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Richard Stevens, Headingley Rugby Voices: 1979 Premiership Final, Leeds v. Bradford

Leeds got the Premiership final in 1979 - partly due to the fact that they avoided a fixture backlog during the terrible winter because of their undersoil heating, but then Headingley has always been at the forefront of innovation, and faced arch rivals Bradford at Fartown, Huddersfield.

We’d been eliminated in the first round of virtually all other competitions but had gone for years winning at least one trophy a season.

This was the last game of the season and the final opportunity to keep the run going so we were all desperate to go and cheer them home.

Dad managed to get tickets from a friend in Bradford and we found ourselves right in the middle of some extremely vociferous Northern fans who made up the bulk of the crowd and whose numbers were swelled by some Bradford City fans as the football season had just finished.

In those days football was beset by hooliganism and violence and I had to admit that for the first time ever at a rugby occasion I felt in fear and intimidated- it even got to the stage that I dare not even cheer when Leeds scored.

In fact, the Loiners were superb and completely dominated the game for one of their most comprehensive-ever victories.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like I could join in. It was one time when we won a cup that I couldn’t wait to go home.

Richard Stevens

Originally published in 'Headingley Rugby Voices' Recollections of supporters, compiled by Phil Caplan.

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Memory added on November 26, 2012

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