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 Stones Bitter Centenary League champions: Wigan (17th title) Silk Cut Challenge Cup: Final played in 1996 summer season. Regal Trophy Winners: Wigan (8 - 25-16 v St Helens) First Division champions: Salford Second Division champions: Hull Kingston Rovers Charity Shield winners: Leeds Rhinos
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 hold to the presidency.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Standings First Division
Second Division
Third Division
Regal Trophy
Statistics The following are the top points scorers in the 1995–96 season.
Most tries Player Team Tries Martin Offiah Wigan 28 David Plange Hull Kingston Rovers 28 Anthony Sullivan St. Helens 24 Va'aiga Tuigamala Wigan 22 Jason Robinson Wigan 21 Simon Ashcroft Swinton 20 Joey Hayes St. Helens 18 Jason Viller Hunslet Hawks 18 Gary Atkins Hull Kingston Rovers 18 Jason Roach Swinton 17 Nathan McAvoy Salford Reds 17
Most goals (including drop goals) Player Team Goals Bobbie Goulding St. Helens 135 Mike Fletcher Hull Kingston Rovers 117 Steve McNamara Hull F.C. 101 Paul Cook Bradford Bulls 99 Willie Richardson Carlisle 96 Steve Blakeley Salford Reds 93 Andy Farrell Wigan 92 Martin Pearson Featherstone Rovers 86 Simon Irving Keighley Cougars 81 Chris Wilkinson Leigh Centurions 81
References
Sources 1995–96 Rugby Football League season at rlhalloffame.org.uk 1995–96 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com Great Britain Competitions 1995-1996 at hunterlink.net.au Championship 1995/96 at rugbyleagueproject.org