Why does the RL XIII logo contain the year 1895?

RL XIII launched as a brand in 2025, but our logo includes the year 1895 for a very deliberate reason.

The year is not about when our company started. It represents when rugby league itself was born. RL XIII exists because of rugby league, its history, its culture, and the communities that built the game.

In 1895, rugby league was created after clubs in Northern England broke away from rugby union. This was one of the most important moments in sporting history and shaped the identity of rugby league as a working class game built on fairness, toughness, and community.

The split happened largely because of the issue of “broken time” payments. Rugby was heavily played in industrial areas where players worked physically demanding jobs in mines, factories, shipyards, and mills. When these players took time off work to play matches, they lost wages. If they were injured playing rugby, they could lose income for extended periods. Many players were supporting families and simply could not afford to play without some form of compensation.

Northern clubs wanted players to be compensated for wages lost while playing rugby. This was not about turning rugby into a fully professional sport at that stage. It was about fairness and recognising the realities of working class life.

Rugby union authorities at the time refused to allow broken time payments. The sport was controlled largely by upper class administrators who believed rugby should remain strictly amateur. This created a major divide between those running the sport and the players actually playing it.

On 29 August 1895, 22 clubs met at the George Hotel in Huddersfield (pictured above – credit, Wikipedia) and voted to form a new organisation, which became the Northern Rugby Football Union and eventually rugby league as we know it today.

For RL XIII, 1895 represents:

• The birth of rugby league
• The stand taken by working class players and clubs
• The fight for fairness and respect
• The communities that built the game
• The identity and culture that still defines rugby league today

RL XIII may have launched in 2025, but the game we represent began in 1895. That year is a permanent reminder of where rugby league came from and why it matters.