Headingley tunnel salutes the golden greats of rugby league who have played on the world famous ground

Rarely can one ground have staged so many different prestigious games of rugby league.

A brief glimpse will show that the famous venue in Leeds not only staged the first Challenge Cup final in 1897 when Batley defeated St Helens but also some of the first Test match series when the All Golds arrived in the UK in 1907 and went on to beat the Northern Union.

It has hosted a World Cup final as well, when Australia overcame Great Britain in 1970 in a match which was so brutal it became known as the ‘Battle of Headingley’.

But, for decades, Leeds rugby league club have also faced touring sides such as the Kangaroos and the Kiwis on their home ground, which was opened in 1890, while Great Britain even played the Rest of the World there in a one-off fixture in 1988.

Yorkshire Cup finals, Regal Trophy finals, John Player Trophy finals, Yorkshire v Lancashire county encounters and even, in 1944, an American Football game between the Bearcats and the Bouncers, they have all been staged at the iconic venue.

With all this in mind – well, not necessarily that latter reference – it is no surprise that it is safe to say some of the greatest players rugby league has ever seen have graced the famous turf.

Trying to work out, then, the 20 finest to play there, predictably proved an impossible task.

That is why Leeds Rhinos, who set themselves the target as part of their latest impressive heritage project, eventually extended the list to 30.

Even that was not easy. But what a list it is…

From Ellery Hanley, Wally Lewis, Harold Wagstaff and, of course, Kevin Sinfield, to Peter Sterling, Tom Van Vollenhoven, Brian Bevan, Roger Millward and Gus Risman, it essentially amounts to a veritable feast of some of the most legendary names in the sport’s history.

The 30 greats – chosen by a panel of experienced and knowledgeable representatives including former players, coaches, administrators and officials – are now forever depicted in the tunnel at Headingley as the final part of an impressive heritage jigsaw which was officially unveiled last week.

Some of them were there to witness it first hand: legendary Leeds and Great Britain stand-off Lewis Jones – now 90 years old – plus his fellow Welshman and former Lions colleague, the prolific Billy Boston, as well as the sport’s record points scorer Neil Fox of Wakefield Trinity fame and Castleford and Manly icon Martin Reilly.

Of a more recent vintage, Martin ‘Chariots’ Offiah, the free-scoring winger who played under Reilly for Great Britain, and Rhinos colossus and ex-England captain Jamie Peacock.

Modern-day players will now line up alongside the legends as they await to stride out onto the Headingley turf during the 2022 campaign.

It completes a fascinating walkway through the tunnel area which Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington hopes will eventually become part of a stadium tour for all to see.

It was in 2019 that Rhinos completed the £45m re-development of the North Stand at Headingley which included three new sets of changing rooms, new male and female officials changing areas and modern medical facilities.

Since then, an ongoing programme has seen artwork within the tunnel area continually developed to leave an eye-catching and informative odyssey of not only the great players to have featured there but the great games, too.

The ‘home’ area of the tunnel is focused solely on the glittering past of the Leeds club itself dating back to 1890 when it was first formed.

In total, 130 players are celebrated, ten per position in the team, on a series of light box features that the current squad pass on their way towards the pitch at each game along with a special display honouring the golden generation of players – Sinfield, Peacock, Danny McGuire, Rob Burrow et al – in the modern era.

Surrounding these images are a list of every player who has played for the club since 1890 along with images and details of every trophy won by the mens and womens teams.

The main tunnel area between the home and away dressing rooms is a timeline that stretches from 1890 to the modern day, highlighting the historic domestic and international games hosted at the stadium along with historic events in the sport and around the globe to put matters in context of what is happening in the wider world.

Hetherington brought together some of the most knowledgeable minds from both hemispheres on the history of the game of rugby league to nominate their top 20 players in the history of the sport.

This was then whittled down to the 30 most influential players on the sport who have played at Headingley including Great Britain, French, Australian and New Zealand internationals.

The panel included former Rhinos coach Brian McClennan and the current one – Richard Agar – plus ex-Great Britain chiefs Brian Noble and Phil Larder as well as 1972 World Cup winner Mike Stephenson.

Leeds Heritage committee member and former referee Bernard Shooman plus former RFL chief executive Nigel Wood, St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus and South Sydney general manager Shane Richardson were also involved along with longstanding fans from overseas – Johnny Wilkinson, Thomas Keneally OA and Sir Peter ‘Mad Butcher’ Leitch and various members of the rugby league media.

In all, 75 former players received votes and given the closeness of voting, it was decided to increase the final list from 20 to 30.

In addition, four notable rugby league pioneers who all had a connection with Headingley will be featured separately.

Albert Baskerville, who led the All Golds from New Zealand in 1907; Jean Galia, who brought the first group of rugby players from France to be coached by the Leeds players at Headingley; Eddie Waring, who was the Leeds general manager in the 1940s and a nationally-known commentator; and Roy Francis, a groundbreaking coach at Headingley throughout the 1960s.

Hetherington is rightly delighted with the finished look and says it is an ideal way of “showcasing Headingley’s very rich heritage” as such a unique rugby league ground.

Headingley’s top 30 players: Arthur Beetson, Brian Bevan, Billy Boston, Clive Churchill, Neil Fox, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier, Albert Goldthorpe, Mark Graham, Ellery Hanley, Lewis Jones, Vince Karalius, Brett Kenny, Wally Lewis, Roger Millward, Mal Meninga, Dally Messenger, Alex Murphy, Martin Offiah, Jamie Peacock, Johnny Raper, Mal Reilly, Gus Risman, Albert Rosenfeld, Kevin Sinfield, Peter Sterling, Jim Sullivan, Garry Schofield, Tom Van Vollenhoven, Harold Wagstaff.