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Rugby League Super 8s

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Rugby League Super 8s
Current season or competition:
Image 2018 Super 8s
SportRugby league
Instituted2015
Ceased2018
Number of teams39
CountryImage England
Image Wales
Image France
Image Canada (RFL)
HoldersSuper League
Image Leeds Rhinos
Qualifiers
Image Warrington Wolves
Championship Shield
Image Toulouse Olympique
Broadcast partnerSky Sports
BBC Sport (Highlights)

The Rugby League Super 8s are a feature of the British rugby league system. Between 2015 and 2018 they were played in the top three professional divisions. Following the completion of the regular season home-and-away fixtures in the Super League, the Championship and League One, teams split into smaller divisions of eight based on their finishing positions on the league table; the teams then played an additional fixture against each of the seven other teams in their division to determine the final standings.

The Super 8s were scheduled to return from the 2025 season and determine promotion and relegation between the Championship and League One.[1] However, in August 2025 the Rugby Football League decided to merge the Championship and League One from 2026 and the Super 8s were therefore no longer needed.[2]

Regular season

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Super League

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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.

Position Qualification
1 Super League Super 8s
2 Super League Super 8s
3 Super League Super 8s
4 Super League Super 8s
5 Super League Super 8s
6 Super League Super 8s
7 Super League Super 8s
8 Super League Super 8s
9 The Qualifiers
10 The Qualifiers
11 The Qualifiers
12 The Qualifiers

Championship

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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.

Position Qualification
1 The Qualifiers
2 The Qualifiers
3 The Qualifiers
4 The Qualifiers
5 Championship Shield
6 Championship Shield
7 Championship Shield
8 Championship Shield
9 Championship Shield
10 Championship Shield
11 Championship Shield
12 Championship Shield

Super League Super 8s

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

Super League

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Position Qualification
1 League Leaders/
Play-off Place
2 Play-off Place
3 Play-off Place
4 Play-off Place
5 Season Complete
6 Season Complete
7 Season Complete
8 Season Complete

Play-Offs

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  • 1st vs 4th
  • 2nd vs 3rd

Grand final

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Stadium Location Country Highest attendance Average attendance
Old TraffordTrafford, Greater ManchesterEngland73,58163,352

The Qualifiers

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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.

Position Qualification
1 Super League Place
2 Super League Place
3 Super League Place
4 Million Pound Game
5 Million Pound Game
6 Championship Place
7 Championship Place
8 Championship Place

Results

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Year Super League Place Championship Place
2015 Image Hull Kingston Rovers
Image Widnes Vikings
Image Salford Red Devils
Image Wakefield Trinity		 Image Bradford Bulls
Image Sheffield Eagles
Image Halifax
Image Leigh Centurions
2016 Image Leeds Rhinos
Image Leigh Centurions
Image Huddersfield Giants
Image Salford Red Devils		 Image Hull Kingston Rovers
Image London Broncos
Image Batley Bulldogs
Image Featherstone Rovers
2017 Image Warrington Wolves
Image Hull Kingston Rovers
Image Widnes Vikings
Image Catalans Dragons		 Image London Broncos
Image Featherstone Rovers
Image Halifax
Image Leigh Centurions
2018 Image Leeds Rhinos
Image Hull Kingston Rovers
Image Salford Red Devils
Image London Broncos		 Image Toronto Wolfpack
Image Toulouse Olympique
Image Widnes Vikings
Image Halifax
  • Bold Promoted/ Relegated

Million Pound Game

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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.

Winners

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Winners Count Years
1 Image Hull Kingston Rovers 1 2015
2 Image Leeds Rhinos 1 2016
3 Image Warrington Wolves 1 2017
4 Image Salford Red Devils 1 2018

Championship Shield

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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.

Position Qualification
1 Play-off Place
2 Play-off Place
3 Play-off Place
4 Play-off Place
5 Season Complete
6 Season Complete
7 Relegated
8 Relegated

Winners

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Year Winner Score Runner up Venue Attendance
2015 Image Featherstone Rovers 36–4 Image London Broncos Halton Stadium 4,179
2016 Image Bradford Bulls 27–16 Image Sheffield Eagles Odsal Stadium 3,518
2017 Image Toulouse 44–14 Image Sheffield Eagles Stade Ernest-Argelès
2018 Image Featherstone Rovers 42–10 Image Leigh Centurions Post Office Road

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "RFL confirms Championship and League One to contain 12 teams from 2026". BBC Sport. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  2. ↑ "RFL: Championship and League One to merge into one league for 2026". BBC Sport. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
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