2014 RFL Championship
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The 2014 Rugby Football League Championship, known as the Kingstone Press Championship due to sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in the UK, one tier below the first tier Super League. The 2014 season was the second and final season to consist of a 14-team division following the expansion of the league in 2013.[1]
| 2014 RFL Championship | |
|---|---|
| League | Championship |
| Duration | 26 Rounds (Followed by 4 round playoffs) |
| Teams | 14 |
| Broadcast partners | Premier Sports |
| 2014 Season | |
Relegation to Championship 1 was in place for the 2014 season, along with the play-offs with the format for the play-offs remaining the same with no promotion to the Super League. With two Super League teams relegated in 2014 and the Championship reduced to 12 teams in 2015, as part of the reform of the leagues, five teams were relegated at the end of the regular season with one team promoted at the end of 2014 Championship 1.[2]
Teams
The competition featured 12 of the 14 teams from 2013 plus the Champions and Play-off winner of the 2013 Championship 1 season, which were North Wales Crusaders and Rochdale Hornets. Hunslet Hawks and York City Knights, who finished in the bottom two in 2013 were relegated into Championship 1.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Reigning champions | |
| Defending Northern Rail Cup Champions | |
| Promoted | |
| Team & Current Season | Stadium | Capacity | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Barrow Raiders |
Craven Park | 7,600 | Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria | |
 Batley Bulldogs |
loverugbyleague.com Stadium | 6,000 | Batley, West Yorkshire | |
 Dewsbury Rams |
Tetley's Stadium | 5,100 | Dewsbury, West Yorkshire | |
 Doncaster |
Keepmoat Stadium | 15,231 | Doncaster, South Yorkshire | |
 Featherstone Rovers |
Bigfellas Stadium | 6,750 | Featherstone, West Yorkshire | |
 Halifax |
The Shay Stadium | 6,561 | Halifax, West Yorkshire | |
 Keighley Cougars |
Cougar Park | 7,800 | Keighley, West Yorkshire | |
 Leigh Centurions |
Leigh Sports Village | 12,700 | Leigh, Greater Manchester | |
 North Wales Crusaders |
Racecourse Ground | 10,500 (15,500 with The Kop open) | Wrexham, Wales | |
 Rochdale Hornets |
Spotland | 10,249 | Rochdale, Greater Manchester | |
 Sheffield Eagles |
Owlerton Stadium | 4,000 | Sheffield, South Yorkshire | |
 Swinton Lions |
Leigh Sports Village | 12,700 | Leigh, Greater Manchester | |
 Whitehaven |
Recreation Ground | 7,500 | Whitehaven, Cumbria | |
 Workington Town |
Derwent Park | 10,000 | Workington, Cumbria |
Season standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leigh Centurions |
26 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1024 | 396 | +628 | 1 | 76 | Qualifying for the Play-offs |
| 2 | Featherstone Rovers |
26 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 871 | 532 | +339 | 5 | 61 | |
| 3 | Halifax |
26 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 714 | 504 | +210 | 6 | 58 | |
| 4 | Doncaster |
26 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 643 | 599 | +44 | 4 | 57 | |
| 5 | Sheffield Eagles |
26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 790 | 605 | +185 | 6 | 54 | |
| 6 | Dewsbury Rams |
26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 669 | 585 | +84 | 6 | 51 | |
| 7 | Workington Town |
26 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 467 | 524 | −57 | 10 | 48 | |
| 8 | Batley Bulldogs |
26 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 582 | 573 | +9 | 7 | 45 | |
| 9 | Whitehaven |
26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 592 | 666 | −74 | 6 | 45 | |
| 10 | Keighley Cougars |
26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 587 | 601 | −14 | 8 | 44 | Relegation position |
| 11 | North Wales Crusaders |
26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 468 | 709 | −241 | 10 | 31 | |
| 12 | Rochdale Hornets |
26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 509 | 919 | −410 | 4 | 25 | |
| 13 | Swinton Lions |
26 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 570 | 865 | −295 | 9 | 24 | |
| 14 | Barrow Raiders |
26 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 462 | 870 | −408 | 7 | 19 |
Rules for classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.
Competition points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1.[3]
Season Results
The regular league season saw the 14 teams play each other twice (one home, one away) over 26 matches. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season went through to the play-offs to determine the winners of the Championship.