5 Nov 2019
Giants start with Dragons in final day rerun
Huddersfield Giants 2020 fixtures have been announced
Huddersfield Giants will kick off the 2020 Super League Season with a trip to France as they face Catalans Dragons in Round 1, before a blockbuster visit of Leeds Rhinos on the first home game of the season. The Giants will face the Dragons on Saturday 1st February at 6pm before the Giants make their 2020 Home Debut at the John Smith's Stadium in a West Yorkshire Derby against Leeds Rhinos on Sunday, 9th February at 3pm.
A repeat of the 2019
Betfred Super League Grand Final, the first ever Super League double header at
Emerald Headingley and some high-profile summer signings all make for an
eye-catching opening round of fixtures in the 2020 season.
The opener on Thursday 30
January (kick off 7.45pm) will see Man of Steel Jackson Hastings make his Wigan
Warriors debut at home to the 2019 Challenge Cup winners Warrington Wolves,
strengthened by their new marquee signing Gareth Widdop from St. George
Illawarra.
Warriors fans will also
expect to see a debut for fellow England international George Burgess live on
Sky Sports, as Betfred Super League 2020 gets underway at the DW Stadium. That
will be the first of 21 live games on Thursday nights selected by the host
broadcaster this season, the 25th anniversary of Super League.
The first of 11 selected
Friday night TV matches will see champions St Helens take on Salford Red Devils
in a repeat of that memorable Grand Final fixture at Old Trafford in
October.
Toronto Wolfpack make
their eagerly-anticipated Betfred Super League debut against Castleford Tigers
in the first ever Super League double header on February 2. They kick off at
2:30pm at Emerald Headingley ahead of Leeds Rhinos’ season opener against Hull
FC at 4.45pm.
There are three Hull
derbies next season and that is one of the big games that stands out in Round 2
on Friday 7 February (kick off 7.45pm). It comes just 24 hours after a repeat
of one of the fastest, most thrilling contests of 2019: Warrington Wolves against
St Helens at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, on Thursday 6 February (kick off
7.45pm).
A significant change in
2020 will see teams play once across the Easter Weekend, with player welfare at
the heart of the decision.
Six fixtures will span
four days, with Leeds Rhinos kicking things off against local rivals Wakefield
Trinity on Thursday 9 April, followed by Super League’s traditional Good Friday
fixtures, which sees Wigan Warriors face St Helens at the Totally Wicked Stadium
at 2.45pm. The Hull derby, played at Hull College Craven Park, is at 12.30pm on
Good Friday. All five UK-based matches will be televised by Sky Sports.
Toronto Wolfpack’s first
home game at Lamport Stadium comes in Round 11 against Hull FC. They will play
three matches ‘on the road’ – which are ‘home’ games hosted at grounds in the
UK - against Castleford (Round 1), St Helens (Round 5) and Wakefield Trinity
(Round 8). The venues for those two latter fixtures will be confirmed in due
course.
Fixture headlines for
2020:
+ Sky Sports have selected
their first 11 Friday night games and 21 Thursday night games.
+ The opening round of
Betfred Super League 2020 will see the first ever Super League double header
take place at Emerald Headingley. Round 1 includes four televised fixtures to
be shown on Sky Sports.
+ A single set of fixtures
across Easter Weekend is a significant change in the Betfred Super League
calendar. Player welfare is a factor in that decision.
+ The final round of
fixtures - Round 29 - will be played on Friday 11 September, with all the
matches kicking off at 7.45pm.
Super League Chief
Commercial Officer Rhodri Jones said: “We are delighted to be able to share the
full 2020 schedule with our fans, and after a lot of work, we are happy with
what has been created.
“Round 1 promises to be a
fantastic start to our 25th season with some real heavyweight
fixtures.
“There is a new feel to
Easter, appreciating the tough nature of Super League on the players, and we’ve
kept the Friday night final round of games which proved so successful in
2019.
“There is clearly a lot of
excitement with Toronto Wolfpack coming into Super League and we’ve had to work
through a number of logistical challenges regarding their fixtures.
“Their first Super League
game hosted at Lamport Stadium in April against Hull FC will be a superb event.
It will also be great for new and existing fans to see them kick off their
season in a double header at Emerald Headingley.
“As ever, given the unpredictable
nature of the sport, we all recognise that changes to the fixture list will
have to be made towards the end of the season to accommodate our broadcast
partner, Sky Sports.”
For full details of all the fixtures for 2020 please visit www.superleague.co.uk/match-centre