=53.365300 |long=-2.738512|label=
|position=right}}}}
{{location map+ |France|float=right |width=450 |caption=Locations of 2019 RFL Championship teams |places=
{{Location map~ |France |lat=43.7198 |long=1.4093 |label=
|position=right}}}}
{{location map+ |Ontario|float=right |width=450 |caption=Locations of 2019 RFL Championship teams |places=
{{Location map~ |Ontario |lat=43.63666|long=-79.4205 |label=
|position=right}}}}
{{location map+ |West Yorkshire|float=right |width=450 |caption=Locations of the 2019 RFL Championship teams in West Yorkshire |places=
{{location map~ |West Yorkshire|lat=53.765000 |long=-1.756944 |background=#FFFFFF|label=
|position=left}}{{location map~ |West Yorkshire|lat=53.707222 |long=-1.631667 |background=#FFFFFF|label=
|position=left}}{{location map~ |West Yorkshire|lat=53.699722 |long=-1.6025 |background=#FFFFFF |label=
|position=right}}{{location map~ |West Yorkshire|lat=53.678611 |long=-1.354722 |background=#FFFFFF |label=
|position=left}}{{location map~ |West Yorkshire|lat=53.716111 |long=-1.859167 |background=#FFFFFF |label=
|position=left}}}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" |
| Team
! Stadium ! Capacity ! Location |
|---|
| style="background:
| {{leagueicon|Barrow|16px}} Barrow Raiders | 7,600 |
| {{leagueicon|Batley|16px}} Batley Bulldogs
| 7,500 |
| {{leagueicon|bradford|16px}} Bradford Bulls
| 27,500 | Bradford, West Yorkshire |
| {{leagueicon|Dewsbury|16px}} Dewsbury Rams
| 5,800 | Dewsbury, West Yorkshire |
| {{leagueicon|Featherstone|16px}} Featherstone Rovers
| 8,000 | Featherstone, West Yorkshire |
| {{leagueicon|Halifax|16px}} Halifax
| 14,000 | Halifax, West Yorkshire |
| {{leagueicon|Leigh|16px}} Leigh Centurions
| 12,000 |
| {{leagueicon|Rochdale|16px}} Rochdale Hornets
| 10,249 |
| {{leagueicon|Sheffield|16px}} Sheffield Eagles
| Sheffield Olympic Legacy Stadium | 2,500 |
| {{leagueicon|Swinton|16px}} Swinton Lions
| 3,387 |
| {{leagueicon|Toronto|16px}} Toronto Wolfpack
| 9,600 |
| {{leagueicon|Toulouse|16px}} Toulouse Olympique
| 4,000 |
| {{leagueicon|widnes|16px}} Widnes Vikings
| 13,350 | Widnes, Cheshire |
| {{leagueicon|york rlfc|16px}} York City Knights
| 8,256 | York, North Yorkshire |
Regular-season results
{{main|2019 RFL Championship season results}}
Final standings
Final standings at the end of regular season on 8 September 2019
|for_against_style=points
|winpoints=2
|team1=TOR |team2=TOU |team3=YOR |team4=LEI |team5=FEV |team6=BRA |team7=SHF |team8=HFX |team9=SWI |team10=BAT |team11=WID |team12=DEW |team13=BAR |team14=ROC
|source= [https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/championship/table]
|update=Complete
|win_BAR=5 |draw_BAR=1 |loss_BAR=21 |gf_BAR=479 |ga_BAR=861
|win_BAT=8 |draw_BAT=1 |loss_BAT=18 |gf_BAT=462 |ga_BAT=756
|win_BRA=16 |draw_BRA=1 |loss_BRA=10 |gf_BRA=717 |ga_BRA=522
|win_DEW=6 |draw_DEW=2 |loss_DEW=19 |gf_DEW=513 |ga_DEW=721
|win_FEV=17 |draw_FEV=0 |loss_FEV=10 |gf_FEV=837 |ga_FEV=471
|win_HFX=10 |draw_HFX=1 |loss_HFX=16 |gf_HFX=602 |ga_HFX=685
|win_LEI=18 |draw_LEI=0 |loss_LEI=9 |gf_LEI=792 |ga_LEI=558
|win_ROC=1 |draw_ROC=0 |loss_ROC=26 |gf_ROC=342 |ga_ROC=1268
|win_SHF=15 |draw_SHF=0 |loss_SHF=12 |gf_SHF=748 |ga_SHF=694
|win_SWI=10 |draw_SWI=1 |loss_SWI=16 |gf_SWI=619 |ga_SWI=803
|win_TOR=26 |draw_TOR=0 |loss_TOR=1 |gf_TOR=1010 |ga_TOR=356
|win_TOU=20 |draw_TOU=0 |loss_TOU=7 |gf_TOU=877 |ga_TOU=446
|win_WID=14 |draw_WID=0 |loss_WID=13 |gf_WID=646 |ga_WID=586
|win_YOR=19 |draw_YOR=1 |loss_YOR=7 |gf_YOR=612 |ga_YOR=529
|adjust_points_WID=-12 |hth_WID=Widnes deducted 12 points for going into administration.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/47422551 |title=Widnes Vikings: RFL accepts new takeover deal but still imposes 12-point penalty|work=BBC Sport|date=1 March 2019 |access-date=2 March 2019}}
|name_BAT={{leagueicon|batley|12}} Batley Bulldogs
|name_BAR={{leagueicon|barrow|12}} Barrow Raiders
|name_BRA={{leagueicon|bradford|12}} Bradford Bulls
|name_DEW={{leagueicon|dewsbury|12}} Dewsbury Rams
|name_FEV={{leagueicon|featherstone|12}} Featherstone Rovers
|name_HFX={{leagueicon|halifax|12}} Halifax
|name_LEI={{leagueicon|leigh|12}} Leigh Centurions
|name_ROC={{leagueicon|rochdale|12}} Rochdale Hornets
|name_SHF={{leagueicon|sheffield|12}} Sheffield Eagles
|name_SWI={{leagueicon|swinton|12}} Swinton Lions
|name_TOR={{leagueicon|toronto|12}} Toronto Wolfpack
|name_TOU={{leagueicon|Toulouse|12}} Toulouse Olympique
|name_WID={{leagueicon|widnes|12}} Widnes Vikings
|name_YOR={{leagueicon|york rlfc|12}} York City Knights
|status_text_L = Championship Shield Winners
|result1=SF |result2=QF |result3=QF |result4=EF |result5=EF |result13=REL |result14=REL
|res_col_header=Q
|col_SF=green1 |text_SF=Play-off semi-final
|col_QF=yellow1 |text_QF=Play-off qualifying final
|col_EF=blue1 |text_EF=Play-off elimination final
|col_REL=red1 |text_REL=Relegated to League 1
}}
Play-offs
At the end of the 27 game regular season, the top five teams enter a four-round play-off. The winners of the play-off final will earn promotion to Super League for 2020.
{{5TeamBracket-2Elim-B
| team-width=150
| RD1 = Qualifying play-off
| RD1b= Elimination play-off
| RD2 = Qualifying semi-final
| RD2b= Elimination semi-final
| RD3b= Preliminary final
| RD4 = Play-off final
| RD1-team1 ={{leagueicon|toulouse|12}} Toulouse Olympique
| RD1-score1 = 44
| RD1-team2 ={{leagueicon|york rlfc|12}} York City Knights
| RD1-score2 = 6
| RD1-team3 ={{leagueicon|leigh|12}} Leigh Centurions
| RD1-score3 = 18
| RD1-team4 ={{leagueicon|featherstone|12}} Featherstone Rovers
| RD1-score4 = 34
| RD2-team1 ={{leagueicon|toronto|12}} Toronto Wolfpack
| RD2-score1 = 40
| RD2-team2 ={{leagueicon|toulouse|12}} Toulouse Olympique
| RD2-score2 =24
| RD2-team3 = {{leagueicon|york rlfc|12}} York City Knights
| RD2-score3 = 4
| RD2-team4 = {{leagueicon|featherstone|12}} Featherstone Rovers
| RD2-score4 =30
| RD3-team1 ={{Leagueicon|Toulouse|12}} Toulouse Olympique
| RD3-score1 =12
| RD3-team2 = {{leagueicon|featherstone|12}} Featherstone Rovers
| RD3-score2 =36
| RD4-team1 = {{leagueicon|toronto|12}} Toronto Wolfpack
| RD4-score1 = 24
| RD4-team2 ={{leagueicon|featherstone|12}} Featherstone Rovers
| RD4-score2 = 6
}}
End-of-season awards
The end of season awards ceremony was held on 24 September 2019 when the following awards were made:{{cite web |url=https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/2019-championship-and-league-1-award-winners-revealed/ |title=2019 Championship and League 1 award winners revealed |work=Love Rugby League |date=25 September 2019 |access-date=8 October 2019}}
- Club Of The Year: {{leagueicon|york rlfc|12}} York City Knights
- Outstanding Achievement Award: Micky Higham, Oliver Wilkes
- Coach Of The Year: James Ford
- Young Player Of The Year: Matty Ashton
- Player Of The Year: Gareth O'Brien
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{RFL Championship}}
{{2019 in rugby league}}
Category:Rugby Football League Championship
Category:2019 in English rugby league