Leeds & Hunslet Schools' Rugby League

Competitions were introduced in the first decade of the 20th century for a Yorkshire Cup (individual schools) and a Yorkshire Shield (city/town teams). County matches against Lancashire began in the 1920s. However Yorkshire Schools' Rugby League was not established as an official body until 1946. Before this time competitions and matches were organised by local associations and supported by grants and medals, etc, provided by the Yorkshire section on the Northern Rugby Football Union, later to become the Yorkshire County Rugby League. Senior clubs also helped with the provision of venues.

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With the enforced changes to the structure of schools' rugby league, initiated by the Rugby Football League in 2001 and 2002, there was no longer the need for for a county-wide body run on traditional lines of the past. However a formal committee continued to meet until 2013 and since then a fluid group of interested parties has met occasionally, when necessary.

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It is a matter of regret that complete records of county competitions do not exist and documents from the early years of the Yorkshire Schools' association have been lost. However, research by Ron England (retired YSRL officer) and the late John Maloney (former player and RL enthusiast) has filled in a lot of the gaps, particularly with the Yorkshire Cup, whilst research in the preparation of this website has uncovered most if not all of the Leeds and Hunslet winners over the years.

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The sub-pages of this section of the website give details of most Yorkshire Cup Finals and most county matches after 1947-48. Finding Yorkshire Shield winners and runners-up, and earlier county match results, however, is proving a more difficult task.

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