Rugby Leaguer & League Express
Encyclopedia
Rugby Leaguer & League Express is a weekly newspaper published every Monday in the United Kingdom
. Other rugby league titles published by League Publications Ltd include the monthly magazine 'Rugby League World
' and the annual 'Gillette Rugby League Yearbook'.
It features match reports and pictures from every game played in the engage Super League
, Co-operative National Leagues One and Two
, and the Australian National Rugby League
(NRL). Coverage of the amateur game is also included, along with local and international rugby league related news.
At the start of the 1993/4 season Martyn Sadler became the Managing Editor of League Express. LPL decided to expand its production with a new title - League Express Weekend - edited by Tim Butcher and published each Friday during the season. In the years that followed, the Friday newspaper changed its title to Rugby League Weekend, Super League Week, and then Total Rugby League.
At the end of the 2000 season League Publications Limited decided to convert its Total Rugby League newspaper into an online publication, TotalRL.com, which launched on 1 March 2001 and became one of the world's most popular rugby league sites.
In 2008, the Albert Goldthorpe Medal
, named after Albert Goldthorpe
, was created by the newspaper to honour the leading players in Super League
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Other rugby league titles published by League Publications Ltd include the monthly magazine 'Rugby League World
Rugby League World
Rugby League World is a dedicated rugby league magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. Other rugby league titles published by League Publications Ltd include the weekly newspaper Rugby Leaguer & League Express and the annual Gillette Rugby League Yearbook.-History:Rugby League World began...
' and the annual 'Gillette Rugby League Yearbook'.
It features match reports and pictures from every game played in the engage Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
, Co-operative National Leagues One and Two
Rugby League National Leagues
The Championship, known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group, is a professional rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. It is currently contested by ten teams from England. It acts as Europe's second-tier competition below the Super League, and has...
, and the Australian National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
(NRL). Coverage of the amateur game is also included, along with local and international rugby league related news.
History
The current incarnation of this publication is a merger of two previously existing titles, 'Rugby Leaguer' which can trace its origins back to the 1940s, and 'League Express', which first appeared on Monday 10 September 1990.League Express
In 1990, Martyn Sadler (Chairman) and Tim Butcher (Managing Director) believed that limited coverage of rugby league every Monday morning in the national newspapers had opened a niche market for a specialist rugby league newspaper to be published every Monday. The very first edition of League Express, edited by Mike Rylance, appeared on 10 September 1990. The first six editions of League Express were printed by the Yorkshire Weekly Newspaper Group at their Wakefield printing press, before production was transferred to Bradford, to the Telegraph and Argus press.At the start of the 1993/4 season Martyn Sadler became the Managing Editor of League Express. LPL decided to expand its production with a new title - League Express Weekend - edited by Tim Butcher and published each Friday during the season. In the years that followed, the Friday newspaper changed its title to Rugby League Weekend, Super League Week, and then Total Rugby League.
At the end of the 2000 season League Publications Limited decided to convert its Total Rugby League newspaper into an online publication, TotalRL.com, which launched on 1 March 2001 and became one of the world's most popular rugby league sites.
Rugby Leaguer & League Express
League Express merged with Rugby Leaguer in May 2002 when the publishers of League Express, League Publications Ltd, also acquired the Rugby Leaguer title. In May 2002, League Publications Limited acquired the 'Rugby Leaguer' newspaper and merged it with League Express to create Rugby Leaguer & League Express.In 2008, the Albert Goldthorpe Medal
Albert Goldthorpe Medal
The Albert Goldthorpe Medal is an award that has been created by Rugby Leaguer & League Express to honour the leading players in Super League and to honour Albert Goldthorpe who was English rugby league's first superstar at the turn of the 20th century....
, named after Albert Goldthorpe
Albert Goldthorpe
Albert Goldthorpe was an English rugby footballer from the period around 1895's schism in English rugby, which led to the formation of rugby league football around the turn of the century.One of five brothers , Goldthorpe made his first...
, was created by the newspaper to honour the leading players in Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
.