Although RFL chairman Maurice Lindsay had pushed for a more modern top-flight setup for some time, his previous efforts had only resulted in a tepid reform during the 1994 offseason.

[4] In particular, Leeds feared scheduling conflicts with the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, but they were quickly won over by the financial opportunities promised by the Murdoch deal.

[5] The English game's new era officially began on 8 April 1995, when RFL clubs voted to approve the £77 million package negotiated with News to help the transition.

Their management was entrusted to veteran coach Jacques Fouroux, who had recently founded a summer competition of his own called France Rugby League.

[12] A Cardiff side was also slated to begin play in the second tier with an eye on promotion (a hastily thrown together Welsh club did take the field, but never reached those heights).

The reform immediately drew the opposition of the fanbases involved in the planned mergers,[17] as well as a group of MPs[18] and the Rugby League Professional Players' Association.

[23] Wigan president Jack Robinson even threatened an unlikely merger with the sport's other powerhouse St Helens, although this was primarily a political powerplay to put pressure on the city as he was looking for subsidies to upgrade his club's ground.

[27] The mergers were abandoned but, rather than enlarge the Superleague contingent as speculated, it was decided to trim it further to twelve teams: the capital cities of Paris and London, plus the top ten of the 1994–95 First Division campaign.

[31] Salford, who did not make the cut, put in a bid to convince the RFL to let them represent Manchester in place of higher ranked Oldham, but ultimately chose to accept the new plan for the good of the game.

[29][33][34] It was summarily dismissed at the end of May,[35] but Widnes and Keighley kept dragging their feet to sign the Super League agreement, demanding formal guarantees that a promotion and relegation system be preserved.

[48] Despite air traffic disruptions that forced members of the British press to seek alternate means of transport, the Super League received ample plaudits for its opener,[49] with PSG president Jacques Fouroux declaring that night: "Ninety eight per cent of them [the crowd] were new to the game, but they understood it right away.

[31][43] Workington Town were the overwhelming favourites for the wooden spoon,[31][43][51] and failed to beat the odds, finishing at the bottom of the standings for the second successive season.