Leeds & Hunslet Schools' Rugby League
History
Chronology
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1903 : Formation of Leeds Schools' Rugby Football Union (later renamed Leeds Schools' Rugby League)
1921 : Hunslet schools break away to form Hunslet Schools' Rugby Union (later renamed Hunslet Schools' Rugby League)
1975 : Formation of Morley Schools' Rugby League
1980-84 : Brief existence of Airedale & Wharfedale District Schools' Rugby League
1985 : Hunslet SRL and Morley SRL combine to form Hunslet & Morley Schools' Rugby League
1996 : Leeds SRL and Hunslet & Morley SRL combine to form Leeds & Hunslet Schools' Rugby League
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The Beginning
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The first annual general meeting to organise schoolboy rugby in the City was held at the Green Dragon Hotel (off the Headrow, Green Dragon Yard still exists) on 3rd September 1903. The minutes record that 24 gentlemen attended the meeting, and that: It was resolved to issue a printed circular to the public for subscriptions towards a fund for providing trophies and medals. Whilst the association was called the Leeds Schools’ Rugby Football Union, it was certainly allied to the Northern Union not the RFU, as early trophies were donated by the Hunslet and Leeds clubs, and matches were played at Barley Mow (Bramley), Parkside (Hunslet) and Headingley. The first chairman was Mr T V Harrison (then a teacher, at Christ Church School in Hunslet, who first proposed Children’s Day at Roundhay Park and after whom the sports ground on Oldfield Lane was named).
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In the first season (1902-03) a knock-out cup and “friendlies” were played at 15-a-side, mirroring the Northern Union rules. At the first AGM it was agreed to run a league competition and rules were changed so that matches would be played at 12-a-side, pre-dating the Northern Union’s reduction to 13-a-side by two years.
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HEADLINES IN HISTORY
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The Early Years, 1902-1916
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It is thought that the Goldthorpe Cup is the oldest trophy, still being competed for, in schools’ rugby league. The minutes of 15th January 1904 record that: Mr T V Harrison, on behalf of the Hunslet Cricket Football and Athletic Club, presented to the Schools’ Union the handsome Goldthorpe Trophy. Whilst on 19th February it was unanimously agreed that: The Goldthorpe Trophy be the challenge cup of the Union, and the draw containing 23 teams was made. The eventual winners were Bramley National who beat Burley Lawn. The LSRFU Handbook of 1908-09 lists Hunslet Carr as the winners of the Goldthorpe Cup in 1902-03, beating Jack Lane in the final. Presumably, however, this was a retrospective honour.
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At the first AGM it was resolved that: the City be divided into three districts, North South and East, and that the championship of the City be decided by the top school of each district playing the top school of each of the other districts one match on neutral ground. The first winners of the league championship were Bramley National, which meant that they completed the “double” in 1903-04. Reflecting on the achievement, the coach Mr Greaves recalled: What a Bramley welcome greeted the team on their return to “The Village” – the horse-drawn wagonettes were met by the Bramley Brass Band and escorted up the crowded Town Street! Bramley went on to win the league championship on a further six occasions before competitions were disbanded in 1916, due to the First World War. Other schools to be crowned league champions in this era were Burley Lawn and Jack Lane (twice each) and Bewerley Street and Halton (once each). The Leeds Club had donated a trophy for this competition. In early documents it was known as the Leeds F C Shield, from 1913 it was known as the Sheldon Shield.
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The fact that a Yorkshire Cup Competition also began in 1903-04, suggests that organised schools’ rugby was taking place in other towns and cities at this time too. Wakefield schools triumphed on the first two occasions (Outwood Church School followed by Loscoe Council School). The next three years saw St Mary’s of Bradford complete a hat-trick. For the next few years, Leeds schools dominated the final. Bramley National (1907) and Bewerley Street (1908) were runners-up, before the City provided both finalists in 1909, with St Hilda’s beating Bramley, and in 1910, with Bramley beating Burley Lawn. Jack Lane were runners-up in 1911, with Bramley winning again in 1912 and finishing as runners-up in 1914.
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At the same time, inter-union matches were being played, with Leeds' first fixture being against Bradford at the Park Avenue Ground, in October 1903. The first home game was staged at Bramley's Barley Mow Ground, against Barrow. In 1909-10 Leeds City Boys won the Yorkshire Schools’ Shield as Inter-City Champions. It would be almost 40 years before this honour was achieved again.
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The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939
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After the war, schools' rugby returned to action in September 1919 and there was a new name on the honours board with Blenheim completing a league and cup double.
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The following season saw Hunslet Carr begin an amazing run, which saw them win league honours, Goldthorpe Cup and Yorkshire Cup for five successive seasons. Such was the strength of rugby south of the river that in June 1921, Hunslet schools broke away to form their own association. As well as organising their own league and cup competitions, they also ran their own City Boys team and were Yorkshire champions four times in the 1930s.
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In 1933 the Jas Wilson Cup was first awarded to the winners of a challenge match between the Leeds champions and the Hunslet champions. The first winners were Hunslet National, whilst Middleton emerged as the strongest team in the city leading up to the Second World War. In between them, Hunslet Carr, Quarry Mount and Brudenell got their name on the trophy. 1933 also saw the Leeds and Hunslet associations combine to run their first ever trip to the Wembley Cup Final. Leeds Schools' Rugby League (the name change came in 1923) introduced a Junior (Under 11) Competition for the Stephenson Cup in 1933-34; the Hunslet association organised an Under 11 league from 1937-38, but didn't award a trophy to the winners until after the war.
Hunslet Carr 1920-21
A Boom Era, 1946-1960
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The post-war years saw a period of expansion and success for British sport in general; schools' rugby league in Leeds reflected this national profile, with the addition of more schools and teams. Following a raising of the school leaving age, intermediate leagues were introduced at Under 13 to complement the existing senior (now Under 15) and junior (Under 11) leagues in both Leeds and Hunslet.
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Whilst the years immediately preceding the war had been dominated by Hunslet schools, the years immediately after were the province of Leeds schools. Buslingthorpe National dominated senior and junior competitions for the first couple of years, before Kirkstall were Leeds champions and Wilson Cup winners for four consecutive seasons, as well as completing a hat-trick of Yorkshire Cup wins at the beginning of the 1950s. In the mid-1950s St Joseph's completed their own hat-trick as Hunslet and city champions, in addition to two Yorkshire Cup wins. By the end of the 1950s Middleton were the strongest Hunslet school, with Blenheim and Brudenell enjoying much success north of the river.
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During this era the Yorkshire Shield for the inter-city championship was dominated by Hunslet (five wins) and Leeds (four wins). Intermediate (Under 13) representative sides were introduced in 1950.
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In May 1948 schoolteachers from the Leeds and Hunslet associations were instrumental in publishing the first ever rugby league coaching manual.
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In May 1953 Leeds Schools' Rugby League celebrated its Golden Jubilee; fittingly Brudenell finished the season as Yorkshire Cup winners (as well as city champions) and Leeds won the Yorkshire Shield.
Kirkstall - seniors and intermediates - 1949-50
Continued Success in the City, 1960-1972
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The 1960s saw a decade of domination by Belle Isle: Hunslet champions eight times, city champions seven times and Yorkshire Cup winners three times. By the end of this era, Parkside had taken over as the outstanding Hunslet school. There was no dominant school in Leeds, with senior honours shared between a dozen different schools.
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Further expansion took place in junior schools during this time. Alongside the healthy Hunslet Junior School League, Leeds SRL ran four or five leagues in most seasons. The most outstanding junior school was Queen's Road, who won trophies in seven out of the 12 seasons.
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Hunslet City Boys completed a hat-trick of Yorkshire Shield wins from 1961-62 to 1963-64. In the 1963-64 final they beat Leeds, who were Yorkshire "Sevens" Champions that season.
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In 1965 the English Schools' Rugby League was established as the national organising body for schools' rugby league. A tour of France was organsied in 1967, with Steven Evans (Belle Isle) and Philip Haller (Cross Green) chosen to represent their country. A national knock-out cup for city/town teams also began in 1967; Leeds completed a double triumph in 1971 and 1972.
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The growth of junior school rugby, and the broadening of the high school competitions to include all age-levels, meant that this era showed a healthy rise in the number of teams playing the game and the number of matches played. More than 500 games were played during most seasons, contested by over 80 teams.
Belle Isle 1965-66
The Middle School Years, 1972-1992
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Following the reorganisation of schools in Leeds, this was very much a golden era for schools' rugby league in the city. The age-levels were extended from Under 9 through to Under 16 and rugby league was played in all tiers of education. Hunslet continued as a separarte association for representative teams, but schools throughout the city combined for league and cup competitions.
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New schools joined competitions, including schools from outside the traditional Leeds boundaries which became part of the new Leeds Education Authority. For ten years (1975-1985) Morley ran its own Under 11 competitions and rep side, before merging with Hunslet, for rep sides, and joining the city-wide competitions. There was also the brief existence of an Airedale & Wharfedale District Association.
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Parkside (later to become Middleton Park) continued to dominate the high school roll of honour for most of this era, winning half the local trophies on offer as well as completing a treble as Yorkshire U16 Champions.
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Whilst many players learned their first rugby skills in primary school and some boys in Leeds high schools achieved the highest honours in the schoolboy game, the middle schools formed the strongest section of Leeds Schools' Rugby League during their existence from 1972 to 1992. Many middle schools provided real strongholds of the game and helped league entries to rise from 70 teams in 1970-71 to a record 101 teams in 1978-79. The two most successful middle schools were Bramley C of E and Clapgate.
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Representative rugby was introduced at Under 11 in 1974 and national competitions were later extended to all age-groups. The city's representative sides continued to enjoy success at county level, but it was not until 1990-91 that a major national trophy was won, when Leeds U13s beat Wigan in the ESRL Cup Final.
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After the golden decade of the 1970s, the teacher action which took place in the mid-1980s disrupted schools' rugby league - resulting in a lost season followed by reduced entries which would take over ten years to return to previous levels. The lack of action enabled BARLA junior teams to "stake a claim" for Saturday mornings - a move from which schools' rugby league would never fully recover.
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Clapgate Middle School 1974-78
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Changing Times, 1992-2001
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This was an era of reorganisation and change, of merger and liaison - both inside and outside the school game in Leeds.
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The reorganisation of Leeds schools brought new names, new schools and new coaches into competitions at all age-levels. Transition took a few years but by 1999 there were over 100 teams entered in competitions. Due to changing competition structures and a growing number of different sports on offer in schools, the number of games played was not as high as during the 1970s and early-80s. Nevertheless there was a very positive feel to rugby league in local schools by the end of this era. As well as teams playing inter-school matches, there was a growing percentage of schools which included rugby league on their curriculum. Another reason for positivity was the partnership, that was beginning to develop, with the Leeds Club (in a number of different areas) and also junior club/school liaison prompted by the City Council's Development Officers.
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The 1990s saw girls making their mark for the first time in schools' rugby league. The first girls' tournament, for junior schools in Morley, was held in 1991; after reorganisation, schools from other areas of the city took part and the tournament continued until 1996, by which time it was agreed that boys and girls could play together in mixed teams, in primary schools.
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Due to a lack of manpower in organising city teams and in running and managing associations, Leeds SRL and Hunslet & Morley SRL made the decision to merge and become one body again, as Leeds & Hunslet Schools' Rugby League.
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The only black cloud on the horizon in this era was the impending "death" of representative schools' rugby league, caused by continuing changes in RFL policy which brought to an end almost 100 years of history. The city's representative sides had had a successful last ten years with at least one county or national trophy won every year from 1992 to 2001, including Under 16 national champions in 1994 and 2000, Under 16 national cup winners in 1997 and 1999, and Under 13 national cup winners in 1997.
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A New Millennium - Rugby League For All, 2001-2020
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A century of schools' rugby league in Leeds was celebrated in 2002-03. The committee reflected on the wealth of changes since the Leeds Schools' Rugby Football Union was officially formed in September 1903, after the association's first season. What had begun as a game for the oldest and best athletic boys in school had developed into a game for boys and girls of all ages and all abilities. And there were more changes to come as the game moved forward in the new millennium.
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The Leeds Rhinos Foundation has played a massive part in encouraging more schools to include rugby league on their curriculum and to play the game competitively. It also supports high schools to improve playing standards, both of teams and individual players. Competition managers and other Foundation officers organise and run the L&HSRL finals days and other competitions and tournaments. The Hunslet Rugby Foundation also undertakes valuable development work in south Leeds. The city's Sports Partnerships, whilst obviously promoting all sports, have - to a greater or lesser degree - played an important part in supporting rugby league in schools.
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In 2003 the RFL took over the national Champion Schools Competition, running boys' competitions at all high school age-groups and, from 2004, adding girls' competitions incrementally from Under 12 upwards. It was the girls' competition which provided Leeds with its first-ever national champions, when Corpus Christi Under 12s won in 2018; the team repeated this feat the following year as Under 13s.
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Local honours, over the 20 years, were shared out between 22 different high schools and, coincidentally 22 different primary schools.
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Leeds & Hunslet U16, 1998-99
Corpus Christi U12, 2017-18
Post-Pandemic – A Return to Normality, 2021 onwards
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The coronavirus pandemic caused an 18-month halt to schools’ rugby league nationwide, with the whole of the 2020-21 season lost. From the start of the 2021-22 season, a normal programme of activities was in place.
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Missing out on two years of champion schools’ tournaments, national champions Corpus Christi completed a hat-trick of victories, by beating Castleford in the Year 11 final. The following year, Trinity Academy Leeds, a new school in only their second season, provided the Year 8 national champions, when their girls beat St Peter’s (Manchester) in the final staged at Kingston Park, Newcastle.
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Participation in high school rugby league has grown, in both boys’ and girls’ competitions. The standard of rugby probably took around three years to return to pre-pandemic levels, but it has been encouraging to see, so far, 12 different schools winning major honours and another five schools winning plate competitions since the break.
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In contrast, entries for contact competitions in primary schools were very poor for the two seasons after the pandemic and it was decided to disband these competitions and restrict primary school competitions to tag only; these competitions continue to attract a good level of interest.
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