The 2016 USA Rugby League season was the sixth season of the USA Rugby League National Premiership competition, and its second as the undisputed top-level rugby league competition in the United States. Fourteen teams competed for the National Championship. The season began on Saturday, June 4, and concluded with the Championship Final on Saturday, August 27, in Boston. The Philadelphia Fight won their fourth USARL Championship, defeating the Jacksonville Axemen 42-20.

2016 USARL Season
LeagueUSA Rugby League
Duration8 rounds (followed by 4 rounds of playoffs)
Teams14
2016 season
ChampionsPhiladelphia Fight

Teams

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The Connecticut Wildcats folded after the 2015 season, and were replaced by the White Plains Wombats

North Conference
Northeast Division
Colors Club City State Stadium Foundation Joined
  Boston Thirteens Boston   Massachusetts Nickerson Field 2009 2011
  Brooklyn Kings Brooklyn   New York Midwood Athletic Complex 2014 2014
  New York Knights New York City   New York The Castle Pier 40 2001 2015
  Rhode Island Rebellion Providence   Rhode Island Classical High School 2011 2011
White Plains Wombats White Plains   New York SUNY Purchase College 2016 2016
Mid-Atlantic Division
Colors Club City State Stadium Foundation Joined
  Bucks County Sharks Levittown   Pennsylvania Falls Township Community Park 1998 2015
  D.C. Slayers Washington   Washington Duke Ellington Field 2003 2011
  Delaware Black Foxes Wilmington   Delaware Eden Park Stadium 2015 2015
  Northern Virginia Eagles Manassas   Virginia Grizzly Sports Complex 2007 2014
  Philadelphia Fight Conshohocken   Pennsylvania A. A. Garthwaite Stadium 1998 2011
South Conference
Colors Club City State Stadium Foundation Joined
  Atlanta Rhinos Atlanta   Georgia Atlanta Silverbacks Park 2014 2014
  Central Florida Warriors DeLand   Florida Spec Martin Stadium 2014 2014
  Jacksonville Axemen Jacksonville   Florida Hodges Stadium 2006 2011
  Tampa Mayhem Tampa Bay   Florida Larry Sanders Field 2014 2014

Regular season

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Teams in the South Conference played 6 games on a double round-robin schedule. Teams in the North Conference played 8 games, primarily within their own division. A win was worth 2 points, a draw worth 1 point, and a loss worth 0 points. There were no bonus points for number of tries or close losses.[1]

Legend
Qualified to Playoffs Round 2
Qualified to Playoffs Round 1

Final regular-season standings.

Week 1

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Home Score Away Match information
Date and time (Local) Venue
  Bucks County Sharks 6-66 White Plains Wombats 4 Jun 2016, 1:00PM Falls Township Park
  D.C. Slayers 0-72   Philadelphia Fight 4 Jun 2016, 2:00PM Duke Ellington Field
  Northern Virginia Eagles 34-22   Delaware Black Foxes 4 Jun 2016, 4:00PM Grizzly Sports Complex
  Central Florida Warriors 28-28   Atlanta Rhinos 4 Jun 2016, 6:00PM Spec Mart Stadium
  Boston Thirteens 58-20   Rhode Island Rebellion 4 Jun 2016, 7:00PM Nickerson Field
  Brooklyn Kings 24-26   New York Knights 5 Jun 2016, 6:00PM Bushwick Inlet Park

Week 2

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Home Score Away Match information
Date and time (Local) Venue
  Bucks County Sharks 6-96   Delaware Black Foxes 11 Jun 2016, 1:00PM Falls Township Park
  D.C. Slayers 12-34   Brooklyn Kings 11 Jun 2016, 3:30PM Duke Ellington Field
  Northern Virginia Eagles 42-24   Boston Thirteens 11 Jun 2016, 4:00PM Grizzly Sports Complex
  Philadelphia Fight 60-6 White Plains Wombats 11 Jun 2016, 5:00PM A.A. Garthwaite Stadium
  Rhode Island Rebellion 10-46   New York Knights 11 Jun 2016, 5:00PM Brown University
  Atlanta Rhinos 22-32   Jacksonville Axemen 11 Jun 2016, 5:00PM Silverback Stadium
  Tampa Mayhem 24-16   Central Florida Warriors 11 Jun 2016, 5:00PM Tampa Catholic High School

Week 3

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Home Score Away Match information
Date and time (Local) Venue
White Plains Wombats 90-20   D.C. Slayers 18 Jun 2016, 1:00PM SUNY Purchase College
  Rhode Island Rebellion 32-0   Bucks County Sharks 18 Jun 2016, 5:00PM Brown University
  Jacksonville Axemen 32-0   Tampa Mayhem 18 Jun 2016, 5:00PM Hodges Stadium
  New York Knights 42-6   Boston Thirteens 18 Jun 2016, 6:00PM Randalls Island
  Delaware Black Foxes 18-68   Philadelphia Fight 18 Jun 2016, 8:00PM Nickerson Field
  Brooklyn Kings 48-20   Northern Virginia Eagles 19 Jun 2016, 6:00PM Bushwick Inlet Park

Week 4

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Home Score Away Match information
Date and time (Local) Venue
  Bucks County Sharks 48-52   D.C. Slayers 25 Jun 2016, 1:00PM Falls Township Park
  Philadelphia Fight 68-0   Northern Virginia Eagles 25 Jun 2016, 5:00PM A.A. Garthwaite Stadium
  Atlanta Rhinos 30-58   Tampa Mayhem 25 Jun 2016, 5:00PM Silverback Stadium
  Central Florida Warriors 12-32   Jacksonville Axemen 25 Jun 2016, 6:00PM Spec Mart Stadium
  New York Knights 82-24   Delaware Black Foxes 25 Jun 2016, 6:00PM Pier 40
  Boston Thirteens 32-6 White Plains Wombats 25 Jun 2016, 7:00PM Nickerson Field
  Brooklyn Kings 38-28   Rhode Island Rebellion 26 Jun 2016, 6:00PM Bushwick Inlet Park

Week 5

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Home Score Away Match information
Date and time (Local) Venue
White Plains Wombats 40-28   Rhode Island Rebellion 9 Jul 2016, 12:00PM SUNY Purchase College
  Northern Virginia Eagles 74-18   D.C. Slayers 9 Jul 2016, 12:00PM Grizzly Sports Complex
  Philadelphia Fight 30-22   New York Knights 9 Jul 2016, 5:00PM A.A. Garthwaite Stadium
  Jacksonville Axemen 48-6   Atlanta Rhinos 9 Jul 2016, 5:00PM Hodges Stadium
  Central Florida Warriors 24-58   Tampa Mayhem 9 Jul 2016, 6:00PM Spec Mart Stadium
  Delaware Black Foxes 64-6   Bucks County Sharks 9 Jul 2016, 8:00PM Eden Park Stadium
  Brooklyn Kings 18-50   Boston Thirteens 10 Jul 2016, 6:00PM Bushwick Inlet Park

Week 6

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Home Score Away Match information
Date and time (Local) Venue
  New York Knights 52-16   Rhode Island Rebellion 16 Jul 2016
  Bucks County Sharks 0-70   Northern Virginia Eagles 16 Jul 2016, 1:00PM Falls Township Park
  D.C. Slayers 24-70   Delaware Black Foxes 16 Jul 2016, 2:00PM Duke Ellington Field
White Plains Wombats 50-46   Brooklyn Kings 16 Jul 2016, 3:30PM SUNY Purchase College
  Tampa Mayhem 6-19   Jacksonville Axemen 16 Jul 2016, 5:00PM Tampa Catholic High School
  Atlanta Rhinos 44-22   Central Florida Warriors 16 Jul 2016, 5:00PM Silverback Stadium
  Boston Thirteens 16-22   Philadelphia Fight 16 Jul 2016, 7:00PM Nickerson Field

Week 7

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Home Score Away Match information
Date and time (Local) Venue
  Boston Thirteens 32-0   D.C. Slayers 23 Jul 2016 Nickerson Field
  Delaware Black Foxes 50-30   Northern Virginia Eagles 23 Jul 2016, 11:00AM Eden Park Stadium
White Plains Wombats 12-62   New York Knights 23 Jul 2016, 12:00PM SUNY Purchase College
  Philadelphia Fight 48-0   Bucks County Sharks 23 Jul 2016, 5:00PM A.A. Garthwaite Stadium
  Rhode Island Rebellion 56-62   Brooklyn Kings 23 Jul 2016, 5:00PM Brown University

Week 8

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Home Score Away Match information
Date and time (Local) Venue
  New York Knights 22-20   Brooklyn Kings 30 Jul 2016
  D.C. Slayers 30-20   Bucks County Sharks 30 Jul 2016, 2:00PM Duke Ellington Field
  Northern Virginia Eagles 10-16   Philadelphia Fight 30 Jul 2016, 4:00PM Grizzly Sports Complex
  Tampa Mayhem 34-40   Atlanta Rhinos 30 Jul 2016, 5:00PM Tampa Catholic High School
  Jacksonville Axemen 48-12   Central Florida Warriors 30 Jul 2016, 5:00PM Hodges Stadium
  Rhode Island Rebellion 0-106   Boston Thirteens 30 Jul 2016, 5:00PM Brown University
  Delaware Black Foxes 46-16 White Plains Wombats 30 Jul 2016, 8:00PM Eden Park Stadium

Playoffs

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In the South Conference, the teams with the best and worst records, and the second- and third-best records, played each other in the South Conference Semi-Finals. The winners met in the South Conference Final. In the North Conference, the teams with the second-and third-best records in each division played each other in the North Conference Division Semi-Finals. The winners played the teams with the best records in their respective divisions in the North Conference Divisional Finals. The Winners of the Divisional Finals played in the North Conference Final. The winners of the Conference Finals met in the Championship Final.

Round 1

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Home Score Away Match Information
Date Venue
North Conference Divisional Semi-Finals
  Boston Thirteens 64 - 40   Brooklyn Kings August 6
  Delaware Black Foxes 24-22   Northern Virginia Eagles August 6
South Conference Semi-Finals
  Jacksonville Axemen 38-14   Central Florida Warriors August 6
  Tampa Mayhem 26-16   Atlanta Rhinos August 6

Round 2

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Home Score Away Match Information
Date Venue
North Conference Divisional Finals
  New York Knights 12-19   Boston Thirteens August 13
  Philadelphia Fight 76-6   Delaware Black Foxes August 13

Conference finals

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Home Score Away Match Information
Date Venue
North Championship[2]
  Boston Thirteens 24 - 33   Philadelphia Fight August 20
South Championship
  Jacksonville Axemen 38-28   Atlanta Rhinos August 13

Championship final

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Home Score Away Match Information
Date Venue
National Championship
  Philadelphia Fight 42 - 20   Jacksonville Axemen August 27 Nickerson Field

All-Star Game

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After the conclusion of the 2016 season, the USARL held the first annual All-Star Game, with two teams made up of the best players from each conference.[3]

Home Score Away Match Information
Date Venue
All-Star Game
South 38-32 North October 22 Tampa Catholic High School

References

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  1. ^ "USARL | USA Rugby League | American Rugby League « Schedule". Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  2. ^ "Philly Fight win the North Conference by... - USA Rugby League". Facebook. August 20, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  3. ^ "USA Rugby League | American Rugby League « Uncategorized « South defeats North 38-32 in USARL All-Star Game". USARL. October 24, 2016. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.