1980–81 Rugby Football League season
The 1980–81 Rugby Football League season was the 86th season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Sixteen teams competed from August 1980 until May 1981 for the Slalom Lager Championship.
Season summary
- Slalom Lager League Champions: Bradford Northern
- Challenge Cup Winners: Widnes
- Slalom Lager Premiership Trophy Winners: Hull Kingston Rovers
- John Player Special Trophy Winners: Warrington
- 2nd Division Champions: York
Fulham RLFC joined the competition in Division Two, later becoming the London Crusaders, London Broncos, and Harlequins Rugby League.
Bradford Northern finished on top of the First Division table to claim their second championship, and Hull Kingston Rovers won the Rugby League Premiership competition.
Warrington beat Wigan 26–10 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Leeds beat Hull Kingston Rovers 8–7 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
League Tables
Championship
Final Standings| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
| 1 | Bradford Northern | 30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 447 | 345 | +102 | 41 |
| 2 | Warrington | 30 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 459 | 330 | +129 | 39 |
| 3 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 30 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 509 | 408 | +101 | 38 |
| 4 | Wakefield Trinity | 30 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 544 | 454 | +90 | 38 |
| 5 | Castleford | 30 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 526 | 459 | +67 | 38 |
| 6 | Widnes | 30 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 428 | 356 | +72 | 34 |
| 7 | Hull | 30 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 442 | 450 | -8 | 34 |
| 8 | St. Helens | 30 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 465 | 370 | +95 | 31 |
| 9 | Leigh | 30 | 14 | 1 | 15 | 416 | 414 | +2 | 29 |
| 10 | Leeds | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 388 | 468 | -80 | 28 |
| 11 | Barrow | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 405 | 498 | -93 | 26 |
| 12 | Featherstone Rovers | 30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 467 | 446 | +21 | 24 |
| 13 | Halifax | 30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 385 | 450 | -65 | 22 |
| 14 | Salford | 30 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 473 | 583 | -110 | 21 |
| 15 | Workington Town | 30 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 335 | 457 | -122 | 21 |
| 16 | Oldham | 30 | 7 | 2 | 21 | 362 | 563 | -201 | 16 |
Second Division
| Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts | |
| 1 | York | 28 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 649 | 331 | 46 |
| 2 | Wigan | 28 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 597 | 293 | 43 |
| 3 | Fulham | 28 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 447 | 237 | 40 |
| 4 | Whitehaven | 28 | 19 | 1 | 8 | 409 | 250 | 39 |
| 5 | Huddersfield | 28 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 429 | 310 | 37 |
| 6 | Swinton | 28 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 440 | 302 | 36 |
| 7 | Keighley | 28 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 445 | 501 | 29 |
| 8 | Hunslet | 28 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 447 | 430 | 27 |
| 9 | Bramley | 28 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 433 | 418 | 27 |
| 10 | Rochdale Hornets | 28 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 406 | 418 | 26 |
| 11 | Batley | 28 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 386 | 432 | 24 |
| 12 | Dewsbury | 28 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 346 | 364 | 23 |
| 13 | Doncaster | 28 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 250 | 562 | 10 |
| 14 | Blackpool Borough | 28 | 4 | 1 | 23 | 212 | 419 | 9 |
| 15 | Huyton | 28 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 211 | 796 | 4 |
| Champions | Play-offs | Promoted | Relegated |
Challenge Cup
The 1980-81 State Express Challenge Cup was won by Widnes after defeating Hull Kingston Rovers 18-9 in the final.The Final was played at Wembley before a crowd of 92,496.
League Cup
Premiership
New Zealand Kiwis Tour
September until November also saw the appearance of the New Zealand team in England on their 1980 tour. Other than the three test series against Great Britain, The Kiwis played matches club and county sides.The 1980 Kiwis were coached by Ces Mountford and were captained by Mark Graham.
Dane O'Hara, who would join Hull F.C. following the tour was the leading try scorer with 6. Scrum half Gordon Smith was the tours leading point scorer with 33 from 1 try and 15 goals.
| game | Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | 28 September | New Zealand def. Blackpool Borough 23–5 | Borough Park, Blackpool | 1,312 |
| 2 | 5 October | New Zealand def. Hull F.C. 33–10 | Boothferry Park, Kingston upon Hull | 15,945 |
| 3 | 8 October |  Cumbria def. New Zealand 9–3 | Recreation Ground, Whitehaven | 4,070 |
| 4 | 12 October | St Helens def. New Zealand 11–6 | Knowsley Road, St Helens | 6,000 |
| 5 | 14 October | Bradford Northern def. New Zealand 15–10 | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | 4,553 |
| 6 | 18 October | drew with 14–14 | Central Park, Wigan | 7,031 |
| 7 | 22 October | New Zealand def. Hull Kingston Rovers 20–12 | Craven Park, Kingston upon Hull | 9,516 |
| 8 | 26 October | New Zealand def. Leeds 25–5 | Headingley, Leeds | 5,662 |
| 9 | 29 October | Warrington def. New Zealand 13–6 | Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington | 5,680 |
| 10 | 2 November | def. 12–8 | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | 10,946 |
| 11 | 5 November | New Zealand def. Great Britain U/24 18–14 | Craven Cottage, London | 2,397 |
| 12 | 9 November | Widnes def. New Zealand 13–7 | Naughton Park, Widnes | 6,416 |
| 13 | 11 November | New Zealand def. Leigh 22–5 | Hilton Park, Leigh | 3,166 |
| 14 | 15 November | def. 10–2 | Elland Road, Leeds | 8,210 |