2014 USARL season

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2014 USA Rugby League
Teams 11
Premiers Philadelphia colours.svg Philadelphia Fight (3rd title)

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.

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
Ipswich Colours.svg
Boston Thirteens Boston  Massachusetts MIT Steinbrenner Stadium 2009 2011
File:North Queensland colours.svg
Brooklyn Kings Brooklyn  New York Midwood Athletic Complex 2014 2014
RI Rebellion colors.png
Rhode Island Rebellion Providence  Rhode Island Classical High School 2011 2011
North Atlantic Division
Colors Club City State Stadium Foundation Joined
16px
Baltimore Blues Baltimore  Maryland N/A 2012 2012
Fairfax Eagles colors.svg
Northern Virginia Eagles Manassas  Virginia Grizzly Sports Complex 2007 2014
Philadelphia colours.svg
Philadelphia Fight Conshohocken  Pennsylvania A. A. Garthwaite Stadium 1998 2011
St. George colours.svg
Washington DC Slayers Washington  Washington, D.C. Duke Ellington Field 2003 2011
South Conference
Colors Club City State Stadium Foundation Joined
File:Rhinoscolours.svg
Atlanta Rhinos Atlanta  Georgia Atlanta Silverbacks Park 2014 2014
Wests Panthers Colours.svg
Central Florida Warriors DeLand  Florida Spec Martin Stadium 2014 2014
Jacksonville colors.svg
Jacksonville Axemen Jacksonville  Florida Hodges Stadium 2006 2011
Central Comets colours.svg
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
RI Rebellion colors.png Rhode Island Rebellion 26 – 42 Ipswich Colours.svg Boston Thirteens August 2 Classical High School
Philadelphia colours.svg Philadelphia Fight 76 – 0 St. George colours.svg Washington D.C. Slayers August 2 A. A. Garthwaite Stadium
South Conference Playoffs
Jacksonville colors.svg Jacksonville Axemen 56 – 4 Tampa Mayhem July 26 Hodges Stadium
Central Florida Warriors 42 – 26 File:Rhinoscolours.svg Atlanta Rhinos July 26 Spec Martin Stadium
Conference Championships
Philadelphia colours.svg Philadelphia Fight 52 – 26 Ipswich Colours.svg Boston Thirteens August 9 A. A. Garthwaite Stadium
Jacksonville colors.svg Jacksonville Axemen 40 - 12 Central Florida Warriors August 2 Hodges Stadium
Championship Final
Jacksonville colors.svg Jacksonville Axemen 18 – 30 Philadelphia colours.svg Philadelphia Fight August 23 Hodges Stadium

References