The Leeds Rhinos are a professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
club in
Leeds
Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...
,
West Yorkshire,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...
, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at
Headingley Stadium since 1890.
In 1895, Leeds was one of twenty-two rugby clubs that broke away from the
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It promo ...
and formed what was originally the Northern Union, but is now the
Rugby Football League. The club was known simply as Leeds until the end of the
1996 season, when they added Rhinos to their name. They are also historically known as the Loiners, referring to the
demonym
A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...
for a native of Leeds.
Leeds have won 11
League Titles, 13
Challenge Cups and three
World Club Challenge titles. Leeds play in blue and amber kits at home matches and historically have worn either white or yellow away kits. They share rivalries with
St. Helens,
Wigan Warriors,
Bradford Bulls and
Castleford Tigers
The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed ...
as well as a local city rivalry with
Hunslet.
History
1870–1895: Foundation and early years
In 1864, H. I. Johnson placed an advert in the ''Leeds Mercury'' inviting players to meet up at
Woodhouse Moor a few days a week from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. That advert attracted more than 500 members. From this interest several clubs were formed, including Leeds St John's.
Leeds St John's was formed in 1870 and was originally known as the "Old Blue and Ambers". The club played at the Militia Barracks from 1870 to 1888 before moving to Cardigan Fields, near
Headingley, Leeds. Membership was originally confined to the church classes but was soon expanded. By 1887 St John's had reached its first cup final, the Yorkshire Cup losing to
Wakefield Trinity.
The city of Leeds had an abundance of
rugby football
Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league.
Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...
clubs and although members of the Yorkshire RFU (which was in turn a constituent body of the
RFU), it was decided to form a ‘more local’ association. It was for this reason that the Leeds & District organisation was formalised when a meeting took place at the Green Dragon Hotel, Leeds on 27 September 1888. The foundation clubs were
Bramley,
Holbeck,
Hunslet, Kirkstall,
Leeds Parish Church, Leeds St John's and Wortley.
In 1888 the Cardigan Estate was sold at auction and Lot 17a was purchased by a group of Leeds citizens, who intended to form the city's leading sports club. Lot 17a became what is now Headingley Stadium.
Leeds St John's played its final season under that name in 1889–90, before becoming the football section of Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Co Ltd the following season. With Headingley still being completed, Leeds' first game was staged at Cardigan Fields, the home side defeating
Otley. The first game at Headingley was played on 20 September 1890, when
Manningham were beaten by one try and one dropped goal to nil.
After the 1890–91 season, Leeds along with other Yorkshire Senior clubs Batley, Bradford, Brighouse, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Hunslet, Leeds, Liversedge, Manningham and Wakefield decided that they wanted their own county league starting in 1891 along the lines of a similar competition that had been played in Lancashire. The clubs wanted full control of the league but the Yorkshire Rugby Football Union would not sanction the competition as it meant giving up control of rugby football to the senior clubs.
In 1892, 27,654 spectators, a then record in British rugby, attended the third round showdown between Leeds and
Halifax at Headingley.
1895–1920: Northern Union breakaway
A special general meeting was held in 1895 that voted decisively to support the breakaway
Northern Union
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...
as a founder member, resulting in two resignations from the club. Leeds' début in the Northern Union was a 6–3 success at
Leigh
Leigh may refer to:
Places In England
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan
** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency)
* Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Dorset
* Leigh, Gloucestershire
* Leigh, Kent
* Leigh, Sta ...
on 7 September 1895, the inaugural day of the new competition.
In 1901, the
Leeds Parish Church team disbanded and put all of its players at Leeds' disposal. That same year saw the formation of the
Northern Rugby League, with a number of leading clubs leaving the Yorkshire League and the Lancashire League and joining the new competition. Leeds was not admitted until the following year when it was placed in the newly formed second division and quickly gained promotion as runners-up to
Keighley.
Leeds City FC
Leeds City Football Club was the leading professional club in Leeds, England, before the First World War. It was dissolved in 1919 due to financial irregularities, after which Leeds United was established as a replacement.
History
The club was ...
joined football's Second Division in 1905–06, and finished sixth out of 20 clubs in the club's first season. Rugby's monopoly with the locals seemed to have been broken, with Leeds Rugby League's average gate numbers falling by nearly 50% in that first league season.
In 1910, Leeds came of age with the team finishing in sixth place in the league, but that was just a warm-up for the Challenge Cup campaign. Leeds beat
Hull Kingston Rovers,
Rochdale Hornets,
Keighley and then scraped through 11–10 against
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...
in the semifinal before meeting
Hull F.C. in the final. Rain on the morning of the game meant conditions were against flowing rugby. The scores were level at 7–7 with fifteen minutes left. However, neither team could break the deadlock, and the final went to a replay two days later, again at
Fartown,
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into t ...
. Leeds made no mistake this time and ran out convincing 26–12 winners having led 16–0 at half-time.
The club lost many players to the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...
; of a total of fifty-one players who served in the military, fifteen were killed. The usual league programme was interrupted during 1914–18. During this period, Leeds played a number of "guest players" in the Emergency League competition. The Headingley club reached the Championship final for the first time in 1915, but lost 35–2 to
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into t ...
, then a record score. The Emergency League was then suspended. Leeds reverted to rugby union during the First World War to play a one-off challenge game against the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
Depot from
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymout ...
in 1917. This was a precursor to the following
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
when two Challenge games were organised between the two sides but this time with one of each code. The Navy won the union game 9–3 on
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipati ...
but proved equally adept at league recording a 24–3 win on 28 December.
1921–1942: Inter-war period
In 1921,
Harold Buck became the game's first £1,000 transfer when he moved from
Hunslet to Leeds.
On Saturday 27 October 1934, Leeds and
Wakefield Trinity met in the final of the Yorkshire Cup at
Crown Flatt,
Dewsbury. The match was played in front of a crowd of 22,598 and ended in a 5–5 draw. Four days later the two clubs drew again, with Leeds eventually lifting the trophy after a second replay, the only occasion it took three attempts to settle a Yorkshire Cup Final. A total of 52,402 spectators watched the three games.
Leeds forward
Joe Thompson was the top point scorer for both the
1929–30 and
1927–28 seasons.
In 1937, Leeds paid the stand-off
Vic Hey a then-record £1,400 signing-on fee to lure him from
Australia. Vic was regarded as a major loss to the Australian game and this contributed to the RFL imposing a ban on international transfers, which lasted until 1940.
In 1938, Leeds played
Swinton in the Rugby Football League Championship semi-final. Leeds won the match 5 points to 2 to set up a history-making all-Leeds clash with neighbours
Hunslet in the final. The match was played at the
Elland Road football ground, to accommodate a huge demand from the city's rugby league supporters. Over 54,000 people watched the game, a then record for a match in England. Hunslet triumphed 8–2 to take the title.
Leeds won the Challenge Cup in 1941 and 1942.
1950–1960: Post-war
Following the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Leeds club struggled to make a serious impact in rugby league despite having a financial advantage over the majority of other teams.
Arthur Clues was the first Australian to come and play in Britain after the war and the great Australian second rower was signed by Leeds. His rivalry with the Great Britain and Wales prop
Frank Whitcombe, who played for
Bradford Northern
The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pr ...
was legendary. Their confrontations on the field during the Leeds v Bradford Northern local derby games are part of rugby league folklore.
It was not until the late 1950s, when in 1957 the club secured its first post-war Challenge Cup victory, that the young side being built began to show signs of what was to come.
Joe Warham
Joe Warham (1920 – 4 September 2013, Leeds, Yorkshire) was a rugby league footballer, coach and administrator, having been associated with Leeds Rugby League Football Club (now Leeds Rhinos) for more than fifty years.
Warham was born in Wa ...
came to Leeds as coach in 1958 and a Yorkshire Cup triumph followed, but the side still lacked enough quality to compete at the top of the Lancashire section of the competition in which it was then playing.
However, "the Loiners" (their historical nickname) were to establish themselves as a dominant force by the end of the coming decade. In 1960 Dai Prosser was appointed to assist Joe Warham with the coaching duties and the club signed a new back three of Jack Fairbank,
Brian Shaw and
Dennis Goodwin
Dennis Goodwin (fourth ¼ 1929 – 12 April 2011) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for Great Britain national rugby league team, Great Britain and England ...
to strengthen the forward pack. The recruitment paid off: the club was crowned Champions for the first time in 1961 with
Lewis Jones leading them to a 25–10 victory over
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...
in the Championship Final at
Odsal Stadium,
Bradford.
1960–1980: First Championship titles
In the late 1960s, under the guidance of
Roy Francis, Leeds repeatedly finished top of the league. The club contested perhaps the most memorable of all Wembley occasions, the "watersplash final" of 1968, which was played despite a downpour that saturated the pitch. It produced the most dramatic of finishes, when
Lance Todd trophy winner
Don Fox had the easiest of conversions to win it for
Wakefield Trinity, but missed it to leave Leeds 11–10 winners.
Francis then quit the club to take up a coaching position in Australia, and Joe Warham again took charge as coach, on an interim basis, midway through the 1969 campaign. The Championship trophy duly returned to Headingley for the second time after a tough final against Castleford at Odsal Stadium.
In 1970 Leeds returned to the Championship final, and Odsal, but lost to
St. Helens despite having taken an early lead. Tables were turned in December when the same teams met in the final of the
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, Leeds emerging victorious this time.
Coached by
Derek ''"Rocky"'' Turner, Leeds returned to Wembley in 1971 and 1972 but lost out both times – in 1971 losing 24–7 to rank outsiders
Leigh
Leigh may refer to:
Places In England
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan
** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency)
* Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Dorset
* Leigh, Gloucestershire
* Leigh, Kent
* Leigh, Sta ...
and suffering the indignity of captain
Syd Hynes being the first man to 'take an early bath' at Wembley. A third championship, in 1972, provided consolation.
Eric Ashton (former
Wigan and Great Britain centre) coached Leeds for the 1973–74 season before leaving to coach
St. Helens.
Leeds continued to collect silverware: the Regal Trophy in 1973 and the Premiership (the then-current form of the championship playoff) in 1975. The team held the Yorkshire Cup seven times between 1969 and 1980.
1976–77 was a season of mixed emotions. The
Salford versus Leeds league match was abandoned after 38 minutes when
Chris Sanderson of Leeds suffered a fatal injury. Leeds led 5–2, but the game was declared null and void and not replayed. The club recovered to win the Challenge Cup at the end of the season. This success was repeated in 1978, in a classic final against St Helens at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
with Leeds completing what was then a record comeback, from 10–0 down. Former captain Syd Hynes was coach on both occasions.
This was followed up with another Premiership win, in 1979. However, these victories were the 'last hurrah' of the great 1960s, and 1970s sides and a barren spell followed in the 1980s.
1980–1996: Nearly Men
Leeds' only triumphs were the 1984
John Player Trophy
The John Player Trophy was a golf tournament on the European Tour that was played in England. It was played twice. The first event in 1970 at Notts Golf Club in Nottinghamshire was the 36-hole qualifying event for the John Player Classic
T ...
(beating
Widnes) under coach
Maurice Bamford and the
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
County Cup in 1980 (beating
Hull Kingston Rovers) and 1988(beating
Castleford). Leeds were beaten finalists in the
John Player Trophy
The John Player Trophy was a golf tournament on the European Tour that was played in England. It was played twice. The first event in 1970 at Notts Golf Club in Nottinghamshire was the 36-hole qualifying event for the John Player Classic
T ...
four times in the 1980s, and 1990s.
Between December 1986 and April 1988,
Maurice Bamford was coach of Leeds.
Leeds eventually returned to Wembley for a
Challenge Cup Final appearance in 1994 against
Wigan. Leeds returned to Wembley a year later, again to face Wigan again, but were beaten more easily.
1996–2003: Start of the Super League era
In 1996
Gary Hetherington sold his controlling interest in
Sheffield Eagles and joined
Paul Caddick
Paul Caddick (born July 1950) is a British businessman who is the founder of Caddick Group, a civil engineering business established in 1979, and Moda Living, a property development company. He is currently the director of 119 companies.
Earl ...
to take over the ailing Leeds C F & A Co Ltd, owners and operators of Headingley Stadium and Leeds Rugby League Club. 1996 marked the beginning of summer rugby as the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inaugural
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...
season and changed from a winter to a summer season.
In 1997, the club renamed itself Leeds Rhinos.
Dean Bell took over as head coach following his retirement as a player at Auckland Warriors.
Iestyn Harris joined Leeds that year for a record-breaking £350,000 transfer and was appointed captain in his first full season at the age of only 21. Leeds experienced great financial difficulty and even flirted with relegation as they won only six matches all year and finished third from bottom in Super League, above only Oldham and Paris.
Bell became head of the academy team. In 1998
Graham Murray replaced Bell as joined the Leeds Rhinos as head coach and them team reached the inaugural
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
, at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after We ...
, however they were beaten by Wigan. In 1999 Leeds finally landed their first silverware in a decade, and their first
Challenge Cup for over 20 years, with a convincing 52–16 win over
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
at Wembley.
In 2000, Leeds reached the
Challenge Cup Final but finished runners up to Yorkshire rivals
Bradford at
Murrayfield,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
Daryl Powell became coach of Leeds after he retired from playing in 2001.
In 2003, despite being top of the table at the time, Leeds announced
Tony Smith would replace Darryl Powell as head coach for the 2004 season. Leeds returned to the Challenge Cup final in
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...
, again to face Bradford, this time at the
Millennium Stadium,
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
where they were beaten 22–20.
2004–2017: Golden Era
The Rhinos ended their 32-year wait for a league championship by winning the
2004 Super League Grand Final This marked the start of over a decade of on-field success.
As champions of the previous year, Leeds played in the
2005 World Club Challenge beating the 2004 Australian premiers
Canterbury Bulldogs. Leeds next trophy was the
2007 Grand Final, which marked the final game as coach of the club for
Tony Smith. He was replaced by former
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
international team coach
Brian McClennan. Further success followed in 2008 when Leeds again beat Australian opposition in the
2008 World Club Challenge,
Melbourne Storm the defeated opponents on this occasion. Leeds then retained the Super League championship by winning the
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
. This marked the first time the club had won consecutive titles. A third consecutive league title followed in 2009, when Leeds won the
2009 Super League Grand Final, and thus became the first club ever to win the trophy three times in a row.
After failing to win a trophy in 2010, Leeds started the 2011 season in mixed form, and by July appeared to be in danger of missing out on the play-offs completely. They ultimately did finish in a play-off spot and went on to win the
2011 Super League Grand Final. They reached the
Challenge Cup Final in 2012, as they had the
previous year, but again finished runners up. The Rhinos did however, successfully defend their Super League title by winning the
2012 Super League Grand Final. Success in the Grand Final earned them another
World Club Challenge match against
Melbourne Storm, in which they were defeated. Leeds would ultimately fail to win any silverware in 2013, however they did end their long run without a Challenge Cup final win by beating
Castleford Tigers
The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed ...
at
Wembley in the
2014 final.
In March 2014, it was announced that Leeds would share a partnership with the
Atlanta Rhinos, who play in the
USA Rugby League. Leeds stated they would help bring a professional approach to the Atlanta club by sharing information and playing talent.
The Treble
Leeds had a highly successful season in 2015, winning the
Challenge Cup,
League Leaders Shield and the
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
, completing the modern day rugby league treble
and becoming only the third team in the Super League era to achieve this after
Bradford in 2003 and
St. Helens in 2006.
Leeds' victory in the 2015 Grand Final was the final competitive game of Rugby League for three long serving players of the game, as
Jamie Peacock &
Kylie Leuluai retired at the end of the season and
Kevin Sinfield joined Leeds' sister club in
Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
,
Yorkshire Carnegie.
Leeds struggled in the season following their best ever season in 2015. they spent most of the regular season in the bottom two league positions before finding form and just missing out on 8th place to Widnes therefore being confined to fight to keep their Super League status in
The Qualifiers for the first time. The club comfortably finished first in the Qualifiers only losing to Huddersfield.
The following season was a return to form, finishing second to Castleford and only a point off of their 2015 treble winning season tally. They went on to play Castleford in the Grand Final winning 24–6, the club's 11th title and 8th of the Super League era.
2018–present: Struggles and rebuild
After the successful 2017 season, the 2016 season was written off as an anomaly, however 2018 was to be another bad year for the club. They finished 9th in the regular season and finished second in the Qualifiers narrowly avoiding the
Million Pound Game on points difference.
For the 2019 season the club appointed former player
David Furner
David Furner (born 6 February 1971) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who was the head coach of the Leeds Rhinos, and a former player. He is the former assistant coach for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL, and th ...
as head coach to rebuild the team. After an unsuccessful start to the season Furner was sacked and replaced with
Richard Agar as caretaker coach. Agars first game in charge was a loss in the
Challenge Cup to second division
Bradford Bulls. Agar was given the job permanently at the end of the season after keeping the club in Super League.
Leeds made a bright start to the
2020 Super League season
Super League XXV, known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the 25th season of the Super League and 126th season of rugby league in Great Britain. St Helens were the reigning champions going into Super League XXV. At the st ...
although their season was disrupted due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. Despite the postponed season the club made it to
their first Challenge Cup final in five years where they beat
Salford 17–16. It was their first major trophy after the 'Golden Era'. Leeds reached the first week of the playoffs but were eliminated after losing to
Catalans Dragons 26–14.
In the
2021 Super League season, Leeds finished in 5th place on the table and qualified for the playoffs. In the elimination playoff, they defeated
Wigan 8–0 at the
DW Stadium to book a semi-final match against St Helens.
Leeds started the 2022 Super League season poorly winning only one match in their opening 10 games. Before Leeds round 10 match against
Toulouse Olympique, Leeds were sat 11th on the table. Following the clubs round 11 victory over
Hull Kingston Rovers, Agar resigned as head coach of the club. He was later replaced by Rohan Smith. Under Smith, Leeds won 13 of their next 18 games to reach the
2022 Super League Grand Final. Along the way, the club upset both
Catalans Dragons and
Wigan in the playoffs to reach the decider. In the grand final, Leeds were defeated 24–12 against
St Helens RFC.
Colours and badge
Colours
Leeds play in traditional Leeds colours blue and amber (home). Their home kits are famously blue with an amber band around the chest and on the arms. Between 2011 and 2013 Leeds wore pink away kits with proceeds of shirt sales going to breast cancer charities.
Badge
Between the club's foundation in 1865 and the formation of
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...
in 1996 Leeds used the city's crest on their kits as they were just known as Leeds RLFC or Leeds Loiners. In 1996, the formation of Super League saw Leeds change their name to Leeds Rhinos. The new badge is mainly blue and has a rhino with the word rhino above it in a semi circle and Leeds at the top of the badge.
Stadium
Leeds have played at Headingley since 1890 and the ground is owned by Leeds. The
rugby ground is also on the same site as the
cricket ground operated by
Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The North Stand of the rugby ground backs onto the cricket ground. The Carnegie Stand was built in 2006 to replace the old, uncovered, Eastern Terrace and also expanded the capacity to 21,000, adding extra seating on the top tier and terracing on the bottom.
Between 2017 and 2019 the stadium was extensively redeveloped with both the South and North Stands being demolished and replaced by modern constructions, the latter in co-operation with
Yorkshire CCC. Seating was added in the upper level of the new South Stand and a large corporate suite, originally called the Emerald Suite, is located within the North Stand overlooking both cricket and rugby pitches. Any significant redevelopment or expansion of the Western Terrace would require the demolition of housing and rerouting of a public right of way.
Kit sponsors and manufacturers
Leeds have had four shirt sponsors since 1981, the current sponsors,
Leeds Building Society
Leeds Building Society is a building society based in Leeds, England. It serves approximately 719,000 customers across the United Kingdom, who together hold £9.9 billion in savings balances and is the fifth largest building society in the UK.
...
are currently the longest sponsorship deal the club have had and is the longest in the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...
. Since 2008 the club's kits have been made by Australian company
ISC, who took over from
Patrick.
Mascot
Ronnie the Rhino is the Leeds mascot. He attempts to get the crowd going pre-match, and at half-time he normally gets children involved by playing some sort of game.
Ronnie the Rhino visits schools as part of the Leeds RLFC Community project, with the intention of promoting sports and healthy living.
Rivalries
During the early part of the Super League era, Leeds' main local rivals were
Bradford Bulls, who they played in two Grand Finals and beat in 2004 to win their first
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...
title. However the Bulls have since slipped down to the lower leagues and competitive games are rare. Leeds also have a cross-city rivalry with
Hunslet, who they play annually in the
Harry Jepson OBE Memorial Cup. The two clubs played against each other in the 'all Leeds' 1938 Championship Final at
Elland Road, won by Hunslet, which attracted a still-record Rugby League attendance for the city of 54,112. Since the 1970s, however, Hunslet have largely played in lower leagues so competitive fixtures are rare.
Leeds also have West Yorkshire derbies with
Castleford Tigers
The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed ...
and with
Wakefield Trinity, who they play every Boxing Day in the annual
Festive Challenge
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
.
Since the formation of
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...
there has been a major rivalry with
St. Helens, who lost five consecutive Grand Finals between 2007 and 2011, four of which were against Leeds. The two sides have been the most successful during the Super League era. There are also other cross-Pennine rivalries against
Wigan Warriors, whom they have played in big games and beat in a final for the first time in 2015, and against
Warrington Wolves, who they have played in
Challenge Cup and Grand Finals.
2023 squad
''Where a player has played internationally for more than one country, the nations are indicated with the most recently represented first. A slash (/) indicates an uncapped player of dual nationality.''
Players
Internationals
Harry Sunderland Trophy winners
The
Harry Sunderland Trophy is awarded to the Man-of-the-Match in the
Super League Grand Final by the
Rugby League Writers' Association.
Lance Todd Trophy winners
The
Lance Todd Trophy is awarded to the Man-of-the-Match in the
Challenge Cup Final. Introduced in 1946, the trophy was named in memory of
Lance Todd, the
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
-born player and administrator, who was killed in a road accident during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
† = Won Lance Todd Trophy whilst on losing side
Man of Steel winners
The
Man of Steel Award (latterly the
Steve Prescott Man of Steel Award) is an annual honour, awarded by the
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...
to the most outstanding player in the British game for that year.
Golden Boot winners
The
Golden Boot Award is a
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
award handed out annually for achievements in rugby league by
Rugby League World magazine. The Golden Boot is given, usually in December after the conclusion of all the year's matches, to the player adjudged to be the best in the world, as determined by a ballot of international media representatives.
It was decided by the judges that
Garry Schofield should be the winner in 1990, but unfortunately the sponsors of the Golden Boot backed out and the award was shelved. After a nine-year hiatus, League Publications Ltd, having bought Rugby League World, brought back the award in 1999. In 2011 they decided to give Schofield his Golden Boot and he is now included in the roll call of winners of the prestigious award.
The oldest winner of the award is
Kevin Sinfield, who won in 2012 at the age of 32.
Testimonials
Players with honours
Captains
Hall of Fame
The Rhinos instigated a
hall of fame in 2017. Up to four players will be inducted each year. The qualifications for inductees are that they have:
* made at least 150 appearances for the club,
* made an exceptional contribution to rugby in Leeds,
* achieved representative honours, and
* been retired for at least five years (apart from in exceptional circumstances, as was the case with Rob Burrow in 2020).
Staff
First Team coaching staff
Club officials
Club President Andrew Thirkill
Seasons
Honours
League
*
First Division / Super League:
::Winners (11): 1960–61, 1968–69, 1971–72, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017
::Runners up (12): 1914–15, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1937–38, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998, 2005, 2022
*
Second Division / Championship:
::Runners up (1): 1902–03
*
Premiership:
::Winners (2): 1974–75, 1978–79
::Runners up (1): 1994–95
*
RFL Yorkshire League:
::Winners (15): 1901–02, 1927–28, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1960–61, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70
Cups
*
Challenge Cup:
::Winners (14): 1909–10, 1922–23, 1931–32, 1935–36, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1956–57, 1967–68, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1999, 2014, 2015, 2020
::Runners up (12): 1942–43, 1946–47, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012
*
League Cup:
::Winners (2): 1972–73, 1983–84
::Runners up (3): 1982–83, 1987–88, 1991–92
*
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy:
::Winners (1): 1970–71
*
Yorkshire Cup:
::Winners (17): 1921–22, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1958–59, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1988–89
::Runners up (4): 1919–20, 1947–48, 1961–62, 1964–65,
International
*
World Club Challenge:
::Winners (3): 2005, 2008, 2012
::Runners up (5): 2009, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2018
Records
Club Records
*Biggest win:
::102-0 ''v.''
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...
(at
Headingley, 1913)
*Biggest loss:
::74-0 ''v.'' New Zealand (at
Headingley, 08/10/2022)
*Highest all-time attendance:
::40,175 ''v.''
Bradford (at
Headingley, 21 May 1947)
*Highest Super League attendance:
::23,246 ''v.''
Castleford (at
Elland Road, 23 March 2018)
Player Records
Most appearances
Notable supporters
Actors
*
Matthew Lewis
*
Sean Bean
Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of '' Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ...
Presenters
*
Gabby Logan
*
Chris Hollins
*
Sue Barker
*
Clare Balding (TV)
Athletes
*
Wayne Rooney
*
Tim Henman
*
Boris Becker
*
Danyl Johnson
*
Nicky Campbell
*
Sean Morley (better known as Val Venis, Canadian Wrestler on WWE)
*
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.
Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his pla ...
*
Steve Walford
Stephen Joseph Walford (born 5 January 1958) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a defender for clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Norwich City, West Ham United, and West Bromwich Albion.
After his playin ...
*
Alistair Brownlee
*
Jonathan Brownlee
*
Alex Brooker
*
Jonny Bairstow
*
Peter Wright
Other teams
Since 2017, Leeds Rhinos have operated a
women's rugby league team and a
netball team. Both teams compete in the top tier of their respective competitions, the
RFL Women's Super League
The Rugby Football League Women's Super League (known as the Betfred Women's Super League due to sponsorship) is the elite women's rugby league club competition in England. Originally competed between four teams in the 2017 season, the league ha ...
and the
Netball Superleague
The Netball Super League is a top level netball league featuring teams from the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in Netball in England, England, Netball in Wales, Wales and Netball in Scotland, S ...
.
Since 2018, they have also operated a Physical Disability Team as well as a Learning Disability Team from 2019. They also have a wheelchair team that competes in the Wheelchair Super League.
See also
*
Sport in Leeds
References
Sources
Rhinos: history and facts*
External links
Official Club sitePrincipal fan site and forumSuper League SiteLeeds Rhinos Dedicated section on RugbyLeague.comLeeds Rhinos History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds Rhinos
Rugby clubs established in 1870
Super League teams
Sport in Leeds
1870 establishments in England
Founder members of the Northern Rugby Football Union
English rugby league teams