2025 RFL Championship
| 2025 Betfred Championship | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 13 |
| 2025 season | |
The 2025 RFL Championship, (officially known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons), is a professional rugby league club competition. The second tier of the British rugby league system comprises 13 clubs – 12 from England and one from France.
The season will comprise 26 rounds in the regular season with each team playing 24 fixtures and having two bye weeks. The top six teams taking part in the play-offs to determine the champions. The bottom four teams will take part in the Super 8s with the top four teams from League One to determine which three teams of the eight will play in the 2026 Championship.
Team changes
Wakefield Trinity won promotion to the Super League at the end of 2024 and were replaced by London Broncos who were relegated from Super League under the IMG grading system. Promoted from League One in 2024 were Oldham and Hunslet who replaced the 2024 relegated teams, Swinton Lions, Whitehaven and Dewsbury Rams.
Structure changes
There will be no automatic promotion from the Championship to Super League at the end of the season. This is due to the IMG grading scheme where clubs are graded by a number of factors, not all based on on-field performance.[1]
Following a review of the league structure below Super League, the RFL announced that by the start of the 2026 season, the Championship and League 1 would be equalised in size at 12 teams each. In March 2024 the RFL completed the review and announced that the first steps will be taken to equalise the number of teams in the Championship and League One at 12 each by the start of the 2026 season. Following the 2-up, 3-down system in 2024, 2025 will see the return of the Super 8s format with the top four teams in League One meeting the bottom four teams in the Championship to decide which division those clubs will play in for 2026.[2] The Super 8s will comprise four rounds with each League One club playing the four clubs from the Championship, two at home and two away. After the four rounds have been completed, the top two teams will automatically qualify to play in the 2026 Championship. The teams finishing third and fourth will play each other to decide which teams gets the final place in the Championship. The losers of this match and the teams finishing fifth to eighth will play in League One in 2026.[3]
Rule changes
Three rule changes are brought in for 2025:[4]
- Kick chasers will only be offside if they are influencing the play rather than automatically being offside for being within 10 metres.
- Drop-outs that fail to travel 10 metres or go out on the full result in a play-the-ball rather than a penalty.
- Attacking players as well as defending players can be green-carded if play has to be stopped due to an injury. Previously only defending players could be green-carded.
Clubs
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
 Barrow Raiders
|
Barrow-in-Furness | Craven Park | 6,000 |
 Batley Bulldogs
|
Batley | Mount Pleasant | 7,500 |
 Bradford Bulls
|
Bradford | Odsal Stadium | 22,000 |
 Doncaster
|
Doncaster | Eco-Power Stadium | 15,231 |
 Featherstone Rovers
|
Featherstone | Post Office Road | 8,000 |
 Halifax Panthers
|
Halifax | The Shay | 10,401 |
 Hunslet
|
Leeds | South Leeds Stadium | 4,000 |
 London Broncos
|
Wimbledon, London | Plough Lane | 9,215 |
 Oldham
|
Sale | Boundary Park | 13,500 |
 Sheffield Eagles
|
Sheffield | Olympic Legacy Park | 1,320 |
 Toulouse Olympique
|
Toulouse | Stade Ernest-Wallon | 19,500 |
 Widnes Vikings
|
Widnes | DCBL Stadium | 13,350 |
 York Knights
|
York | York Community Stadium | 8,005 |
Results
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barrow Raiders
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Batley Bulldogs
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Bradford Bulls
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Eliminators |
| 4 | Doncaster
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Featherstone Rovers
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Halifax Panthers
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Hunslet
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | London Broncos
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | Oldham
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Sheffield Eagles
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Super 8s |
| 11 | Toulouse Olympique
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Widnes Vikings
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | York Knights
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points; 2) Points difference; 3) Points percentage (points scored/points conceded x 100)
References
- ^ "First IMG gradings revealed as clubs learn fate; Leeds Rhinos lead the way, Super League outfit appeal verdict". LoveRugbyLeague. 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Super 8s to return as part of overhaul of Championship rugby league plans". Love Rugby League. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Walker, Callum (26 November 2024). "Championship and League One 2025 fixtures released as key dates revealed and Super 8s play-off format introduced". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ "Captain's Challenge headlines four major law changes announced by RFL ahead of 2025". Love Rugby League. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.