Toronto Wolfpack get ready to tackle the biggest game in franchise history

The Toronto Wolfpack have quietly been taking British rugby league by storm.

In just their second year of existence, the world's first-ever trans-Atlantic pro rugby team now has a chance to advance to the top-tier Super League for next season and join the sport's elite.

"We've fought really hard for two years and been good enough to finish top of the two divisions that we've been in," said Brian Noble, the team's director of football. "That's given us the right to fight for the right to be in Super League."

The Rugby Football League is divided into three tiers. The third tier, also known as League 1, is where the the weaker teams play. That's the competition the Wolfpack began playing in during their inaugural season last year.

They not only won the regular season championship in their first season, they won a playoff as well. Their reward was a promotion to the second tier, known as the Championship, where the Wolfpack played this season.

The Wolfpack won the regular season title in the Championship as well. That earned them a berth in an eight-team playoff between the top four teams in their league and the bottom four teams in the Super League.

'The very highest level'

"Anybody worth their salt, or anybody involved in professional sports wants to play at the very highest level," Noble said.

Each of the eight teams in the this Super 8s playoff face each other once in a round robin format.

At the end, the three teams that have the best record automatically advance to the Super League for next season. The three teams with the worst records are relegated to the Champions League.

The fourth and fifth place teams square off in what is known as the "Million Pound Match" to try and earn the fourth and final Super League berth.

As of Saturday morning, The Wolfpack are in fourth place after five games. Their final two games are against Super League sides, starting with the Widnes Vikings today at 12:30 p.m.

"We need to win this weekend," said Wolfpack second row Andrew Dixon. "It's very important match for us, it's huge."

It's not technically a must-win for Toronto, but they need one to have any chance of finishing in the top three. With a victory they could guarantee themselves a spot in the Million Pound Match, depending on the outcome of some of the other contests this weekend.

"Everyone's mind is on the prize," said Ashton Sims, who at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds plays the prop position for the Wolfpack.

"We know the magnitude of this game and we know what we have to do to win," Sims said.

Their opponent, Widnes, finished dead last in the Super League this season, and they are second from last in the Super 8s with just one win. But Sims says the Wolfpack won't be taking them lightly.

"They're a Super League team and we've got to give them that respect."