2023 RFL Championship

2023 Betfred Championship
Duration	4 February – 15 October 2023
Teams	14
Matches played	194
Points scored	8,875
Highest attendance	4,879 Bradford Bulls v Keighley Cougars (2 July 2023)
Lowest attendance	684 Newcastle Thunder v Keighley Cougars (18 June 2023)
Average attendance	2,012
Attendance	380,375
Broadcast partners	Viaplay Sports
2023 season
Promoted to Super League	London Broncos
League Leaders' Shield	Featherstone Rovers
Relegated to League One	Newcastle Thunder Keighley Cougars
Biggest home win	Featherstone Rovers 76–4 Whitehaven (19 February 2023)
Biggest away win	Whitehaven 0–60 Featherstone Rovers (2 July 2023)
Top point-scorer(s)	Cory Aston Sheffield Eagles (182)
Top try-scorer(s)	Lachlan Walmsley Halifax Panthers (30)

The 2023 RFL Championship, (officially known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons), was a professional rugby league club competition. Fourteen clubs – thirteen from England and one from France – competed to gain promotion to the 2024 Super League, while avoiding relegation to the 2024 League One season.

The seasons comprised 27 rounds in the regular season with the top six teams taking part in the play-offs.

The champions were London Broncos who after finishing fifth in the regular season, won the play-off grand final against Toulouse Olympique.

Featherstone Rovers won the League Leader's Shield finishing the regular season 12 points ahead of their nearest rivals, Toulouse.

Newcastle Thunder and Keighley Cougars were relegated to League One.

Teams

Team changes

The following teams changed division since the 2022 season:

To Championship

Promoted from League One

• Keighley Cougars
• Swinton Lions

Relegated from the Super League

• Toulouse Olympique

From Championship

Promoted to the Super League

• Leigh Leopards

Relegated to League One

• Dewsbury Rams
• Workington Town

Clubs

West Yorkshire

Barrow

London

Newcastle

Sheffield

Swinton

Whitehaven

Widnes

York

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Locations of teams competing in the 2023 Championship.

Bradford

Batley

Keighley

Featherstone

Halifax

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Locations of the 2023 RFL Championship teams in West Yorkshire

Toulouse

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Locations of 2023 RFL Championship teams in France

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Barrow Raiders	Barrow-in-Furness	Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium	6,000
Batley Bulldogs	Batley	Mount Pleasant	7,500
Bradford Bulls	Bradford	Odsal Stadium	22,000
Featherstone Rovers	Featherstone	Millennium Stadium	8,000
Halifax Panthers	Halifax	The Shay	10,401
Keighley Cougars	Keighley	Cougar Park	7,800
London Broncos	Wimbledon	Plough Lane	9,215
Newcastle Thunder	Newcastle upon Tyne	Kingston Park	10,200
Sheffield Eagles	Sheffield	Olympic Legacy Park	1,320
Swinton Lions	Sale	Heywood Road	3,387
Toulouse Olympique	Toulouse	Stade Ernest-Wallon	19,500
Whitehaven	Whitehaven	Recreation Ground	7,500
Widnes Vikings	Widnes	DCBL Stadium	13,350
York Knights	York	York Community Stadium	8,005

Rule changes

Changes in the operational rules were announced on 1 February 2023.^[1]

On-field, the main change is that teams awarded a penalty for an offence at a scrum can now kick for goal. Previously such penalties were differential precluding the team from kicking for goal. The green card process has been clarified so that if the referee calls "time off" for a player to receive medical attention, the player must leave the pitch for two minutes. Teams will be allowed to name an 18th player (fifth interchange player) in the squad who can play if three or more players are withdrawn due to failing a head injury assessment (HIA).

Off-field the graduated return to play process that applies after a player has suffered a concussion will be a minimum of 12 days (up from 11 in 2022).

Changes have also been made to the disciplinary process where the periods of suspension for the various grade of offences have been reduced but the use of fines increased.^[2]

Results

Main article: 2023 RFL Championship season results

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Featherstone Rovers	27	25	0	2	1079	295	+784	50	League Leaders Shield and qualify for semi-finals
2	Toulouse Olympique	27	19	0	8	834	385	+449	38	Semi-finals
3	Bradford Bulls	27	16	1	10	677	572	+105	33	Eliminators
4	Sheffield Eagles	27	16	0	11	780	560	+220	32
5	London Broncos	27	16	0	11	600	552	+48	32
6	York Knights	27	15	0	12	557	557	0	30
7	Batley Bulldogs	27	15	0	12	506	519	−13	30
8	Halifax Panthers	27	14	1	12	690	572	+118	29
9	Widnes Vikings	27	13	0	14	619	654	−35	26
10	Swinton Lions	27	9	0	18	426	739	−313	18
11	Barrow Raiders	27	8	1	18	471	672	−201	17
12	Whitehaven	27	8	0	19	481	809	−328	16
13	Keighley Cougars	27	8	0	19	506	837	−331	16	Relegation to League One
14	Newcastle Thunder	27	5	1	21	415	918	−503	11

Source: RFL
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points; 2) Points difference; 3) Points percentage (points scored/points conceded x 100)

Play-offs

Main article: 2023 RFL Championship season results § Playoffs

Team bracket

	Eliminators					Semi-finals					Grand Final
						1	Featherstone Rovers	26
	4	Sheffield Eagles	0			5	London Broncos	36
	5	London Broncos	42								2	Toulouse Olympique	14
											5	London Broncos	18
						2	Toulouse Olympique	38
	3	Bradford Bulls	22			3	Bradford Bulls	20
	6	York Knights	8

Week 1: Eliminators

1 October 2023 20:00 BST (UTC+01:00)

Sheffield Eagles	0–42	London Broncos
	Report	Tries: Grant 6', 72', Bassett 11', 19', Lovell 65', Walker 43',Williams 39' Goals: Norman (7/7) 7', 12, 20', 40',44', 66', 73'

Olympic Legacy Park Attendance: 648[3] Referee: James Vella

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1 October 2023 18:30 BST (UTC+01:00)

Bradford Bulls	22–8	York Knights
Tries: Rogers 35', Appo 37', Holmes 44' Goals: Lilley (5/5) 36', 38', 45', 62', 67'	Report	Tries: Dee 28' Goals: Harris (2/2) 14', 29'

Odsal Stadium Attendance: 2,738[4] Referee: Tom Grant

Week 2: Semi-finals

7 October 2023 17:00 BST (UTC+01:00)

Toulouse Olympique	38–20	Bradford Bulls
Tries: Santo, Stefani, Armitage, Laguerre (2), Ralph, Marcon Goals: Santo, Brochon (4/6)	Report	Tries: Gaskell (2), Appo Goals: Lilley (4/4)

Stade Ernest Wallon Attendance: 4,352[5] Referee: James Vella

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8 October 2023 18:30 BST (UTC+01:00)

Featherstone Rovers	26–36	London Broncos
Tries: Hankinson (2), Leilua (2), Briscoe Goals: Kheirallah (3/5)	Report	Tries: Walker (2), Whare, Macani, Grant, Raiwalui Goals: Norman (6/6)

Post Office Road Attendance: 4,324 Referee: Tom Grant

Week 3: Grand Final

See also: Championship Grand Final

15 October 2023 14:30 BST (UTC+01:00)

Toulouse Olympique	14–18	London Broncos
Tries: Jussaume, Ralph Goals: Shorrocks (3/3)	Report	Tries: Whare, Walker, Macani (2) Goals: Norman (1/4)

Stade Ernest Wallon Attendance: 3,974 Referee: Jack Smith Player of the Match: Alex Walker (London)

Broadcasting

The 2023 Championship season was the second of two seasons televised under a broadcasting deal between the Rugby Football League and Premier Media Broadcasting agreed in October 2021.^[6][7] In late 2022, Viaplay Group acquired Premier Media Broadcasting for £30 million, and subsequently took over operations of Premier Media Broadcasting's channels and rebranded them to Viaplay Sports.^[8] Viaplay Group broadcast the Championship's Monday evening games, along with two Summer Bash games and all five play-off games, via their Viaplay Sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland.^[6][7] All matches broadcast on Viaplay Sports, including the Championship Grand Final, were broadcast on Fox League in Australia throughout the season.

References

1. "Law changes, new faces and ref-cams – what's new in Rugby League in 2023". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
2. Gordon, James (1 February 2023). "Former Super League ref, GB Lioness & France prop join RFL disciplinary". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
3. "Sheffield Eagles 0-42 London Broncos - 01.10.2023". stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com. Rugby League Records. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
4. "Bradford Bulls 22-8 York Knights - 01.10.2023". stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com. Rugby League Records.
5. "RL Records - Toulouse Olympique 0-0 Bradford Bulls - 07.10.2023". stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com. Rugby League Records. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
6. Walker, Callum (6 October 2021). "Monday night rugby league set for return from 2022". Serious About Rugby League. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
7. Darbyshire, Drew (6 October 2021). "Championship set for Monday night TV slot". Love Rugby League. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
8. Whittock, Jesse; Tartaglione, Nancy (18 October 2022). "Viaplay Sets UK Launch Date; Cambodia Oscars Entry; 'Agatha Christie's Hjerson' Drama Sells; Fifth Season Format; 'That's My Jam' Spreads; Antenna Studios Drama — Global Briefs". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.

External links

• Betfred Championship at Rugby Football League