Sporting Bygones: Rawlinson savoured ‘massive’ changes and challenges Leeds faced when they rose to the top

Since the turn of the millennium, Leeds have won promotion three times (2001, 2007 and 2009) and now plan to knock out Newcastle on their way to achieving a fourth.

Carnegie have history when it comes to climbing into the top flight.

Their rise through the divisions after the merger between Roundhay and Headingley in 1992 culminated in 2000-01, when they won a staggering 24 out of 26 games which propelled them into unchartered territory.

They began the season with a 40-25 win over Birmingham Solihull before Worcester beat the Tykes 40-13 at Sixways.

That defeat was quickly put behind them as Leeds won 23 straight games to clinch the title, before tripping up on the final weekend of the season at Henley Hawks.

The Tykes’ debut performance in the Zurich Premiership dawned on September 2, 2001, when they faced Bath.

Leeds ended up putting in a historic performance to beat Bath 10-6.

The Tykes appeared to have ‘grown up’, but knew that competing in the Premiership would be a challenge.

Hooker Rob Rawlinson was a big part of the club’s promotion year, having joined two summers earlier.

He described the transition from Division Two to the Premiership as being “a massive change”.

“The pace was just so much more intense and split-second decisions had to be made constantly. If they weren’t, you’d pay for it,” said Rawlinson.

Another part of the process that struck 36-year-old Rawlinson when moving through the divisions was the travelling involved.

“Going from travelling to the smaller clubs in the region to actually having to travel distances was something else that was special,” he said.

He describes that squad as having no real stars.

“It was a star team,” he added, “not star players.”

They created a number of firsts as they rose up the pyramid, including Leeds’s first player, Tom Palmer, to be capped for England.

Being a part of that Leeds team was definitely something special and that first promotion to the top flight was a momentous achievement.

Rawlinson remembers in particular the game against Worcester on April 1, at Headingley.

“It started off pretty even in the first half and then Ian Clarke came on and just ripped it up,” said Rawlinson.

“Big Graham Mackay in the centre, combined with the work of industrious backs and a consistency of work in general, was fantastic.”

Leeds stayed in the top flight for five seasons after that first promotion, winning the Powergen Cup in 2005 and also qualifying for the Heineken Cup after a fifth-place finish in only their second campaign.

Leeds clung dearly to life in the Premiership in that first season, though, winning six of 26 games and only surviving because Rotherham were denied promotion from National One.

When their five-year stay came to an end following the 
2005-06 season, it sparked the start of their yo-yoing between the divisions.

Rawlinson played his part in the other two promotions to the top flight, under Stuart Lancaster in 2007 and the managerial duo of Neil Back and Andy Key in 2009.

Rawlinson left the club in 2010 after 11 seasons.

He is one of only a handful of players to have made more than 100 appearances for the club, the highlight of his stay being the Powergen Cup win over Bath.

Since retiring, Rawlinson has kept a keen eye on developments at Carnegie, and is a regular match summariser on BBC Radio Leeds.

Having watched Diccon Edwards’s side mature, he believes the key for them in the two legs against Newcastle – at Headingley next Monday and Kingston Park the following Sunday – is for them to be streetwise.

“They have to keep taking as many points as they can, wherever they can,” he said.

“Building a scrum, then another scrum, then another.

“Leeds have a chance. Being promoted to the Premiership is something that I can’t imagine you would get used to – and probably still feels new to them.

“Actually staying in the Premiership however, is Leeds’s main concern. They have a solid base but they would need more experienced players.”