Leigh Centurions will begin their quest to make an immediate return to Super League against newly-promoted Toronto Wolfpack, in the standout game of the opening round of the 2018 Championship season.
Leigh, relegated to the Championship following their defeat in the Million Pound Game last month, will take on the world’s first-ever transatlantic professional sports team at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday February 5. The Championship season will kick off two days earlier on Friday 2nd February, when Dewsbury Rams host Sheffield Eagles at the Tetley’s Stadium.
Barrow who won promotion to the Championship with a hard fought victory in the League 1 play-off final over Whitehaven, will begin life in the 2018 Championship with a trip to the London Broncos and will then welcome the Toronto in their first home game of the season a week later.
Swinton Lions will travel to France to take on Toulouse Olympique for their first game of the season, whilst Rochdale Hornets take on Batley Bulldogs and Featherstone Rovers will hope to begin their 2018 campaign with a win at home when they take on fellow 2017 season high flyers Halifax.
Newly-promoted Toronto will play their first eleven games of the 2018 season away from home,with Championship clubs not travelling to play a league fixture at the Lamport Stadium in Toronto until the middle of the season.
Each team will play 23 games in the regular season, home and away against the other 11 clubs and following the success of the 2017 Summer Bash, which saw record crowds travel to Blackpool, all clubs will return to Bloomfield Road over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May. Sky Sports will once again screen all six matches from the Summer Bash at Blackpool.
The full fixture list can be seen here.
