UK Championship League/Finals : 2023

The 2023 season has concluded and we can look back on what transpired in both the league and finals series. 

League: Featherstone is a small town of 14,000 people but RL is the game there. It has a good on field reputation and was the favourite to be promoted. Toulouse is a city in France with 500,000 inhabitants but it isn't a RL hotbed. Still, it doesn't need to be a to support a team and also a strong promotion candidate. Beyond those two, it was hard to see another club moving up.

The league table reinforced the notion that only two clubs were seriously in the battle for promotion. Toulouse had dropped down from Super League and despite financial issues, was keen to return. Swinton and Keighley had come up from the lower level League 1 so their main ambition was to establish themselves at this higher level.

The top six are shaded in pale blue below, the Halifax Panthers a surprise omission. The two sides to go down as shaded pink, Keighley after one season and Newcastle after three seasons. Sadly, Newcastle won't be going down to the lower level but at best into a regional league. 

Finals: The two top clubs had a week off as a reward for their success. London came fifth but upset fourth side Sheffield 42-0. Bradford (third) as expected overcame York (sixth) 22-8 and the two winners went into the semi finals. 

Semi finals: The big shock was favourites Featherstone were knocked out by a lower finisher in the league. The scoreline of 26-36 doesn't show that a late rally by Fev gave the score some respectability. meanwhile Toulouse predictably won at home 38-20 against a decent Bradford outfit. 

Grand Final: Toulouse earned the right to play at home, being the higher placed in the league. That was an advantage but London were a team in form so this was going to be a tough encounter. Toulouse led 12-0 after the first quarter and 14-4 at the break. However, they were nilled in the second half and were run down by London.

Three away games through the finals series is a tough way to do it. That's what it took London to get promoted back to SL. Where to for Toulouse now? If it's financially able, another crack next year but now having to overcome Wakefield and Fev to do so.