On this Throwback Thursday, Club Historian Bill Dalton looks back at when Super League went on the road in Hull’s inaugural season in 1998…
Watching the annual Magic Weekend is a luxury that all rugby league fans have come to enjoy over the past decade. But the concept of taking a round of Super League fixtures on the road had already been considered before the inception of Magic Weekend.
Having won promotion to the Premier Division in 1997, Hull FC were involved in the very first ‘On the Road’ experiment during the 1998 Season, some nine years before the current annual Magic Weekend jamboree was inaugurated.
The published fixture list for 1998 left a three-week gap after the first weekend in July to avoid a clash with the football World Cup. However, a series of fixtures were created so that the twelve clubs did, indeed, play a fixture during that three-week hiatus.
Unlike the Magic Weekend we have come to know today, not all fixtures were played on the same weekend and fixtures were determined by league positions at the end of the 1997 season.
Also dissimilar to the concept of Magic Weekend, all six fixtures were played in different locations around the country, so as to branch out to all areas of the United Kingdom.
Hull were accompanied by Huddersfield in their elevation to the top echelon of the game, so they were paired in this round of fixtures.
The question of expansion to new areas of the country was in vogue at that time and so these games, which were extra to the customary home and away programme, but carrying league points nevertheless, were taken to what were seen as areas ripe for development of rugby league.
It may have also been seen as a convenient replacement for the previous year’s disastrous World Club Championship, played by 12 teams in two hemispheres, in which the European contingent had been mercilessly flogged on most occasions.
The first of the six matches kicked off on a cold, wet Friday night at the Gateshead International Stadium on 10th July when Leeds Rhino’s overcame Salford Reds by 34-16 in front of 4,122 spectators, a figure which was addressed by Kath Hetherington as being ‘more than Wigan would have attracted’.
The second of the fixtures was taken to the Sixfields Stadium, home of football club Northampton Town the following Friday evening. An attendance of 3,087 created a good atmosphere in the compact ground as Halifax Bluesox ran out victors over Sheffield Eagles by 32-10.
The following day, it was the turn of Bradford Bulls and London Broncos to do battle in Edinburgh at Tynecastle. Considering the massive distance for any London supporters to have travelled, those that did so were rewarded with a 22-8 victory.
The ‘On The Road’ concept was seen to come to life as the top two teams from 1997 were appreciated by an attendance of 6,863. Gateshead’s International Stadium opened its doors once more on the rugby league tour, welcoming Hull Sharks and Huddersfield Giants on Friday 24th July. An assembly of 4,308 gathered to watch Hull come from behind to beat the Giants 21-10. Huddersfield never tasted success again that season.
The roadshow culminated over the final weekend in South Wales. The evening of Saturday 25th July saw a cracker of a contest staged between Castleford Tigers and Warrington Wolves. The encounter was played at Cardiff Arms Park, where 4,437 gathered. Castleford carried the day by 23-16 after trailing 6-10 at halftime.
The following evening saw St Helens and Wigan Warriors and a crowd of 8,572 assemble at a rain-soaked Vetch Field, Swansea, for the final game of the roadshow extravaganza. It turned out a traumatic day for the Saints as they were humbled 36-2. It was Wigan’s fourth success of the season over their local rivals, and it had repercussions for future Hull head coach Shaun McRae, as that result contributed to Saints failing to offer him an extension to his contract at Knowsley Road.
Although the entire weekend failed to attract blockbuster attendances, the concept put the birth of the Magic Weekend on a plate.
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