2021 RFL Championship
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| 2021 RFL Championship | |
|---|---|
| League | Championship |
| Duration | 2 April 2021 – 9 October 2021 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Matches played | 45 |
| Points scored | 4,518 |
| Highest attendance | 9,235 (Toulouse Olympique vs Featherstone Rovers, 10 October 2021) |
| Lowest attendance | 200 (London Broncos vs York City Knights, 11 July 2021) |
| Broadcast partners | OurLeague Sky Sports (play-offs only) |
| 2021 season | |
| Champions |  Toulouse Olympique (1st title) |
| Championship Leaders' Shield | Toulouse Olympique (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Featherstone Rovers |
| Biggest home win | 70–0 (Toulouse Olympique vs Widnes Vikings, 9 May 2021) |
| Biggest away win | 12–82 (Newcastle Thunder vs Toulouse Olympique, 18 September 2021) |
| Promotion and relegation | |
| Promoted from Championship | Toulouse Olympique |
| Relegated to League 1 |  Oldham Swinton Lions |
The 2021 Rugby Football League Championship is a rugby league football competition played in England, and France. It is the second tier of the three tiers of professional rugby league in England, below Super League, and above League 1. The sponsors for the league are the bookmakers, Betfred and the league will continue to be known as the Betfred Championship.
The league comprises 14 teams playing 22 matches each in the regular season. Each teams will play nine others twice (home and away) and play the other four teams just one (home or away).[1]
Fixtures and results
The governing body, the Rugby Football League (RFL) decided that the Summer Bash will not be played due to restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom which will limit or prohibit the attendance of spectators.[1]
Following an RFL meeting with both the Championship and League 1 clubs, it was agreed that golden point extra time would be suspended for this season, following concerns over the welfare of players and staff.[1]
The RFL also issued guidance on clubs travelling to France to play Toulouse. While UK COVID-19 quarantine rules require travellers to isolate for five days on return from France, the RFL stated that it was permissible for the part-time clubs in the Championship to postpone fixtures against Toulouse. The postponement did not apply to London Broncos as the club's players are full-time.[5]
Cancelled and forfeited matches
In March 2021 the RFL announced that the part-time clubs in the Championship would not have to travel to France to play Toulouse while the quarantine rules requiring travellers to isolate for five days were in force. This ruling did not apply to the full-time club, London Broncos.[6] London were due to travel to Toulouse for a match on 17 April but declined to do so. The RFL therefore awarded the two competition points to Toulouse with the score recorded as 24–0. The match does not count towards the number of games played by London towards qualification for the play-offs.[7] The RFL also referred London to the off-field compliance board for failing to fulfil a fixture.[7] At a subsequent meeting the compliance board deducted 2 points from London for beaching the operational rules by failing to fulfil the match.[8]
Toulouse's game against Bradford, scheduled for 19 June 2021 was cancelled on 4 June due to the quarantine rules. There were no free dates in the calendar to accommodate rescheduling so the game was not played.[9]
London's game against Widnes scheduled for 25 July was cancelled on 20 July, after London Broncos reported more than seven players requiring to isolate, the match was postponed then cancelled as the clubs agreed there was no possible date available for re-arranging the fixture.[10]
Other points deductions
In August, Featherstone were deducted two competition points (the equivalent of a win) for breaching RFL Operational Rules. In breach of UK government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic the club hosted an indoor gathering on 27 March at which 12 members of the first team were present. Under RFL COVID-19 protocols all the players involved should have been stood-down and ordered to self-isolate. The club did not comply with the protocols and also failed to assist with the RFL investigation into the incident.[11]
