The West Yorkshire side will become the 41st member of the league ahead of coming season in March and return to the competition after a six year break.

“The NCL Management were under the impression that Celtic wished to join us in 2013, but over the Christmas period the club made it known that they wished to bring forward their involvement some 12 months,” said Trevor Hunt, NCL Chairman.

“The NCL Management moved quickly to ensure their involvement could be ratified by the member clubs to maintain our usual custom and practice, and they were duly voted in by the overwhelming margin of 35 for and two against.”

Celtic are one of the oldest clubs in the game and have been one of the leading lights in Yorkshire for over a century.

“It’s great to be back in the NCL and we’re looking forward to the new season,” said Celtic Chairman Francis Cummins.

The former Leeds and Great Britain player, currently assistant coach at the Bradford Bulls added, “As a club we’ve long championed summer rugby and from my own playing days I always enjoyed playing during the summer months.

“Our junior sides have played in the summer for many years now and a lot of the squad who make up our open age sides have progressed through the ranks playing at this time of year.

“It’ll be good to be playing some local teams again and for me I can’t wait to go visit some of the old grounds I used to play on.

“We want to be successful and keep our squad together for the years ahead. To me playing in the summer is the way forward and as a club we can’t wait to be part of this historic season.


The 2012 NCL season will kick off on Saturday 3 March and forms part of the new Tier 3 structure in the RFL’s new playing season.

To see exactly how the new structure will look and for more information on the summer switch including the list of teams involved, FAQs as well as contact details visit www.abrighterleague.com