The last season of promotion and relegation was in 2007 and from then on clubs had to apply for a licence to compete in Super League from 2009-2011.

A points system was used to decide which licence a club would be awarded based on the criteria they meet.

The full licences were given to: It was announced in 2013 that the RFL had chosen to scrap licensing and bring back promotion and relegation for 2015 which resulted in a major restructure of the British rugby league system.

It was also criticised as teams at the bottom end had potentially nothing to play for if they couldn't reach the play-offs and there is no threat of relegation which meant an increase in uncompetitive games.

Many clubs thought Wakefield Trinity Wildcats should have been relegated as they had struggled in Super League and had previously had financial difficulties and not developed or built a new stadium.