North American Rugby League
The North American Rugby League (NARL) is an unsanctioned rugby league club competition in North America.
| Sport | Rugby League |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 2021 |
| Inaugural season | Still to occur |
| CEO | Robert Curtis |
| Number of teams | 3 |
| Country | United States (3 teams) |
| Website | narugbyleague.com |
| Broadcast partner | SportsFlick |
At launch, the league announced fourteen teams; twelve from United States and two from Canada.[1][2] An inaugural season was planned for 2021 but was deferred until 2022 (which itself never happened) due to increased health and safety needs regarding COVID-19 and insurance and travel costs.
History edit
Background edit
An American based rugby league competition was first established in 1998 when the American NRL was formed. The organisation ran the AMNRL league competition and organised the USA national team and their fixtures. This competition lasted for 13 years until seven clubs left to form the USARL, citing the poor running of the competition as their reason for a breakaway.
The USARL was founded in 2011, however the AMNRL was still active, meaning there were two major rugby league competitions in the US. The AMNRL suffered from competition with the USARL and did not run a competition in 2013. The following year the AMNRL folded and handed over all control of the USA national team to the USARL making it the sole governing body and league competition in the US.
2016–2020: North American clubs in Britain edit
In 2016, Toronto Wolfpack were founded and entered the British RFL system in League 1. They were promoted to Super League in 2019, however withdrew after seven rounds in 2020 following financial problems due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and were not readmitted for the 2021 season. The demise of Toronto and a report by then-Super League chief executive Robert Elstone saying there were no opportunities for rugby league in North America left doubts over transatlantic teams competing in the British rugby league system. However, the RFL later admitted Ottawa Aces and New York Rugby League. Ottawa, however, later relocated to the UK as Cornwall. New York's future in the UK remains unclear.
2021: COVID-19 postponement edit
In March 2021 the North American Rugby League was announced and slated to include 14 founding teams: the two clubs previously accepted into the RFL (Ottawa and New York) as well as Toronto and recently formed Cleveland, along with three USARL clubs (Atlanta Rhinos, Boston Thirteens, and Brooklyn Kings), a former rugby union club, and six new clubs (Austin Armadillos, Las Vegas Blackjacks, Phoenix Venom, Portland Loggers, San Diego Swell, San Francisco Rush, and Washington D.C. Cavalry.
In April 2021, USARL issued a statement that NARL is not recognized or sanctioned by USARL (as the governing body for rugby league in the USA) and therefore anyone playing in the NARL was ineligible to play at international level.[3]
The inaugural season was due to start on June 19, 2021, with Boston hosting the first four Eastern Conference games and Las Vegas hosting the Western Conference games on June 20, with all games to be streamed globally on SportsFlick. There are plans for clubs to draft 14 players who will be signed centrally by the NARL.[4] On May 12, the league announced that the Western Conference would be postponed to 2022 as the teams were unable to arrange adequate insurance for the players.[5]
On June 7, 2021, Robert Curtis, the league's chief operating officer, announced that competition would be suspended until 2022 due to cost issues and health and safety restrictions relating to COVID-19.[6] Some friendly matches will be played and the Canada Cup will be contested by Toronto Wolfpack and Ottawa Aces.[6]
Following the announcement of the league's suspension, USARL issued a statement that all NARL teams and players would be welcome to join USARL for the 2021 season.[7]
The league has partnered with Italian sportswear company Macron, who will provide kits to all teams in the competition.[8]
In October 2021, the Ottawa Aces announced their relocation back to the United Kingdom, where they had been originally formed, opting out of the NARL.
The league announced in late 2021 that it intends to launch with just 6 foundation clubs in spring 2022, 5 from the United States plus Toronto Wolfpack from Canada.[9]
The Canada Cup went ahead for 2021 but DC Cavalry took Ottawa's places following the latter's relocation to Cornwall. The match was won by Toronto.
2022: Second failed inaugural season edit
After an announcement for the 2022 season to start on May 21 followed by uncertainty, it was announced a day before on the NARL social media pages the expected kick off that there will be a pre-season trial on June 4 between Washington D.C. Cavalry and the Atlanta Rhinos. Atlanta won the match 34-24.[10] In July 2022, Cleveland Rugby League withdrew from the competition, leaving it with four teams.[11]
On 20 June 2023, Wolfpack withdrew from the competition as no seasons had occurred.[12]
Teams edit
The 3 confirmed foundation clubs are:[11]
- Atlanta Rhinos
- New York R.L.F.C.
- DC Cavalry
Seasons edit
| Season | North American Rugby League Champions | Canada Cup Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Cancelled | Toronto Wolfpack |
| 2022 | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2023 | Cancelled | Cancelled |
Finals edit
NARL Grand Finals edit
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-up | Referee | Venue | Attendance | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Cancelled | 29 October | |||||
| 2023 | Cancelled |
Canada Cup Finals edit
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-up | Referee | Venue | Attendance | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Toronto Wolfpack | 42–6 | D.C. Cavalry | Unknown | Lamport Stadium, Toronto | Unknown | 18 September |
| 2022 | Cancelled |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Bower, Aaron (April 4, 2021). "North America Rugby League examined - salary cap, players, impact on RFL and Super League". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "NARL Press Release". North American Rugby League. North American Rugby League. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Gordon, James (April 15, 2021). "New North American rugby league 'not sanctioned' by governing body". Love Rugby League. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ Ritchie, Dean. "North American Rugby League competition launches with eyes on recruiting NRL talent". Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ "North American Rugby League:Western division suspended until 2022". Sportingnews.com. May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "New North American rugby league shelved until 2022". www.msn.com. June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ Lowe, Brian (June 8, 2021). "USA Rugby League extends olive branch to NARL teams". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ "MACRON IS THE TECHNICAL SPONSOR OF THE NORTH AMERICAN RUGBY LEAGUE". www.macron.com. July 7, 2021.
- ^ "North American Rugby League competition "confident" of spring launch". LoveRugbyLeague. December 2, 2021.
- ^ @atlantarhinos (June 4, 2022). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "NARL". NARL.
- ^ "Toronto Wolfpack confirm 2023 return with nine fixtures announced at Lamport Stadium". June 20, 2023.
External links edit
- Official website