RFL Championship
Every champion of English rugby league's second tier since its 2003 launch as National League One (renamed the Championship in 2009). The title has been decided two different ways at different points in the competition's history — see the format note below.
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
22 seasons with a champion on record. Leigh have won the most titles (5).
Champions
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Salford | Leigh | Won 31-14 at Halton Stadium. Launched as "National League One"; renamed "Championship" from 2009. |
| 2004 | Leigh | Whitehaven | Won 32-16. |
| 2005 | Castleford | Whitehaven | Won 36-8. |
| 2006 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Widnes | Won 29-16 at Halliwell Jones Stadium. |
| 2007 | Castleford | Widnes | Won 42-10 at Headingley. |
| 2008 | Salford | Celtic Crusaders | Won 36-18 at Halton Stadium. |
| 2009 | Barrow | Halifax | Won 26-18 at Halliwell Jones Stadium. First season under the "Championship" name. |
| 2010 | Halifax | Featherstone | Won 23-22. |
| 2011 | Featherstone | Sheffield | Won 40-4. |
| 2012 | Sheffield | Featherstone | Won 20-16. |
| 2013 | Sheffield | Featherstone | Grand Final winner; exact score not found in available sources, so not stated here rather than guessed. |
| 2014 | Leigh | Featherstone | Won 36-12 at Headingley. |
| 2015 | Leigh | — | No Grand Final held this year — champion decided by finishing top of the table after 23 rounds (21-1-1 record). A separate "Million Pound Game" ran alongside as a Super League promotion playoff, not a Championship-title decider. |
| 2016 | Leigh | — | Again decided by top-of-table finish, no Grand Final. |
| 2017 | Hull Kingston Rovers | — | Decided by top of the post-split "Qualifiers" group table (39 points), no Grand Final. |
| 2018 | Toronto Wolfpack | — | Decided by top of the Qualifiers group table (5-0-2 record), no Grand Final. |
| 2019 | Toronto Wolfpack | Featherstone Rovers | Won 24-6 at Lamport Stadium, Toronto. Format reverted to a Grand Final this year; Toronto completed a "double" by also topping the table (League Leaders' Shield). |
| 2020 | Not held | — | Season cancelled outright due to COVID-19. No champion. |
| 2021 | Toulouse Olympique | Featherstone Rovers | Won 34-12 at Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse. |
| 2022 | Leigh | Batley | Won 44-12 at Leigh Sports Village. |
| 2023 | London Broncos | Toulouse Olympique | Won 18-14 at Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse. |
| 2024 | Wakefield Trinity | Toulouse Olympique | Won 36-0 at Belle Vue. |
| 2025 | Toulouse Olympique | York Knights | Won 10-8 at the LNER Community Stadium (decided by penalty goals, Joe Shorrocks converting all 5 attempts). Toulouse's first Championship title after losing back-to-back finals in 2023 and 2024. Independently re-verified by the assistant. |
Format changed twice
2003-2014 and 2019-2025: champion decided by a Grand Final playoff. 2015-2018: no Grand Final was held — the champion was simply whichever team finished top of the table (shown here with no runner-up, since none was contested). The separate "Million Pound Game" that ran in those years between 4th- and 5th-placed teams decided Super League promotion, not the Championship title. 2020 was cancelled outright (COVID-19), with no champion.
Sources
← All Rugby League competitions
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