Club Championship (rugby league)


The Club Championship was a competition for British rugby league clubs during the 1973–74 season. The competition was a replacement for the end-of-season playoff system which had been held between 1906 and 1973. Although named the Club Championship, it was considered a separate competition to the League Championship, which was awarded to league winners, Salford. The tournament was won by Warrington. It was replaced by the Rugby League Premiership after one season.

Format

Qualification for the competition was determined by a merit points system. Points were awarded based on clubs final league position, and victories in knockout competitions during the season.
A preliminary knockout round also took place for the top 12 Second Division clubs, with three winners qualifying for the Club Championship. These three clubs were joined by the 13 teams who were awarded the most merit points.

Merit points

Qualified: Warrington, Leeds, St Helens, Salford, Featherstone Rovers, Rochdale Hornets, Bramley, Wakefield Trinity, Dewsbury, Castleford, Widnes, Wigan, Bradford Northern, Workington Town, Keighley, Hull Failed to qualify: Leigh, Hull KR, Whitehaven, York, Halifax, Swinton, Oldham, Batley, Huddersfield, Barrow, New Hunslet, Huyton, Blackpool Borough, Doncaster

First round

The draw was seeded based on the number of merit points awarded to each team, with the teams with the most points being awarded home advantage. As Castleford and Dewsbury had been awarded the same number of points, a coin toss was used to determine their respective positions in the merit table.
DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
20 April 1974Leeds31–12Keighley
20 April 1974St Helens24–7Workington Town
21 April 1974Bramley0–14Castleford
21 April 1974Featherstone Rovers22–14Wigan
21 April 1974Rochdale Hornets5–31Widnes
21 April 1974Salford16–16Bradford Northern
21 April 1974Wakefield Trinity26–11Dewsbury
21 April 1974Warrington34–12Hull