Leeds were playing Widnes in 1990 and a fight broke out amongst all the players right in front of us.
We were egging them on as the referee lost control and started flapping his hands, leaving the police to run on and separate the sides.
In the end there were a couple of sin-binnings as things calmed down but you don’t seem to get real square-ups like that any more.
Those kinds of confrontation are great, especially if you are a twelve-year-old.
Nor do you mind huge scores if your team wins.
That same season Leeds murdered Barrow 90-0 at Headingley and my hero Hugh Waddell scored what was probably his only ever try for the club in that game.
I was standing in the paddock with my brother waving an inflatable plastic bat and calling out his name as he walked back and was preparing to line up for the kick-off and he looked over smiled and acknowledged me, which was a great moment.
His try was worth all the rest of them put together.
We always stood in the same place, just to the left of the dugout, because we liked to hear the coaches shouting their instructions and the players calling to each other.
You could see and feel the tackles in close-up and grimace with them but that was before all the seats were put in and a lot of the magic was lost.
Steve Kilgallon
Originally published in 'Headingley Rugby Voices' Recollections of supporters, compiled by Phil Caplan.
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Memory added on October 22, 2012
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