Leeds Rhinos
| File:Leeds.GIF | |||
| Full name | Leeds Rhinos Rugby League Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Rhinos | ||
| Emblem(s) | Rhino | ||
| Founded | 1864 | ||
| Location | Leeds, England | ||
| Ground(s) | Headingley Carnegie Stadium (Capacity: 22,250) | ||
| CEO |  Gary Hetherington | ||
| Coach(es) |  Tony Smith | ||
| League(s) | Superleague | ||
| 2006 | 3rd | ||
| |||
Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club who are based in Headingley in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire. They are owned by the same company that also run Leeds Carnegie rugby union team. Leeds are the second most successful rugby league team in England behind Wigan going as judged by the number of cups won.
Leeds introduced the 'Rhinos' nickname and logo in 1997.
In 2005, the Rhinos averaged 17,011 spectators per game. This dropped to 15,338 in 2006 as capacity was restricted due to ground redevelopments. The capacity of their home stadium, Headingley Carnegie Stadium, has been increased to 22,250 after the completion of a new stand.
History
Early years
In 1864, H.I. Jenkinson placed an advert in the Leeds Mercury inviting players to meet up at Woodhouse Moor a few days a week from 7am to 8am. That advert attracted over 500 members. From this interest several clubs were formed including Leeds St John's.
Leeds St John's were formed in 1870 and were originally known as the "Old Blue & Ambers". They 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 their first cup final, the Yorkshire Cup. They lost to Wakefield Trinity.
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 their 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 September 20, 1890, when Manningham were beaten by one try and one dropped goal to nil.
Leeds were founder members of the Northern Union when it broke away from the Rugby Football Union in 1895. Leeds' debut in the Northern Union was a 6-3 success at Leigh on September 7, 1895, the inaugural day of the new competition.
Leeds City FC joined soccer's Second Division in 1905-06, and finished sixth out of 20 clubs in their 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. [1]
The Headingley club reached the Championship final for the first time in 1915, but were beaten 35-2 by Huddersfield.
In 1921, Harold Buck became the game’s first £1,000 transfer when he moved from Hunslet to Leeds.
Leeds won the Challenge Cup in 1941 and 1942.
Post-war
During the 1960s and 1970s, The Loiners (as they were then nicknamed) established themselves as a dominant force recording 3 Challenge Cups and 3 title wins during this period.
Leeds were crowned RL Champions for the first time in 1961 with Lewis Jones leading them to a 25-10 victory over Warrington in the Championship Final at Odsal Stadium, Bradford.
Leeds 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 Man-of-the-Match (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.
The Championship trophy returned to Headingley in 1969 after a tough final against Castleford. Remarkably, Leeds were coached to the championship again by Joe Warham, also coach for their first success in 1961, Joe having returned to the fray on an interim basis following the departure of coach Roy Francis.
Coached by Rocky Turner Leeds returned to Wembley in 1971 and 1972 but lost out both times - in 1971 losing to rank outsiders Leigh 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.
In 1975-76 the club won the Yorkshire Cup beating Hull Kingston Rovers 15-11.
In the 1976-77 season, the Salford versus Leeds match was abandoned after 38 minutes when Chris Sanderson of Leeds suffered a fatal injury. Leeds were ahead 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 that season. They repeated that successs in 1978, in a classic final against St Helens. Former captain Syd hynes was coach on both occasions.
However these victories were the 'last hurrah' of the great sixties and seventies sides and a barren spell followed in the eighties.
Though they have always been regarded as one of the sport's richest clubs, financial worries threatened Leeds' future in the mid-1990s, amid speculation that the club were preparing to sell Headingley and move in with Leeds United FC at Elland Road.
Leeds eventually hauled themselves back to the top of the game with a Challenge Cup final appearance in 1994 against Wigan. They were beaten easily. The game was memorable for a length of the field try by Martin Offiah, considered by many to be one the greatest tries ever scored. However, this was not a one off appearance and Leeds did return again a year later. They faced rivals Wigan for the second consecutive season and were beaten easily again, the game being memorable because of a try from Jason Robinson. 2 finals, 2 defeats.
Super League
1996 marked the beginning of summer rugby and major transition for the renamed Leeds Rhinos. Leeds flirted with relegation but eventually managed to haul themselves out. The turnaround was quick and the Rhinos once again found their way to the top, facing Wigan in the inaugural Grand Final in 1998 at Old Trafford, Manchester. The Rhinos were edged out 10-4 in a tense and very evenly matched game.
Iestyn Harris joined Leeds for a record breaking £350,000 transfer in 1997. He was appointed captain in his first full season at the age of only 21. Leeds were not to be denied, and in the next season recorded their first Challenge Cup victory for over 20 years and first silverware in a decade, with a convincing 52-16 win over London at Wembley. In the next season, after a nightmare opening, Leeds put themselves in a position to defend this trophy when they met Yorkshire rivals Bradford at Murrayfield, Edinburgh. It was not to be and after a poor start from the Rhinos the Bulls edged them out by 6 points.
Daryl Powell became coach of the Leeds Rhinos after he retired from playing in 2001. Once again a period of transition loomed for Leeds, with many youngsters emerging and taking the place of experienced first team members. Under coach Darryl Powell the Rhinos gradually rebuilt and after a 3 year absence once again made the Challenge Cup final in 2003 to face Bradford. Leeds were once again edged out in a very tense game 22-20 in front of 71,212 fans at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. The game was memorable for the Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield who spurned the opportunity of 2 points to level up the game with just minutes left.
Powell became Director of Rugby in 2003 and the Rhinos appointed Tony Smith as Head Coach.
In 2004 the Rhinos finally shed the 'bridesmaid' tag and eventually picked up their first title in 32 years with a win over Bradford Bulls 16-8 in the Grand Final at Old Trafford in front of a sell-out crowd. They then followed this by winning the World Club Challenge beating Australian side Canterbury Bulldogs 39-32 in front of 37,028 spectators at Elland Road, Leeds.
This success was to be short lived, as in 2005 the Rhinos lost their third consecutive Challenge Cup final. This time they were narrowly edged out by resurgent Yorkshire rivals Hull 24-25. The Rhinos then lost the Grand Final the same season, once again thwarted by arch rivals Bradford Bulls 15-6. It was the 7th final the Rhinos had lost in 10 years.
In preparation for the 2006 season coach Tony Smith signed Great Britain forward Jamie Peacock, Australian flyer Scott Donald and powerful front-rower Mark O'Neill. They replaced the outgoing Papua New Guinea international Marcus Bai, former Australian cap Chris McKenna and young winger Mark Calderwood
The 2006 season was a disappointing one for the Rhinos. They finished third in the Super League XI table, but lost in their first play-off game against Warrington Wolves. They also suffered a disappointing defeat to Huddersfield Giants in the semi finals of the Challenge Cup.
For the 2007 season, Leeds have captured the signature of New Zealand Warriors' centre Clinton Toopi and full back Brent Webb and also made the permanent signings of Hull prop forward Jamie Thackray and Manly's Kylie Leuluai while Chev Walker and Ritchie Mathers leaving to join Bath RUFC and the Gold Coast Titans respectively.
2007 got off to the best possible start with 2 wins from 2, without playing to their full potential. However, defeat in France ended Leeds' unbeaten start, but Leeds have recovered and look to have the edge on all teams as they near the half way point in the season.
On the 11th July Leeds Rhinos made the announcement that New Zealand head coach Brian McClennan will take over from current head coach Tony Smith from the 1st December 2007 in time for Super League 13.
Stadium
Leeds currently play at Headingley Carnigie Rugby Stadium. The ground now has a capacity of 22,250 including Some seating and some standing areas.
Mascot
Ronnie The Rhino is the Leeds Rhinos 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. The current "Ronnie the Rhino" is Steve Beck. Beck often drives to perform Ronnie already in the "Ronnie Suit", however this has caused controversy due to the high number of near-misses he has on the road. Beck said that although his vision is seriously impaired by the suit, he feels it is an acceptable risk as he does not want the children to stop believing in the magic of Ronnie which he feels would happen if he turned up and they saw him get into the suit.
Honours
- World Club Challenge: 2005
- Championship (including Super League): 1960-61, 1968-69, 1971-72, 2004 (4 times)
- Challenge Cup : 1909-10, 1922-23, 1931-32, 1935-36, 1940-41, 1941-42, 1956-57, 1967-68, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1999 (11 times)
- Premiership: 1974-75, 1978-79 (twice)
- Yorkshire Cup: 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 (17 times)
- Yorkshire League: 1901-02, 1927-28, 1930-31, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1936-37, 1950-51, 1954-55, 1956-57, 1960-61, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70 (14 times)
- Regal Trophy: 1972-73, 1983-84 (twice)
Current squad
As of 1 June 2007 Super League Games Only
| Nationality | Squad No | Player | Position | App | Tries | Goals | DG | Points
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | Brent Webb | Full-Back | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
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2 | Scott Donald | Wing | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
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3 | Clinton Toopi | Centre | 13+3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
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4 | Keith Senior | Centre | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
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5 | Lee Smith | Wing | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
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6 | Danny McGuire | Stand-Off | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
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7 | Rob Burrow | Scrum-Half | 16 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 34 |
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8 | Kylie Leuluai | Prop | 4+10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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9 | Matt Diskin | Hooker | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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10 | Jamie Peacock | Prop | 13+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
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11 | Jamie Jones-Buchanan | Second-Row | 15+1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
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12 | Gareth Ellis | Loose-Forward | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
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13 | Kevin Sinfield (captain) | Loose-Forward | 16 | 3 | 73 | 0 | 158 |
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14 | Ali Lauitiiti | Second-Row | 1+9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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15 | Jamie Thackray | Prop | 1+15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
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16 | Ryan Bailey | Prop | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
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17 | Nick Scruton | Prop | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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18 | Ian Kirke | Second-Row | 4+8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
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19 | Danny Williams | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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20 | Ashley Gibson | Centre | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
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22 | Carl Ablett | Second-Row | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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23 | Jordan Tansey | Full-Back | 1+11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
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24 | Ben Kaye | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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25 | Ryan Hall | Winger | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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26 | Luke Burgess | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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27 | Michael Ratu | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Injury List'
- 7 Rob Burrow - Short term
- 20 Ashley Gibson - Out for the Season
Notable Former players
Coaching Set-Up
| Nationality | Staff Name | Position |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Tony Smith | Head Coach |
|
|
Francis Cummins | Assistant Coach |
|
Willie Poching | Assistant Coach |
| Aleks Gross | Match Analyst | |
| Billy Watts | Time-Keeper | |
| Jason Davidson | Head Conditioner | |
| Meirion Jones | Head Physiotherapist | |
| Rob Wilson | Masseur |