ASSIC: Mississippi State and Arkansas played an enter

In 1996, rugby league turned its back on 101 years of history to enter a momentous new Super League era.The new competition moved the action from winter to summer and kicked off with the meeting of Paris St Germain and Sheffield Eagles in front of 17,873 supporters at the Stade Sébastien Charléty.Freddie Banquet scored the first ever Super League try and Paris clinched a landmark victory thanks to a brace from Arnaud Cervello. Gary Hetherington was in charge of the Eagles on that famous night. Now chief executive of Leeds Rhinos, he admits there was some uncertainty about the direction the sport was taking in 1996 but the creation of Super League has provided provided more stability and structure. Players pose with the Super League trophy ahead of the inaugural 1996 season He told Sky Sports News HQ: It was an exciting time for the sport but it was also a really uncertain time. The Paris-Sheffield Eagles game set this competition alight. Nearly 18,000 people turned up, a wildly enthusiastic French crowd, and against the odds the Paris team won.Super League was a new competition, the sport had moved to the summer, the players had become full-time and there was more money in the game.But in many ways the sport was treading into the unknown. It was the first time ever that video referees had been employed and big screen decision were made.It was an innovative time for the sport and those 20 years have passed very quickly. There has been a lot of advances in the sport and we have now got a lot of stability and structure, and a platform to move forward. Gary Hetherington The improvement in facilities and standard of play have been the biggest changes over the past 20 years, says Hetherington.When we look back the original 12 clubs in Super League included teams like Workington and their stadium at Derwent Park. Halifax were at Thrum Hall, Oldham at the Watersheddings, Sheffield Eagles at Don Valley Stadium.All these stadiums are gone, as has the Central Park stadium Wigan played at and St Helens Knowsley Road, so there has been a complete transformation in the stadiums our supporters see games played in.That has probably been the most positive move forward but the move to summer has undoubtedly been a success, from the whole standard of play to players becoming full-time. Leeds Rhinos were victorious in Super Leagues 20th season The sport now enjoys more spectators and viewers on TV. There has been a big transformation both in the way the game is played and how it is seen by spectators, and all of those changes have been for the good.Of course, 20 years ago people were dreaming about Super League being played in Madrid and Barcelona and a whole range of European cities. That has never materialised and the Paris club only lasted two years, but they have been replaced by Catalans Dragons, who are one of the strongest clubs in the competition. It still has the French flavour about it.The creation of Super League 20 years ago brought a lot of uncertainty to the game. Established clubs like Widnes, Hull and Hull KR werent part of the competition but they are now.The traditional clubs very much make up the Super League and the Championship is a very vibrant competition, as well as the community game below that.There has been a lot of advances in the sport and we have now got a lot of stability and structure, and a platform to move forward. Watch 20 Years of Super League on Sky Sports 1 HD on Tuesday at 10.15pmAlso See:Rugby League on SkyFixtures and resultsFollow @SkySportsRLPunditsAir Max 95 Pas Cher Chine . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Air Max 90 Pas Cher Chine . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. http://www.pascherbasketairmax.fr/air-max-720-grossiste-destockage.html . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Air Max 90 Pas Cher Pour Homme . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Destockage Nike Air Max . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end.Mississippi State looked bad against Alabama last weekend. Meanwhile, Arkansas was thumped by LSU at home.But the Bulldogs (4-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) and Razorbacks (6-4, 2-4) both say they still have plenty of confidence going into their meeting on Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi. Theyre also not going to underestimate each other just because of one rough game.After all, the SEC Western Division has a way of humbling just about everybody at some point.Alabama has made a lot of people look not-so good, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said.He added that Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen is extremely talented. Hes obviously taken that program to heights its never been before, if you remember it was just a year or two ago they were in the top 1, top 5 conversation. That doesnt happen by chance.Mississippi State was dominated in last weekends 51-3 loss to the top-ranked Tide. But the Bulldogs are less than two weeks removed from a 35-28 upset win over then-No. 4 Texas A&M.When Mississippi State is playing well, its usually got a good ground game going with quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and running back Aeris Williams. This weekends game appears to be a good matchup for the Bulldogs: The Razorbacks rank close to the bottom of the SEC in rushing defense.Arkansas hopes to rekindle a passing attack that was great during the first half of the season, but has struggled over the past few weeks. Quarterback Austin Allen is 3rd in the SEC with 2,501 passing yards.Mississippi State has won four in a row in the series, but the past three have been decided by a touchdown or less.We have to be ready to play for four quarters, Mullen said. Every year this game comes down to the last play.---Some other things to watch when Mississippi State hosts Arkansas on Saturday:ALLENS HEALTH: Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen led the SEC in passing efficiency through the first half of the season, but the first-year starter has struggled since his right knee was injured againnst Auburn on Oct.dddddddddddd 22. In the 2 + games since the injury, the junior has completed only 35 of 71 passes (49.3 percent) and was 15-of-31 passing for 210 yards and two interceptions in a loss to LSU last week. Allen said hes fine, but he has appeared less-than-willing to push off his back leg on several throws in recent weeks.RUSH WOES: The Razorbacks rush defense has been hit or miss this season, but mostly miss. A week after allowing only 12 rushing yards by Florida, Arkansas allowed the Tigers to gain 390 yards on the ground last week. LSU sophomore Derrius Guice led the way with a career-high 252 yards rushing, and the Razorbacks are now last in the country against the run -- allowing an average of 6.3 yards per carry.INSTANT CLASSIC: Mississippi State and Arkansas played an entertaining game one year ago that ended with the Bulldogs taking a 51-50 victory in Fayetteville. Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott -- who is now leading the Dallas Cowboys -- accounted for a school-record 554 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns. The Bulldogs rallied from a 42-31 deficit and blocked an Arkansas field goal in the final seconds to secure the win.BIG PLAY FITZ: Mississippi States Fitzgerald has run for 10 yards or more on 33 plays this season, which ranks 11th nationally and is tops in the SEC among players at any position.ROSS AMONG MSUS BEST: Mississippi senior receiver Fred Ross has become the most productive player at his position in school history. Over the past four weeks, Ross has set four of the schools career records, including catches (184), consecutive games with a catch (32), 100-yard receiving games (9) and receiving yards (2,275).---AP Sports Writer Kurt Voigt in Fayetteville, Arkansas, contributed to this story.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . ' ' '