Season 1994/95

Featherstone Rovers continued to exist !

With two big money signings in scrum half Mark Aston and second row Daniel Divet, added to previous recruits, big things were expected from the side but ultimately it was a very disappointing season.  Unfortunately, the long-term impacts from this would be far reaching and were completely unknown when the season started.  Bar a run to the semi-final of the Challenge Cup and the odd stand out win there wasn’t a great deal for fans to cheer.  The team just did not gel!  Aston struggled but he was not the only big name who didn’t display their best form.  Coach Steve Martin quit in October and David Ward took over.  Molloy, Tuuta and Gibson gave it their all and Martin Pearson was badly missed after a bad early season injury.

However, events on the field were completely overshadowed by the birth of Super League backed by an injection of £87m from Sky television.  Initially, Featherstone Rovers were required to merge with Castleford and Wakefield to form a new Calder team as part of the Super League.  Rugby league would move to a summer sport and there would be no promotion to or relegation from Super League.  There was a universally hostile reaction to potential mergers from fans.  After weeks of wrangling and lots of acrimony, it was eventually determined that promotion and relegation would continue, and that Super League would consist of the top ten teams in the first division that had just finished plus London and a new club based in Paris.   Rovers finished 11^th so were relegated.