Leeds Tykes : A History

1996 saw the game of Rugby Union turn professional and perhaps fittingly also saw Rugby Union return to Headingley Carnegie Stadium for the first time in 100 years. The stadium was no stranger to the XV man code in its early days and even hosted a Calcutta Cup match between England and Scotland in 1893 that attracted 30,000 supporters and saw the visitors take the spoils 8-0 thanks to two drops goals.

In July 1998, Leeds RUFC became part of the World's first rugby partnership with the creation of Leeds Rugby Limited. The company encompassed Leeds Rhinos Rugby League team and the then newly named Tykes.

Promotion

Director of Rugby Phil Davies gained promotion to the second division within two years and then set about laying the foundations for an assault on the Premiership. In the first season Leeds managed sixth place but gained international recognition with the capture of Rugby League star Wendell Sailor on a short term contract, and the future Wallaby scored 13 tries in 10 games.

The following season Leeds lost out to Rotherham by four points for promotion to the top flight. However in 2000-01 the wait was over and Leeds took their place at the top table of English rugby.

And so the day dawned, 2nd September 2001 with English rugby giants Bath coming to Headingley Carnegie on the opening day of the season. The Leeds team put in a historic performance and shook English rugby to the core with a 10-6 victory. Phil Davies and his team though were under no illusions and knew their first season in the Zurich Premiership would be a tough learning curve but Leeds surprised many with their abilities and picked up further wins against Saracens, Quins and Leicester. The first season though was just an aperitif for what was to follow.

In only their second season in the top flight, Leeds incredibly finished fifth in 2002-2003 gaining a place in the Heineken Cup, the World's leading club rugby tournament and in the process announced the club's arrival.

The following season, Leeds had six players selected for international duty at the 2003 World Cup and hooker Mark Regan was part of the England squad which brought the Webb Ellis trophy back to Twickenham.

It was only four years previously in 1999 that the Leeds achieved their first ever international when captain Stuart Reid played for Scotland in their victory over France in Paris. And in 2001 Tom Palmer became the first ever England international for Leeds when he appeared as a substitute against the USA in San Francisco.

Internationals & Silverware

By the 2004-05 season the Leeds squad had a number of internationals in their ranks, including Argentinean Diego Albanese, Scotland 's Gordon Ross and they had also recruited another World Cup winner in Iain Balshaw for the new season.

They began their Premiership campaign with a home defeat to Gloucester and, after a number of bad results, the season became a relegation battle for Leeds. However inspired performances in the closing stages of the Premiership saw Leeds claim victories over Bath, Leicester and Harlequins to retain their Premiership status.

Aside from the disappointment in the league, Leeds won their first ever piece of silverware when they defeated Bath in their first ever Twickenham final and lifted the Powergen Cup, thanks to tries from Chris Bell and Andre Snyman.

In the close season, Leeds looked to further bolster their pack for the new Guinness Premiership and recruited an international super star in All Black Justin Marshall and a British Lion in Gordon Bulloch. However, the attempt to spread their wings cost Leeds dear and the season ended in relegation and the departure of club legends Phil Davies and Mike Shelley.

Former player Stuart Lancaster was installed as the new Director of Rugby having achieved notable acclaim with the club's Academy system. He was left with just six senior first team players following relegation but achieved what some thought was impossible by bringing Leeds back into the Guinness Premiership at the first time of asking in May 2007.