1990–91 Rugby Football League season

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1990–91 Rugby Football League season
League
Nottingham City

The 1990–91

Championship, Premiership Trophy and Silk Cut Challenge Cup
.

Season summary

Overview

Summary

amphetamines, and was the first time a failed drugs test involving a rugby league player had been made public since random testing had been introduced by the RFL in 1987.[1] He received a two-year suspension,[2] but the ban was lifted following an appeal.[3]

Due to a fixture backlog, Wigan, who were challenging for the league championship title, were forced to play their final eight league games within 19 days, a task described as "Mission Impossible" by coach John Monie.[4] The club managed to win seven out of eight games to retain the title.

In April 1991, clubs approved a new three division format to be used from the start of the 1991–92 season. The Championship would remain a 14 team league, while the Second Division would consist of eight teams and the new Third Division would have 14 teams.[5]

League tables

Sheffield Eagles and Rochdale Hornets
, to date this is Rochdale Hornets's last appearance in the top flight.

First Division

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Wigan (C) 26 20 2 4 652 313 +339 42 Qualification for Premiership first round
2 Widnes 26 20 0 6 635 340 +295 40
3 Hull F.C. 26 17 0 9 513 367 +146 34
4 Castleford 26 17 0 9 578 442 +136 34
5 Leeds 26 14 2 10 602 448 +154 30
6 St Helens 26 14 1 11 628 533 +95 29
7 Bradford Northern 26 13 1 12 434 492 −58 27
8 Featherstone Rovers 26 12 1 13 533 592 −59 25
9 Warrington 26 10 2 14 404 436 −32 22
10 Wakefield Trinity 26 10 2 14 356 409 −53 22
11 Hull Kingston Rovers 26 9 3 14 452 615 −163 21
12 Oldham (R) 26 10 0 16 481 562 −81 20 Relegated to Second Division
13 Sheffield Eagles (R) 26 7 2 17 459 583 −124 16
14 Rochdale Hornets (R) 26 1 0 25 317 912 −595 2
Source: [6]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Second Division

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Salford (C, P) 28 26 1 1 856 219 +637 53 Promoted to First Division
Qualified for Divisional Premiership first round
2 Halifax (P) 28 24 0 4 941 311 +630 48
3 Swinton (P) 28 21 2 5 523 370 +153 44
4 Ryedale-York 28 20 2 6 559 294 +265 42 Qualified for Divisional Premiership first round
5 Leigh 28 18 1 9 698 372 +326 37
6 Workington Town 28 18 1 9 497 323 +174 37
7 Fulham 28 17 2 9 450 338 +112 36
8 Carlisle 28 16 2 10 613 425 +188 34
9 Doncaster (R) 28 16 0 12 507 434 +73 32 Relegated to Third Division
10 Hunslet (R) 28 13 2 13 519 438 +81 28
11 Huddersfield (R) 28 13 1 14 493 477 +16 27
12 Whitehaven (R) 28 13 0 15 412 592 −180 26
13 Keighley (R) 28 12 0 16 456 588 −132 24
14 Dewsbury (R) 28 10 1 17 410 455 −45 21
15 Trafford Borough (R) 28 10 0 18 508 618 −110 20
16 Batley (R) 28 10 0 18 337 466 −129 20
17 Barrow (R) 28 8 2 18 415 705 −290 18
18 Chorley Borough (R) 28 7 1 20 388 721 −333 15
19 Bramley (R) 28 7 1 20 379 726 −347 15
20 Runcorn Highfield 28 3 1 24 351 779 −428 7
21 Nottingham City (R) 28 2 0 26 284 945 −661 4
Source: [6]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Kangaroo Tour

Main article: 1990 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France

The months of October and November also saw the appearance of the

Great Britain (won 2–1 by Australia), The Kangaroos played and won matches against 8 Championship teams (St Helens, Wakefield Trinity, Wigan, Leeds, Warrington, Castleford, Hull and Widnes), 1 Second Division side (Halifax) and one county side (Cumbria). The team was coached by 1973 tourist and 1978 tour captain Bob Fulton and was captained by Mal Meninga
who was making his third Kangaroo Tour as a player.

Cronulla-Sutherland outside back Andrew Ettingshausen
was the leading try scorer with 15 including hat-tricks against St Helens in the tour opener and Wigan a week later.

Great Britain's win in the first test at Wembley was the Lions first test win on home soil over Australia since 5 November 1978. It was the Kangaroos only loss of the tour.

game Date Result Venue Attendance
1 7 October
Australia def. St Helens
34–4		 Knowsley Road, St Helens 15,219
2 10 October
Australia def. Wakefield Trinity
36–18		 Belle Vue, Wakefield 7,724
3 14 October
Australia def. Wigan
34–6		 Central Park, Wigan 24,814
4 17 October
Australia def. Cumbria Cumbria
42–10		 Derwent Park, Workington 6,750
5 21 October
Australia def. Leeds
22–10		 Headingley, Leeds 16,037
6 27 October  Great Britain def.  Australia 19–12 Wembley Stadium, London 54,569
7 31 October
Australia def. Warrington
26–6		 Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington 10,200
8 4 November
Australia def. Castleford
28–8		 Wheldon Road, Castleford 9,033
9 6 November
Halifax
36–18		 Thrum Hall, Halifax 8,730
10 10 November  Australia def.  Great Britain 14–10 Old Trafford, Manchester 46,615
11 14 November
Australia def. Hull F.C.
34–4		 The Boulevard, Hull 13,081
12 18 November
Australia def. Widnes
15–8
Naughton Park, Widnes
 14,666
13 24 November  Australia def.  Great Britain 14–0 Elland Road, Leeds 32,500

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-356-17852-3
    .
  2. ProQuest 187070161
    .
  3. ^ Macklin, Keith (17 April 1991). "Ban on Tuffs removed after appeal". The Times. No. 63995. p. 40.
  4. ^ "1990-2 Mission Impossible". Wigan Warriors. 25 April 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  5. ProQuest 187316602
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7472-7817-7
    .

Sources
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