[a] It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over the issue of payments to players.

The opposing team attempts to stop the attacking side scoring points by tackling the player carrying the ball and denying forward progress.

On occasion, where a clear try scoring opportunity has been thwarted by foul play, a penalty try may be awarded without the ball being grounded over the try line.

[12] The success of working class northern teams led to some compensating players who otherwise would be on their job and earning income on Saturdays.

who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to affluent southern teams who had other sources of income to sustain the amateur principle.

[15] In 1906, the Northern Union changed its rules, reducing teams from 15 to 13 a side and replacing the ruck formed after tackles with the play-the-ball.

By this point, rule changes meant the game organised by the RFL was distinct as a sport from its union cousin.

There, on 8 August 1907 the New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded at Bateman's Hotel in George Street.

[18] On 5 May 1954, 102,569 spectators watched the 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final replay at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, England, setting a new record for attendance at a rugby football match of either code.

In 1966, the International Board introduced a rule that a team in possession was allowed three play-the-balls and on the fourth tackle a scrum was to be formed.

The first sponsors, Joshua Tetley and John Player, entered the game for the 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season.

Television had an enormous impact on the sport of rugby league in the 1990s, when News Corporation paid for worldwide broadcasting rights.

In Australasia, the Super League war resulted in long and costly legal battles and changing loyalties, causing significant damage to the code in an extremely competitive sporting market.

The NRL has since become recognised as the sport's flagship competition and since that time has set record TV ratings and crowd figures.

[32] Since rugby union turned professional in the mid-1990s, it has increasingly borrowed techniques, tactics and even laws from rugby league, while high-profile players and coaches from the league game have increasingly gone on to success in the union code in those countries where both codes are popular (e.g. Andy Farrell, Jason Robinson and Henry Paul).

However, since 1996 European teams have been able to grant players specific squad numbers, which they keep without regard to the position they play, similarly to association football.

[37] Substitutes (generally referred to as "the bench") are allowed in the sport, and are typically used when a player gets tired or injured, although they can also be used tactically.

They are often the most creative and evasive players on the field, relying on running, kicking and handling skills, as well as tactics and set plays, to break the defensive line, instead of brute force.

Generally forwards play a more collision oriented game, making ground by pure strength, and tackling near the play-the-ball.

Countries that have contested are Australia, Cook Islands, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Lebanon, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, US and Wales.

The 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which was hosted by England during October and November 2022, staged the Men's, Women's and Wheelchair competitions together for the first time.

Rugby league is the dominant winter sport in the eastern Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland.

[48] In Australia, and indeed the rest of the region, the annual State of Origin series ranks among the most popular sporting events.

[51] In England, rugby league has traditionally been associated with the historic northern counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cumberland, where the game originated, especially in towns and cities along the M62 corridor.

[52][53][54] As of 2024[update], only two of the twelve Super League teams are based outside of these traditional counties: Catalans Dragons and London Broncos.

[60] The sport was unbanned after the Liberation of Paris in August 1944 and the collapse of the Vichy regime, although it was still actively marginalised by the French authorities until the 1990s.

[64] They have subsequently reached the 2007 Challenge Cup Final and made the playoffs of the 2008 Super League XIII season.

In 2019 The Wolfpack won promotion to the Super League, lasting only a few months before having to withdraw due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

Beginning in 2022, the Ottawa Aces were scheduled to join the English league pyramid, becoming the only Canadian team in the system after the Wolfpack were denied re-entry.

A number of additional rules are also added relating to the specific issues associated with a tag based game.