Championship and League One clubs - including Batley Bulldogs, Dewsbury Rams, Featherstone Rovers and Hunslet - agree delay to start of season

The Championship - which includes Batley Bulldogs, Dewsbury Rams and Featherstone Rovers - was due to begin on February 27/28, but will now be delayed for “several weeks” because of the public health situation, the Rugby Football League have confirmed.

The opening two rounds of the Challenge Cup were scheduled for March 6/7 and March 13/14, with League One kicking off on March 20/21.

League One clubs have backed a longer delay to the start of their campaign, which is now set to begin “later in the spring”.

Clubs outside Super League have not played since March last year.

The decision to delay the 2021 seasons was made at a meeting of clubs on Wednesday and announced today (Thursday).

The RFL last week asked clubs to pause pre-season training after the government announced its latest national lockdown.

Championship clubs have been cleared to return from Saturday, but initially only for ‘stage one plus’, which permits socially distanced, non-contact, training outdoors.

The intention is to move into ‘stage two’, with contact training permitted, from February 1.

League one clubs will be cleared to begin a similar staged process next month.

All lower divisions clubs will be required to satisfy the RFL they are able to meet strict conditions regarding testing and biosecurity.

Super League is still scheduled to start on March 11, but is also expected to be delayed.

An announcement over the return date for academy and scholarship programmes is due within the next week.

England Women’s scheduled return to training this weekend has been postponed by a week and further discussions will be held with Betfred Women’s Super League clubs about their pre-season training schedule.

The RFL say further details Championship and League One schedule, including the early rounds of the Challenge Cup, will be published this weekend.

RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer said: “We have been grateful to our clubs throughout the last 10 months for their responsible and constructive approach to such a challenging period for all and Wednesday’s meeting was another example of that.

“There remains a desire and determination, from the RFL as well as clubs, to get back on the field as soon as is safely possible. However there is also a recognition of the need to be responsible at this time.

“A staged return to pre-season training, after the short pause advised last week, followed by a staggered start to the Betfred Championship and League One seasons, represents the best way for us to combine this responsibility with other priorities of player welfare and the financial stability of our clubs.”

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