Wikipedia

2022 Super League season

Super League XXVII, known as the 2022 Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th season of the Super League and 128th season of rugby league in Great Britain.

Super League XXVII
LeagueSuper League
Duration27 rounds
Teams12
Matches played162
Points scored6,957
Highest attendance60,783
Grand Final
(24 September)
Lowest attendance2,607
Salford Red Devils vs Catalans Dragons
(17 July)
Average attendance8,356
Attendance1,353,785
Broadcast partners
2022 season
ChampionsSt Helens
10th Super League title
17th British title
League Leaders ShieldSt Helens
Runners-upLeeds Rhinos
Biggest home winSalford Red Devils 74–10 Wakefield Trinity
(26 June)
Biggest away winHull FC 6–60 St Helens
(14 August)
Man of SteelAustralia Brodie Croft
Top point-scorer(s)England Tommy Makinson (210)
Top try-scorer(s)Australia Bevan French (31)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from ChampionshipLeigh Centurions
Relegated to ChampionshipToulouse Olympique

The season commenced on 10 February 2022 and ended with the Grand Final on 24 September 2022.[1]

St Helens were the reigning champions going into Super League XXVII, after successfully retaining their title, beating Catalans Dragons in the 2021 Grand Final.[2]

For the first time in Super League, there were two French teams in the competition, as Toulouse Olympique were promoted from the Championship, by beating Featherstone Rovers in the 2021 Million Pound Game.[3]

Toulouse were immediately relegated back to the Championship, following a 14–24 defeat at home to Catalans Dragons on 25 August, having only won 5 games from 25 they were rooted to the bottom of the table and with only 2 games of the regular season remaining and 4 points to play for, they could not catch Wakefield in 11th place.

On 15 July 2022, Bevan French broke the record for most tries scored in a Super League game, during Wigan Warriors 60–0 win over Hull FC, scoring seven tries.[4] The previous record for most tries scored in a Super League game was held by Lesley Vainikolo, who scored six tries for Bradford Bulls - also against Hull - in 2005.

Teams

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Locations of Super League XXVII teams in England
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Locations of Super League XXVII teams in France
Legend
C Reigning Champions
L Previous season League Leaders
P Promoted
Team 2021 position Stadium Capacity City/Town
  Castleford Tigers
(2022 season) 		7th The Mend-A-Hose Jungle 12,000[5] Castleford, West Yorkshire
L   Catalans Dragons
(2022 season) 		1st (play-off runners-up) Stade Gilbert Brutus 13,000[6] Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
  Huddersfield Giants
(2022 season) 		9th John Smith's Stadium 24,121[7] Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
  Hull FC
(2022 season) 		8th MKM Stadium 25,400[8] Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
  Hull Kingston Rovers
(2022 season) 		6th Sewell Group Craven Park Stadium 12,225[9] Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
  Leeds Rhinos
(2022 season) 		5th Headingley Stadium 21,062[10] Leeds, West Yorkshire
  Salford Red Devils
(2022 season) 		11th AJ Bell Stadium 12,000[11] Salford, Greater Manchester
C   St Helens
(2022 season) 		2nd (champions) Totally Wicked Stadium 18,000[12] St Helens, Merseyside
P   Toulouse Olympique
(2022 season) 		Championship Winners and League Leaders Stade Ernest-Wallon 19,500 Toulouse, Occitanie, France
  Wakefield Trinity
(2022 season) 		10th Mobile Rocket Stadium 9,333[13] Wakefield, West Yorkshire
  Warrington Wolves
(2022 season) 		3rd Halliwell Jones Stadium 15,200[14] Warrington, Cheshire
  Wigan Warriors
(2022 season) 		4th DW Stadium 25,133[15] Wigan, Greater Manchester

Fixtures and results

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Main article: Super League XXVII results

Golden point extra time

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If a match ends in a draw after 80 minutes, then a further 10 minutes of golden point extra time is played, to determine a winner (5 minutes each way). The first team to score either a try, penalty goal or drop goal during this period, will win the match. However, if there are no further scores during the additional 10 minutes period, then the match will end in a draw.

Game 1 (Leeds Rhinos v Huddersfield Giants)

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The round 8 game between Leeds Rhinos and Huddersfield Giants on 14 April 2022, finished 20-all after 80 minutes. The game then went to extra time, which saw numerous drop goal attempts by both teams. Neither teams were able to score any points during the extra 10 minutes, which meant the match ended as a draw for the first time this season.[16]

Game 2 (Wakefield Trinity v Hull FC)

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The round 14 game between Wakefield Trinity and Hull FC on 5 June 2022, finished 18-all after 80 minutes. The game then went to extra time, which saw numerous drop goal attempts by both teams. Wakefield eventually won the match 19–18, with a drop goal from Jacob Miller.[17]

Game 3 (Castleford Tigers v Catalans Dragons)

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The round 16 game between Castleford Tigers and Catalans Dragons on 26 June 2022, finished 16-all after 80 minutes. The game then went to extra time, which saw numerous drop goal attempts by both teams. Castleford won the match 17–16, with a drop goal from Danny Richardson.[18]

Game 4 (Wakefield Trinity v St Helens)

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The round 20 game between Wakefield Trinity v St Helens on 24 July 2022, finished 12-all after 80 minutes. The game then went to extra time, which saw numerous drop goal attempts by both teams. St Helens won the match 13–12, with a drop goal from Jack Welsby.[19]

Game 5 (Catalans Dragons v Leeds Rhinos)

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The round 21 game between Catalans Dragons and Leeds Rhinos on 30 July 2022, finished 32-all after 80 minutes, despite Leeds trailing 6-30, and with only 12 men, the game then went to extra time, which saw numerous drop goal attempts by both teams. Leeds won the match 36–32, with a try from Aiden Sezer.[20]

Game 6 (Huddersfield Giants v Wakefield Trinity)

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The round 27 game between Huddersfield Giants and Wakefield Trinity on 2 September 2022, finished 14-all after 80 minutes, which saw numerous drop goal attempts by both teams. This was the third time that Wakefield had been taken to extra time, whilst this was Huddersfield's second. Huddersfield eventually won the match 16–14, with a penalty goal from Will Pryce.[21]

Table

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1   St Helens (C, L) 27 21 0 6 674 374 +300 42 Advance to Semi-finals
2   Wigan Warriors 27 19 0 8 818 483 +335 38
3   Huddersfield Giants 27 17 1 9 613 497 +116 35 Advance to Elimination Finals
4   Catalans Dragons 27 16 0 11 539 513 +26 32
5   Leeds Rhinos 27 14 1 12 577 528 +49 29
6   Salford Red Devils 27 14 0 13 700 602 +98 28
7   Castleford Tigers 27 13 0 14 544 620 −76 26
8   Hull Kingston Rovers 27 12 0 15 498 608 −110 24
9   Hull FC 27 11 0 16 508 675 −167 22
10   Wakefield Trinity 27 10 0 17 497 648 −151 20
11   Warrington Wolves 27 9 0 18 568 664 −96 18
12   Toulouse Olympique (R) 27 5 0 22 421 745 −324 10 Relegated to the Championship
Source: [1]
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners; (R) Relegated

Play-offs

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Main article: Super League XXVII results § Play-offs
See also: 2022 Super League Grand Final

The top two teams in the regular season table (St Helens and Wigan Warriors) received byes to the semi-finals. The four teams who finish third to sixth contested the two elimination finals, with the winners of those two games moving on to the semi-finals.

Team bracket

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Eliminators Semi-finals Grand Final
2   Wigan Warriors 8
4   Catalans Dragons 10 5   Leeds Rhinos 20
5   Leeds Rhinos 20 5   Leeds Rhinos 12
1   St Helens 24
1   St Helens 19
3   Huddersfield Giants 0 6   Salford Red Devils 12
6   Salford Red Devils 28


Summary

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Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue Referee Attendance
Eliminators
  Catalans Dragons 14–20   Leeds Rhinos 9 September 2022, 20:00 Stade Gilbert Brutus James Child 9,514
  Huddersfield Giants 4–28   Salford Red Devils 10 September 2022, 13:00 John Smith's Stadium Robert Hicks 6,327
Semi-finals
  Wigan Warriors 12–20   Leeds Rhinos 16 September 2022, 20:00 DW Stadium Liam Moore 12,777
  St Helens 23–12   Salford Red Devils 17 September 2022, 13:00 Totally Wicked Stadium Chris Kendall 12,357
Grand Final
  St Helens 28–12   Leeds Rhinos 24 September 2022, 18:00 Old Trafford Liam Moore 60,783

Player statistics

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  • Updated to games played on 2 September 2022 (Round 27)

Discipline

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Attendances

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Rule changes

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The Rugby Football League (RFL) approved three rules changes for 2022. On 20 January 2022, The RFL confirmed that scrums will return to all competitions, including the Championship and League 1, having been suspended as part of the game's COVID-19 response in 2020 and 2021.[22] Scrums are only being reintroduced for errors (knock-on, forward pass or accidental offside) in the first four tackles of a set. Other cases, where previously a scrum would have been awarded, for example - ball into touch on the full, ball kicked or passed into touch, incorrect play the ball; will result in a handover.[23]

The ball steal law will revert to the 2020 rule where the ball can only be stolen in a one-on-one tackle and not during a multi-person tackle where the additional tacklers have peeled off the tackle before the steal. Finally, injured players will be required to leave the pitch for treatment, if possible, following complaints that stoppages for injury spoil the speed and flow of the game. On 28 January, the RFL introduced new laws for the 2022 season, including the "green card", whereas if play is stopped due to a player needing attention, they must then either be substituted, leave the field for a concussion test, or wait on the sideline for 2 minutes before returning.[24]

The green card is only shown to a player, if the team doctor enters the field of play, without being invited by the match official.

End-of-season awards

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The end of season awards took place on Tuesday 20 September, having originally being scheduled for the previous day but were moved as a mark of respect for the Queen's Funeral, which took place on Monday 19 September.

  Brodie Croft

  • Coach of the year winner:

  Matt Peet

Broadcasting

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In the first season of a new UK TV rights deal, Sky Sports remained the principal live broadcaster but for a reduced fee and now on a non-exclusive basis; Channel 4 picked up the rights to show eight regular-season and two play-off matches (not the Grand Final) in a deal confirmed in November 2021. This is the first live rights deal signed between Super League and a British free-to-air network. BBC Sport retain highlights rights.

The match on Saturday 12 February 2022 between Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves became the first Super League game to be shown live on British terrestrial television.

Round Match Date and time Broadcast method
1 St Helens v Catalans Dragons 10 February 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
Hull KR v Wigan Warriors 11 February 2022, 20:00
Leeds Rhinos v Warrington Wolves 12 February 2022, 12:30 Channel 4
Toulouse Olympique v Huddersfield Giants 12 February 2022, 19:00 Sky Sports
2 Warrington Wolves v Castleford Tigers 17 February 2022, 20:00
Wigan Warriors v Leeds Rhinos 18 February 2022, 20:00
Hull FC v St Helens 19 February 2022, 12:30 Channel 4
3 Leeds Rhinos v Catalans Dragons 24 February 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
Hull KR v Castleford Tigers 25 February 2022, 20:00
4 Wakefield Trinity v Leeds Rhinos 3 March 2022, 20:00
Warrington Wolves v Catalans Dragons 4 March 2022, 20:00
5 Leeds Rhinos v Hull FC 10 March 2022, 20:00
St Helens v Warrington Wolves 11 March 2022, 20:00
Huddersfield Giants v Castleford Tigers 12 March 2022, 15:15
Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors 12 March 2022, 17:30
6 Wigan Warriors v Castleford Tigers 17 March 2022, 20:00
Salford Red Devils v Leeds Rhinos 18 March 2022, 20:00
Warrington Wolves v Wakefield Trinity 19 March 2022, 12:30 Channel 4
7 Wigan Warriors v Hull FC 31 March 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
Leeds Rhinos v St Helens 1 April 2022, 20:00
8 Catalans Dragons v Toulouse Olympique 14 April 2022, 19:30
Hull KR v Hull FC 15 April 2022, 12:30
St Helens v Wigan Warriors 15 April 2022, 15:30
9
(Easter Monday) 		Castleford Tigers v Leeds Rhinos 18 April 2022, 15:00
Hull FC v Warrington Wolves 18 April 2022, 17:30
10 Castleford Tigers v St Helens 22 April 2022, 19:45
Wigan Warriors v Salford Red Devils 24 April 2022, 13:00 Channel 4
11 Wakefield Trinity v Huddersfield Giants 28 April 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
Warrington Wolves v Wigan Warriors 29 April 2022, 20:00
12 Huddersfield Giants v Wigan Warriors 12 May 2022, 20:00
St Helens v Hull FC 13 May 2022, 20:00
Catalans Dragons v Warrington Wolves 14 May 2022, 17:00
13 Warrington Wolves v St Helens 19 May 2022, 20:00
Salford Red Devils v Castleford Tigers 20 May 2022, 20:00
Hull KR v Catalans Dragons 21 May 2022, 12:30 Channel 4
14 Warrington Wolves v Leeds Rhinos 3 June 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
Castleford Tigers v Wigan Warriors 4 June 2022, 14:00 Channel 4
15 Salford Red Devils v Wigan Warriors 10 June 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
Catalans Dragons v Hull FC 11 June 2022, 17:00
16 St Helens v Leeds Rhinos 23 June 2022, 20:00
Warrington Wolves v Hull FC 24 June 2022, 18:00
Hull KR v Huddersfield Giants 26 June 2022, 15:15
17 Castleford Tigers v Huddersfield Giants 1 July 2022, 20:00
Catalans Dragons v St Helens 2 July 2022, 17:00
18
(Magic Weekend) 		Wakefield Trinity v Toulouse Olympique 9 July 2022, 14:30
St Helens v Wigan Warriors 9 July 2022 16:45
Leeds Rhinos v Castleford Tigers 9 July 2022, 19:00
Huddersfield Giants v Salford Red Devils 10 July 2022, 13:00
Catalans Dragons v Warrington Wolves 10 July 2022, 15:15
Hull KR v Hull FC 10 July 2022, 17:30
19 St Helens v Huddersfield Giants 15 July 2022, 20:00
Castleford Tigers v Warrington Wolves 16 July 2022, 15:00
20 Leeds Rhinos v Wigan Warriors 21 July 2022, 20:00
Hull FC v Castleford Tigers 22 July 2022, 20:00
21 Wigan Warriors v Hull KR 28 July 2022, 20:00
Castleford Tigers v Wakefield Trinity 29 July 2022, 20:00
22 Wigan Warriors v Warrington Wolves 5 August 2022, 20:00
St Helens v Castleford Tigers 6 August 2022, 13:00 Channel 4
23 Warrington Wolves v Toulouse Olympique 11 August 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
Hull KR v Leeds Rhinos 12 August 2022, 20:00
Salford Red Devils v Huddersfield Giants 13 August 2022, 13:00 Channel 4
24 Huddersfield Giants v Castleford Tigers 18 August 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
Hull FC v Wakefield Trinity 19 August 2022, 13:00
25 Leeds Rhinos v Huddersfield Giants 24 August 2022, 20:00
Toulouse Olympique v Catalans Dragons 25 August 2022, 19:30
Wigan Warriors v St Helens 26 August 2022, 20:00
26 (Bank Holiday Weekend) Castleford Tigers v Salford Red Devils 29 August 2022, 15:30
Catalans Dragons v Leeds Rhinos 29 August 2022, 18:00
27 Wigan Warriors v Catalans Dragons 2 September 2022, 20:00
Leeds Rhinos v Castleford Tigers 3 September 2022, 15:00
Eliminators Catalans Dragons v Leeds Rhinos 9 September 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
Huddersfield Giants v Salford Red Devils 10 September 2022, 13:00 Channel 4
Sky Sports
Semi-finals Wigan Warriors v Leeds Rhinos 16 September 2022, 20:00 Sky Sports
St Helens v Salford Red Devils 17 September 2022, 13:00 Channel 4
Sky Sports
Grand Final St Helens v Leeds Rhinos 24 September 2022, 18:00 Sky Sports
Channel 4 (Delay, Sat 1st Oct 11:30am)

References

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  1. ^ Shaw, Matthew (14 October 2021). "Super League start date 'confirmed' as Grand Final set to be moved forward". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  2. ^ Hafez, Shamoon (9 October 2021). "Saints beat Catalans for three in a row". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Toulouse win promotion to Super League". BBC Sport. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Bevan French breaks Super League record for most tries in a game by one player with seven for Wigan against Hull FC". Sky Sports. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  5. ^ "The Jungle (Wheldon Road)". castlefordtigers.com.
  6. ^ "Stade Gilbert Brutus". catalan dragons.com.
  7. ^ "Kirklees Stadium". johnsmithsstadium.com.
  8. ^ "KCOM Stadium". kcomstadium.com/.
  9. ^ "Craven Park, Hull". hullkr.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Headingley Rugby Stadium". therhinos.co.uk. 14 December 2016.
  11. ^ "AJ Bell Stadium". ajbellstadium.co.uk/.
  12. ^ "Totally Wicked Stadium". saintsrlfc.com.
  13. ^ "Belle Vue (Wakefield)". wakefieldtrinity.com.
  14. ^ "Halliwell Jones Stadium". halliwelljonesstadium.co.uk/.
  15. ^ "DW Stadium". dwstadium.com.
  16. ^ "Super League: Leeds Rhinos 20-20 Huddersfield Giants". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Super League: Wakefield Trinity 19-18 Hull FC". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Super League: Castleford Tigers 17-16 Catalans Dragons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Super League: Wakefield Trinity 12-13 St Helens". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Super League: Catalans Dragons 32-36 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Super League: Giants secure third with golden point win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  22. ^ "Scrums to return in all competitions for 2022". rugby-league.com. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  23. ^ Rule Changes for the 2022 season. Rugby Football League. 10 February 2021.
  24. ^ "new laws introduced for 2022 with green card included". rugby-league.com. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
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