RFL make Super 8s verdict as clubs finally learn end-of-season plans

The Rugby Football League have officially notified clubs in the Championship and League 1 that plans to go ahead with a Super 8s-style system at the end of this season have been dropped.

Original plans for the Championship and League 1 structure for 2026 called for four teams from each division – the bottom four in the second-tier and the top four in League 1 – to meet in a rehash of the old structure that dictated promotion and relegation between Super League and the Championship.

However, over the summer, plans have been accelerated to restructure the two divisions outside Super League, with plans for regional conferences and one merged 21-team league put on the table. It now appears as though the latter idea will win out as the one that will be adopted for 2026.

But that inevitably means that there is no need to decide who is playing in what division in 2026, meaning no Super 8s format. Love Rugby League revealed earlier this month how a decision was looming on that, and how all the signs pointed towards it being removed.

That has now been communicated to the clubs who were in contention to play in the structure at the end of this season – meaning for League 1 clubs, the season will end in a fortnight’s time with no play-offs. The team finishing top – likely at this stage to be North Wales Crusaders – will merely be crowned champions.

But it also means the bottom four in the Championship, now confirmed to be London, Sheffield, Batley and Hunslet, will also have nothing to play for beyond jostling for individual league positions.

The two divisions will then seemingly be merged, with plans calling for a 26-game season as it stands. That would mean 13 home games and 13 away games for each team – with loop fixtures likely to be introduced to make up the number of fixtures.

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