2011 USARL season

The 2011 USARL season was the inaugural season of the USA Rugby League (USARL). The league was formed in January 2011 as a breakaway competition from the American National Rugby League (AMNRL). The regular season kicked off on June 4 and ended on July 30; the Jacksonville Axemen won the minor premiership with the best regular season record. The first round of playoffs were played on August 13, 2011, with the New Haven Warriors and Philadelphia Fight winning the round. The league's Grand Final took place on August 27 between the Philadelphia Fight and the New Haven Warriors. Philadelphia won 28–26, receiving their first national championship.[1][2]

2011 USA Rugby League
Teams8
Premiers Philadelphia Fight (1st title)
Minor premiers Jacksonville Axemen (1st title)
Wooden spoon Oneida FC
Matches played35

Teams
USARL teams
Team Stadium City/Area Foundation Joined
Boston Thirteens Moakley Stadium Boston, Massachusetts 2009 2011
Jacksonville Axemen Hodges Stadium Jacksonville, Florida 2006 2011
New Haven Warriors Ken Strong Stadium New Haven, Connecticut 2006 2011
New Jersey Turnpike Titans Cochran Stadium Jersey City, New Jersey 2011 2011
Oneida FC Steinbrenner Stadium Boston, Massachusetts 2011 2011
Philadelphia Fight Garthwaite Stadium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1998 2011
Rhode Island Rebellion Classical High School Providence, Rhode Island 2011 2011
Washington DC Slayers Duke Ellington Field Washington, D.C. 2003 2011

Season table
2011 USARL season
# Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Jacksonville Axemen 87013348824614
2 Washington D.C. Slayers 870130214515714
3 Philadelphia Fight 860233512820712
4 New Haven Warriors 850329617212410
5 Rhode Island Rebellion 8305208198106
6 Boston Thirteens 8206114324−2104
7 New Jersey Turnpike Titans 8107134382−2482
8 Oneida FC 8107118404−2862

Ladder progression
  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 4.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 Jacksonville Axemen 24668101214
2 Washington D.C. Slayers 246810121214
3 Philadelphia Fight 24688101212
4 New Haven Warriors 024466810
5 Rhode Island Rebellion 00024446
6 Boston Thirteens 00000244
7 New Jersey Turnpike Titans 22222222
8 Oneida FC 00022222

Regular season

The inaugural USARL season opened with a pre-season rugby league nines tournament. Seven of the top-tier teams participated, with the Philadelphia Fight fielding two teams. Additionally, two developmental teams (the Orange County Outlaws and the Utah Avalanche) participated, along with a West Chester University student team and the visiting New Zealand Police invitational side.[3] The New Zealand Police won the tournament over the New Haven Warriors.[4]

For the regular season, each team played home and away against six teams once, and one team twice, in an eight-round home and away season. Teams qualified for the playoffs based on point differential, with a win counting for 2 points, a draw for 1, a loss for 0, and a forfeit for −2.[5] The Jacksonville Axemen won the minor premiers with the best season record.[6]

Round 1
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue
Jacksonville Axemen 48–10 New Haven Warriors June 4, 5:00 pm Hodges Stadium
Boston Thirteens 16–38 New Jersey Turnpike Titans June 4, 7:00 pm Charlestown Highschool Stadium
Rhode Island Rebellion 4–46 Philadelphia Fight June 4, 8:00 pm Classical Highschool Stadium
Oneida FC 10–54 Washington D.C. Slayers June 4, 9:00 pm Charlestown Highschool Stadium

Round 2
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue
New Jersey Turnpike Titans 22–30 Washington D.C. Slayers June 11 Lincoln Park
New Haven Warriors 36–28 Rhode Island Rebellion June 11, 3:00pm Ken Strong Stadium
Jacksonville Axemen 52–10 Boston Thirteens June 12, 9:00 am Hodges Stadium
Philadelphia Fight 104–0 Oneida FC June 11, 5:00pm A. A. Garthwaite Stadium

Round 3
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue
Oneida FC 10–54 Jacksonville Axemen June 18, 1:00pm MIT Steinbrenner Stadium
Washington D.C. Slayers 30–24 Rhode Island Rebellion June 18, 1:00pm Duke Ellington Field
Boston Thirteens 0–52 New Haven Warriors June 18, 3:00pm MIT Steinbrenner Stadium
Philadelphia Fight 30–22 New Jersey Turnpike Titans June 18, 5:00pm A. A. Garthwaite Stadium

Round 4
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue
Oneida FC 36–26 Boston Thirteens June 25, 1:00pm MIT Steinbrenner Stadium
Washington D.C. Slayers 28–16 New Haven Warriors June 25, 2:30pm Duke Ellington Field
Philadelphia Fight 14–12 Jacksonville Axemen June 25, 5:00pm A. A. Garthwaite Stadium
Rhode Island Rebellion 30–16 New Jersey Turnpike Titans June 25, 8:00pm Classical Highschool Stadium

Round 5
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue
New Jersey Turnpike Titans 6–62 Jacksonville Axemen July 9 TBD
Washington D.C. Slayers 24–13 Philadelphia Fight July 9, 2:30pm Duke Ellington Field
New Haven Warriors 60–12 Oneida FC July 9, 3:00pm Ken Strong Stadium
Rhode Island Rebellion 48–0 Boston Thirteens July 9, 8:00pm Classical Highschool Stadium

Round 6
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue
New Jersey Turnpike Titans 16–62 Washington D.C. Slayers July 16 New Jersey 7's Tournament
Boston Thirteens 32–22 Oneida FC July 16, 1:00pm MIT Steinbrenner Stadium
New Haven Warriors 22–28 Philadelphia Fight July 16, 3:00pm Ken Strong Stadium
Jacksonville Axemen 30–4 Rhode Island Rebellion July 16, 5:00pm Hodges Stadium

Round 7
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue
Boston Thirteens 32–18 Oneida FC July 23, 1:00pm MIT Steinbrenner Stadium
Washington D.C. Slayers 16–36 Jacksonville Axemen July 23, 2:30pm Duke Ellington Field
Philadelphia Fight 84–4 New Jersey Turnpike Titans July 23, 5:00pm A. A. Garthwaite Stadium
Rhode Island Rebellion 18–32 New Haven Warriors July 23, 8:00pm Classical Highschool Stadium

Round 8
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue
Oneida FC 8–46 Rhode Island Rebellion July 30, 1:00pm MIT Steinbrenner Stadium
New Haven Warriors 68–10 New Jersey Turnpike Titans July 30, 3:00pm Ken Strong Stadium
Boston Thirteens 8–58 Washington D.C. Slayers July 30, 3:00pm MIT Steinbrenner Stadium
Jacksonville Axemen 40–16 Philadelphia Fight July 30, 5:00pm Hodges Stadium

Playoffs

The playoffs consist of a two-round single-elimination tournament in August. The season's top four teams competed in a semi-final round, with the two winners going on to the Championship Final. In the first round on August 13, the first-place Jacksonville Axemen hosted fourth-place New Haven Warriors at Hodges Stadium, and the second-place Washington D.C. Slayers hosted the third-place Philadelphia Fight at Duke Ellington Field. The games were won by New Haven and Philadelphia, who went on to the inaugural Grand Final on August 27.[7] Philadelphia defeated New Haven 28–26, winning their first ever national championship.[1]

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time (Local) Venue Referee Crowd
SEMI-FINALS
Jacksonville Axemen 4–13 New Haven Warriors August 13, 2011[8] Hodges Stadium
Washington D.C. Slayers 18–32 Philadelphia Fight August 13, 2011[9] Duke Ellington Field
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Philadelphia Fight 28–26 New Haven Warriors August 28, 2011 A. A. Garthwaite Stadium

References
  1. Daniel Andruczyk (August 28, 2011). "It's Hard to Keep a Game of Rugby League Down". rugbyleagueinternationalscores.com. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  2. "USARL Announce Board of Directors, 2011 Schedule, Website". fightrugby.com. February 17, 2011. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-29. Retrieved 2011-06-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-06-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "USARL Constitution, Teams, Entry Qualifications Announced" (PDF). usarugbyleague.com. USA Rugby League. February 17, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 1, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  6. "Axemen slice through Philly for 1st". usarugbyleague.com. USA Rugby League. August 1, 2011. Archived from the original on October 17, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  7. "Warriors fight to the finish!". usarugbyleague.com. USA Rugby League. August 14, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-08-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-08-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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