2014 USARL season

The 2014 USARL season was the fourth season of the USA Rugby League competition in the United States. It began on Saturday, May 31, and concluded with the Championship Final on Saturday, August 23. The Philadelphia Fight capped their first perfect season by defeating the Jacksonville Axemen 30-18 in Championship Final, claiming their third USARL Championship.

2014 USA Rugby League
Teams11
Premiers Philadelphia Fight (3rd title)
Minor premiers Philadelphia Fight (2nd title)

Teams

This season saw significant changes to the number of teams competing, as well as the structure of the competition.

In the wake of failed unification negotiations with the AMNRL in early 2014, it was announced at the USARL February 16 Annual General Meeting that the competition would be expanded by four teams: Brooklyn, Central Florida, Atlanta,[1] and Tampa Bay. The competition would be split into two conferences (North and South) to accommodate expansion and reduce operating costs. Furthermore, the North Conference would be split into two divisions: North East and North Atlantic.

The Northern Virginia Eagles withdrew from the AMNRL and joined the USARL.[2] They played in the new North Atlantic Division.

North Conference
North East Division
Colors Club City State Stadium Foundation Joined
Boston Thirteens Boston  Massachusetts MIT Steinbrenner Stadium 2009 2011
Brooklyn Kings Brooklyn  New York Midwood Athletic Complex 2014 2014
Rhode Island Rebellion Providence  Rhode Island Classical High School 2011 2011
North Atlantic Division
Colors Club City State Stadium Foundation Joined
Baltimore Blues Baltimore  Maryland N/A 2012 2012
Northern Virginia Eagles Manassas  Virginia Grizzly Sports Complex 2007 2014
Philadelphia Fight Conshohocken  Pennsylvania A. A. Garthwaite Stadium 1998 2011
Washington DC Slayers Washington  Washington Duke Ellington Field 2003 2011
South Conference
Colors Club City State Stadium Foundation Joined
Atlanta Rhinos Atlanta  Georgia Atlanta Silverbacks Park 2014 2014
Central Florida Warriors DeLand  Florida Spec Martin Stadium 2014 2014
Jacksonville Axemen Jacksonville  Florida Hodges Stadium 2006 2011
Tampa Mayhem Tampa Bay  Florida Larry Sanders Field 2014 2014

Regular season

The South Conference played a double round-robin schedule. The North Conference (except Baltimore) played 7 games per team. A win was worth 2 points, a draw worth 1 point, and a loss worth 0 points. There were no bonus points for number of tries or close losses.[3]

Playoffs

To accommodate the new conference and division structure, the USARL created a new playoff structure for 2014. In the South Conference, all four teams automatically qualified for the South Conference Playoffs. The teams with the best and worst records played each other, as did the teams with the second- and third-best records. The winners played in the South Conference Championship. In the North Conference, the teams with the first- and second-best record in each division played each other in the North Conference Playoffs. The winners played in the North Conference Championship. The winners of the Conference Championships met in the Championship Final.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date Venue Referee Crowd
North Conference Playoffs
Rhode Island Rebellion 26 – 42 Boston Thirteens August 2 Classical High School
Philadelphia Fight 76 – 0 Washington D.C. Slayers August 2 A. A. Garthwaite Stadium
South Conference Playoffs
Jacksonville Axemen 56 – 4 Tampa Mayhem July 26 Hodges Stadium
Central Florida Warriors 42 – 26 Atlanta Rhinos July 26 Spec Martin Stadium
Conference Championships
Philadelphia Fight 52 – 26 Boston Thirteens August 9 A. A. Garthwaite Stadium
Jacksonville Axemen 40 - 12 Central Florida Warriors August 2 Hodges Stadium
Championship Final
Jacksonville Axemen 18 – 30 Philadelphia Fight August 23 Hodges Stadium

References

  1. http://www1.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12211/9158872/super-league-leeds-rhinos-announce-partnership-with-atlanta-in-usa
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2014-03-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2014-09-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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