Wolfpack starts, ends playoffs on the road

TORONTO — The Toronto Wolfpack will open and close the playoffs on the road, hosting Super League sides Widnes and Hull Kingston Rovers in the middle of their push to win promotion to the top tier of English rugby league.

The transatlantic Wolfpack, which finished first in the second-tier Betfred Championship with a 20-2-1 record, opens the Super 8s qualifiers on Aug. 12 — a seven-game post-season schedule that runs through

Sept. 28.

The top four Championship teams face off with the bottom four Super League teams to fill four berths in the first-tier league next year.

The eight teams will play each other once. The top three clubs earn status in the Super League, while No. 4 will take on No. 5 in what is dubbed the Million Pound Game to see who joins them.

The Super League teams involved are Leeds Rhinos (8-13-2), Hull Kingston Rovers (8-14-1), Salford Red Devils (7-16-0) and Widnes Vikings (3-21-0). The other Championship sides involved are London Broncos (166-1), Toulouse Olympique (16-6-1) and Halifax RLFC (16-6-1).

The Wolfpack will host Hull KR, Widnes, London Broncos and Toulouse, with away games at Halifax, Salford and Leeds. Toronto went 1-1 against London this season and 2-0 against both Toulouse and Halifax. It is 0-2 over the past two years against Super League opposition, losing to Salford (29-22 in 2017) and Warrington (66-10 in May) in the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup.