Leeds Rhinos' Boxing Day blues - for one year only

For the first time since 1982, Leeds do not have a fixture scheduled for the day after Christmas, leaving an entire generation of fans at a loss.

An 11.30am kick-off on December 26 at Emerald Headingley is as much of a Christmas tradition as turkey, crackers and bad jumpers.

Even during the ‘summer era’, Leeds have regularly opened preparations for the forthcoming campaign with a festive hit-out in front of a hungover crowd at their home ground.

But this year, after a Betfred Super League season which did not end until November, Rhinos will not report in to begin pre-season training until Monday, January 4.

And, even if the players were available, there would be little point playing a fixture arranged purely for the benefit of fans desperate to get out of the house - and to create some income for both clubs - behind closed doors.

Before the Sky TV deal, Leeds were often handed a home fixture on December 26 as their undersoil heating could guarantee a fixture for the BBC television cameras.

The last time Leeds weren’t scheduled to play on that date was 38 years ago, but a blank Boxing Day is not completely unheard of. In 2011, the game against Wakefield Trinity was called off - on Christmas Eve - because of a frozen pitch and rearranged for New Year’s Day. In 2017, with Headingley being rebuilt, the match was played as a one-off at Trinity’s Belle Vue.

In 1994 Leeds travelled to the Boulevard for a Championship fixture on Boxing Day, beating Hull 24-20. The following year was Leeds’ final competitive fixture played the day after Christmas and Leeds defeated Castleford in front of an 18,000 crowd - twice their average in the first Super League season.

When Gary Hetherington took over as chief executive at Leeds in the winter of 1996, one of the first decisions he made was to revive the Boxing Day game, as a ‘festive challenge’ and it has remained a date on the calendar ever since. Halifax were Leeds’ first Boxing Day opponents of the Super League era and they also played Bradford Bulls and Castleford Tigers before Trinity became established as regular visitors.

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