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Rugby League in Lancashire refers to the sport ofrugby league in relation to its participation and history within the traditional county ofLancashire,England. The county has since been split up for administrative purposes with parts of traditional Lancashire forming parts ofGreater Manchester,Merseyside,Cheshire andCumbria as well as the current borders of Lancashire.
Rugby league was founded in Yorkshire in 1895 at the George Hotel inHuddersfield when 22 clubs broke away from theRugby Football Union to form theNorthern Rugby Football Union which later changed its name to theRugby Football League. Of those 22 founding clubs, 9 were from Lancashire.
The first Lancashire winners of the newly formed league, theNRFU Championship wereOldham, withWigan being the most successful with 22 titles. Between 1896 and 1900 teams either played in the Lancashire or Yorkshire League depending on geographical location but still competed in the Challenge Cup.Wigan are the most successful club in the competition with 19 titles.
In theSuper League eraSt Helens R.F.C. are the most successful Lancashire club, and second most of all (behindLeeds Rhinos), with seven Super League titles.
The Lancashire League was founded in 1895 for teams in Lancashire to compete in.Wigan andSt Helens dominated the league before it was abandoned in 1970 due to the amount of fixtures being played.
The Lancashire Cup was a cup competition for teams in Lancashire. The competition ran from 1905-1992 when it folded due to the amount of fixtures in the calendar and theRugby Football League (RFL) not seeing it as being a part of the future of modern rugby league.
The table below lists clubs located within the traditional borders of Lancashire: from the top division (theSuper League), down to tier 3 of theBritish rugby league system.
| Club | Stadium | Founded | County Subdivision | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super League - tier 1 | ||||
| Leigh Leopards | Leigh Sports Village | 1878 | Greater Manchester | League: 1905-06, 1981-82 (2) Challenge Cup: 1920-21, 1979-71 (2) |
| Salford Red Devils | AJ Bell Stadium | 1873 | Greater Manchester | League: 1913-14, 1932–33, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1973–74, 1975-76 (6) Challenge Cup: 1937-38 (1) |
| St. Helens | Totally Wicked Stadium | 1873 | Merseyside | League: 1931/32, 1952/53, 1958/59, 1965/66, 1969/70, 1970/71, 1974/75, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021 (16) Challenge Cup: 1955-56, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2021 (13) |
| Warrington Wolves | Halliwell Jones | 1876 | Cheshire | League: 1947–48, 1953–54, 1954–55 (3) Challenge Cup: 1904–05, 1906–07, 1949–50, 1953–54, 1973–74, 2009, 2010, 2012 (8) |
| Wigan Warriors | DW Stadium | 1872 | Greater Manchester | League: 1908/09, 1921/22, 1925/26, 1933/34, 1945/46, 1946/47, 1949/50, 1951/52, 1959/60, 1986/87, 1989/90, 1990/91, 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1998, 2010, 2013 (20) Challenge Cup: 1923–24, 1928–29, 1947–48, 1950–51, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1964–65,1985, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2002, 2011, 2013. (19) |
| Championship - tier 2 | ||||
| Widnes Vikings | Halton Stadium | 1875 | Cheshire | League: 1977–78, 1987–88, 1988–89 (3) Challenge Cup: 1929–30, 1936–37, 1963–64, 1974–75, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1983–84 (7) |
| League 1 - tier 3 | ||||
| Barrow Raiders | Craven Park | 1875 | Cumbria | Challenge Cup: 1954-5 (1) |
| Oldham | Whitebank Stadium | 1876 | Greater Manchester | League: 1904-05, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1956-57 (4) Challenge Cup: 1898-99, 1924–25, 1926-27 (3) |
| Swinton Lions | Park Lane | 1866 | Greater Manchester | League: 1926-27, 1927–28, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1962–63, 1963–64 (6) Challenge Cup: 1899–1900, 1925–26, 1927–28 (3) |
| Rochdale Hornets | Spotland | 1866 | Greater Manchester | Challenge Cup: 1922 (1) |
Greater Manchester has the strongest concentration of rugby league teams within the traditional boundaries of Lancashire. The most notable team isWigan Warriors.
Cheshire had its own rugby league tradition with Runcorn being one of the founder members of the Northern Union in 1895 but this died out. Boundary changes to England's counties in the 1970s brought the formerly Lancastrian towns of Widnes and Warrington into Cheshire.
Merseyside was a county formed in 1974 from parts of Lancashire and Cheshire. CurrentlySt. Helens are the only professional side within Merseyside, but other sides have also existed, notablyLiverpool Stanley andPrescott Panthers.
Cumbria is a county that was created in the 1970s composing of the former counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire.Barrow Raiders are the oldest side in what is now Cumbria and are based in what was part of Lancashire. Other Cumbrian sides exist and have existed in the traditional county of Cumberland, namely Whitehaven, Workington Town and at one time Carlisle. These sides played in the Lancashire cup despite playing outside the boundaries of traditional Lancashire.
Within the current borders of Lancashire there are currently no professional rugby league sides. The most recent side to play isBlackpool Panthers which folded in 2010.
