| Wheelchair Super League | |
| Current Season: | 2024 RFL Wheelchair Super League |
| Sport: | Wheelchair rugby league |
| Country: | |
| Teams: | 5 |
| Relegation: | RFL Wheelchair Championship |
| Levels: | 1 |
| Domestic Cup: | Wheelchair Challenge Cup |
| Champions: | Wigan Warriors |
| Most Champs: | Halifax Panthers (2 titles) |
The RFL Wheelchair Super League is the highest level of wheelchair rugby league in England and Wales.
The Wheelchair Super League was founded in 2019, whilst the wheelchair competition was played in Great Britain prior to this, 2019 was the first official Super League season.
The league operates a promotion and relegation system with the second tier RFL Wheelchair Championship.
Starting in 2023, the previous year's league champions play the previous year's French Elite 1 champions in the European Club Challenge.
Plans were unveiled in 2011 for a Wheelchair Super League and Championship. The competition would feature Wigan, Halifax, Mersey Vikings, Bury Jigsaw and Wolverhampton Rhinos in the Super League, and Bradford Bulls, Mersey Vikings A, Wakefield, and Medway Dragons in the Championship. Small festival tournaments would also take place for clubs not yet ready to join the top divisions.[1] The competition ran from April to September when the Grand Final was held.[2] In 2012, the leagues were restructured with the Super League and Championship being replaced with a Premier League, Division One and Entry Division.[3] The lower tiers were later renamed as the "Championship" and "Championship 1" and the top tier became the Super League at the start of the 2019 season.
Like the men's and women's running competition, the league operates a round robin system to determine the League Leaders' Shield before a playoff series leading to a grand final.
The 2024 Super League teams are:[4]
Teams to have previously played in Super League are:
The following is a summary of Wheelchair Super League seasons:[5]
In the 2011 season, when the competition was also known as the "Super League", it was won by Bury Jigsaw who defeated Halifax in the Grand Final.[2] [6] [7] In 2013, the National Championship was decided using a three team round-robin format in which Bury Jigsaw defeated Halifax and Mersey Storm to win the title.[8] [9] The same format was used for the finals day in 2014 when Leyland Warriors won the competition.[10] Halifax won the Premier League title in 2015 and retained it in 2016 when they beat Leeds Rhinos 68 points to 54 in the Grand Final.[11] Halifax won the title again in 2017, also by defeating Leeds in the final. The 2018 Grand Final saw Leeds Rhinos beat Halifax 54 points to 44.[12] [13]
The first Super League season saw six teams compete: Argonauts, Halifax, Hereford Harriers, Leeds Rhinos, North Wales Crusaders, and St Helens.
Leeds Rhinos 42–50 Halifax[14] [15]
(19 September 2019; 19:00; Medway Park Sports Centre, Gillingham)
The 2020 season saw Leyland Warriors and Hull F.C. promoted to Super League, whilst Hereford Harriers and St Helens were relegated.[16] The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
| POS | CLUB | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | DIFF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leyland Warriors | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 112 | 28 | 84 | 2 | |
| 2 | Argonauts | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 26 | 34 | 2 | |
| 3 | Leeds Rhinos | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 32 | 28 | 2 | |
| 4 | Halifax | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | North Wales Crusaders | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 60 | −28 | 0 | |
| 6 | Hull FC | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 172 | −118 | 0 |
With the 2020 season being cancelled due to the pandemic, no new teams were included in the 2021 Super League.[18]
| POS | CLUB | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | DIFF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds Rhinos (C) | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 622 | 206 | 416 | 18 | |
| 2 | Argonauts | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 224 | 110 | 114 | 8 | |
| 3 | Halifax Panthers | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 312 | 316 | −4 | 8 | |
| 4 | Leyland Warriors | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 348 | 372 | −24 | 8 | |
| 5 | North Wales Crusaders | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 103 | 322 | −219 | 0 | |
| 6 | Hull FC | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 81 | 364 | −283 | 0 |
Leeds Rhinos 66–63 Halifax Panthers[19]
Leyland Warriors 76–38 Argonauts[19]
Leeds Rhinos 52–36 Leyland Warriors[20]
(19 September 2021; 3:15pm; Medway Park Sports Centre, Gillingham; Sky Sports Arena)[21] [22]
See main article: 2022 RFL Wheelchair Super League.
See main article: 2023 RFL Wheelchair Super League.
See main article: 2024 RFL Wheelchair Super League.
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-up | League Leaders' Shield | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Halifax | 50–42 | Leeds Rhinos | Leeds Rhinos | |
| 2020 | colspan="4" | ||||
| 2021 | Leeds Rhinos | 52–36 | Leyland Warriors | Leeds Rhinos | |
| 2022 | Halifax Panthers | 52–48 | Leeds Rhinos | Leeds Rhinos | |
| 2023 | Wigan Warriors | 50–42 | Leeds Rhinos | Leeds Rhinos |
| Club | No. | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax Panthers | 2 | 2019, 2022 | |
| Leeds Rhinos | 1 | 2021 | |
| Wigan Warriors | 1 | 2023 |