Super League I
Sport	Rugby league
League	Super League
Number of teams	12
Aggregate Attendance	867,372 (average 6,571)
1996 Season
Champions	St Helens
Premiership winners	Wigan Warriors
Man of Steel	Andrew Farrell
Top point-scorer(s)	Bobbie Goulding (257)
Top try-scorer(s)	Paul Newlove (28)
Promotion and Relegation
Promoted from First Division	Salford Reds
Relegated to First Division	Workington Town
< 1995-96 Seasons 1997 >

The year 1996's Stones Bitter Super League I was the official name for the 102nd season of top-level rugby league football, and the first year of Europe's new championship: Super League. It is also the first season of rugby league to be played in summer.^[1] The competition featured all eleven teams from the 1995-96 Rugby Football League season plus one expansion club, Paris Saint Germain.

Contents 1 Rule changes 2 Opening Night 3 Season summary 4 Super League I Table 5 Operational rules 6 See also 7 Sources 8 External links 9 References

[edit] Rule changes

Four new rules were introduced for the inaugural Super League season:

• Scrums were now to be set 20 metres from the touch-line, with the aim of creating attacking opportunities.^[2]
• At the restart after a try has been scored and the conversion attempt has been taken, the side that scored will now kick off to the other team.^[2] This change aimed to make contests more even by almost guaranteeing possession for the side that had conceded points.^[2] Greg McCallum, the director of referees' coaching, also noted that this convention was "in line with most other sports" and "that is significant when we come to promoting the game in America and Asia".^[2]

In an attempt to "clean up" the ruck:

• At the play-the-ball, the side not in possession was barred from striking for the ball.^[2]
• Also at the play-the-ball, the tackled player was stopped from being able to tap the ball forwards to himself - even in the absence of markers.^[2]

[edit] Opening Night

On 29 March 1996, Super League kicked off in Paris before 17,873 people at the Charlety Stadium when new team Paris Saint Germain overcame Sheffield Eagles 30-24.^[3] Jacques Fouroux, the PSG president, described that night, "Ninety eight per cent of them [the crowd] were new to the game, but they understood it right away. They saw tries, lots of commitment and lots of movement. They saw beauty. They attended a great party."^[3]

[edit] Season summary

The reigning champions Wigan Warriors were hoping to maintain their hold on the championship in the newly-formed Super League. However, at the end of the season St Helens were crowned inaugural Super League champions after finishing in first position on the league ladder.^[4] During the year a secondary title, known as the Premiership was also played, with the final being contested between Wigan Warriors and the championship winners St. Helens with Wigan coming out victorious and Andy Farrell winning the Harry Sunderland Trophy.

Workington Town finished bottom for the second successive season and thus relegated to the first division. To date this is their only Super League season and no other club from Cumbria has competed since, Salford Reds were promoted to take their place in Super League II.

[edit] Super League I Table

Final Standings

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	St Helens	22	20	0	2	950	455	+495	40
2	Wigan Warriors	22	19	1	2	902	326	+576	39
3	Bradford Bulls	22	17	0	5	767	409	+358	34
4	London Broncos	22	12	1	9	611	462	+149	25
5	Warrington Wolves	22	12	0	10	569	565	+4	24
6	Halifax Blue Sox	22	10	1	11	667	576	+91	21
7	Sheffield Eagles	22	10	0	12	599	730	-131	20
8	Oldham Bears	22	9	1	12	473	681	-208	19
9	Castleford Tigers	22	9	0	13	548	599	-51	18
10	Leeds	22	6	0	16	555	745	-190	12
11	Paris St. Germain	22	3	1	18	398	795	-397	7
12	Workington Town	22	2	1	19	325	1021	-696	5

Champions

Relegated

[edit] Operational rules

Player numbering:

• The Rugby League Council approved a proposal by Super League chief executives to adopt squad numbering. Players would wear a number (1-25) on their shirts all season in addition to their names.^[5]

Rules to ensure the sustainability of Super League clubs were introduced:

• Clubs operated under a series of financial rules that specified spending levels in different areas of club operations, demanded that clubs' accounts be submitted monthly for monitoring.^[6]
• A salary cap restricted clubs from spending more than 40% of their income on players.^[6]

To protect global Super League interests:

• Due to the Super League war in Australia, a number of British players signed "loyalty" contracts which gave News Corporation a veto power over them in an attempt to prevent transfers to Australian Rugby League clubs.^[1][6]

[edit] See also

• Super League

[edit] Sources

• Super League I at rlhalloffame.org.uk
• Super League I at wigan.rlfans.com

[edit] External links

• Super League Official website
• Super League I at rugbyleagueproject.com

[edit] References

v • d • e Super League Current Teams Bradford Bulls · Castleford Tigers · Catalans Dragons · Crusaders RL · Harlequins RL · Huddersfield Giants · Hull FC  · Hull Kingston Rovers · Leeds Rhinos · Salford City Reds · St Helens · Wakefield Trinity Wildcats · Warrington Wolves · Wigan Warriors Former teams Gateshead Thunder  · Halifax Blue Sox  · Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants  · Leigh Centurions  · Oldham Bears  · Paris Saint Germain · Sheffield Eagles  · Widnes Vikings  · Workington Town Seasons: I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV Season results: I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV Grand Finals: I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV Major events World Club Challenge · Magic Weekend · Play-offs · Grand Final Awards League Leader's Shield · Man of Steel Award · Harry Sunderland Trophy · Super League Dream Team · Fairplay Index · Super League Ultimate 13: Grand Final Team Related articles Rugby Football League Championship · Super League Records · Super League war · 2009–11 licences · 2012–14 licences