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Whenever Wakefield and rugby union are mentioned in the same vein, it is usually as a reference to Wavell Wakefield, the former England 1920s Grand Slam captain and RFU chairman, who was posthumously inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2015.
More recently, 2003 RWC winner Mike Tindall was schooled in the city at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS), walking the same halls as England’s first RWC captain, winger Mike Harrison, whose nickname ‘Burglars Bill’ was born and now lives off his threes capacity. newsletter recording all things rugby union in Wakefield.
First-class rugby union in Wakefield pretty much died 22 years ago on April 22, 2004, when the Yorkshire town’s top team were beaten 15-11 by Coventry at his College Grove home, resulting in relegation from National One and the liquidation of the club without any assets, another devoted super-fan, press volunteer and rugby historian, Richard Lowther.
Although Rugby Union still has a presence in the Wakefield county, thanks to junior club Sandal, the loss of Wakefield RFC was a bitter blow to die-hards like Lowther, who painstakingly compiles Burglar’s Bill, which is full of insights and anecdotes from times gone by. Among the subscribers is former England manager Stuart Lancaster, who played for Wakefield in black and gold before moving to Leeds.
One of the more interesting links between rugby union and Wakefield that has caught Lowther’s eye is happening this Saturday, not at College Grove, but across town at the DIY Kitchens Stadium, formerly known as Belle Vue before the commercial name rights were sold. The game prompted him to look into the history of international rugby in England’s largest province.
Lowther believes Saturday’s Test match will be in between Zimbabwe and Samoa, who have never met before, will be the first 15-a-side rugby match to be played at the Belle Vue venue – home of reigning Super League champions Wakefield Trinity – since Sandal played Sheffield there in 1948.
One thing is certain, it is the first rugby union Test match to be played in Wakefield and the 12th in Yorkshire in total, dating back to the 1880s when Cardigan Fields in Leeds hosted an England v Wales match.
No one seems to know exactly how Wakefield was chosen as the venue, but it gives rugby union a showcase in a city where rugby league is king and ticket sales are encouraging, with the Neil Fox MBE East Stand sold out before the week of the game.
After taking on Samoa, Zimbabwe’s next ‘home’ game will be in more familiar rugby union surroundings – Vallis Way, the home ground of leading Champ club, Ealing Trailfinders.
The Sables take over Uruguay at the West London Stadium on Saturday 14 November, before finishing their Nations Cup campaign a week later against Chile in Angoulême, France.
