Yorkshire clubs find way to add more spice to derbies

At 28 he has sampled everything the Broad Acres has to offer in the sport, from graduating from the Leeds Carnegie academy to taking his first steps in senior rugby in the Yorkshire leagues with Dinnington, and then progressing to his current club Doncaster Knights via a stint with Rotherham Titans.

“It’ll probably be Sheffield Tigers next, via Morley and via Harrogate – I’ll play for them all,” laughed the powerhouse second-row forward.

Yorkshire born and bred, the new Yorkshire Regiment Trophy is right up Challinor’s street.

The concept is that results from the six league games contested by the three Yorkshire clubs this season will decide who is deemed winners of the trophy at the end of the season.

Backed by the Yorkshire Regiment, the scheme was launched yesterday at York’s Clifford’s Tower, a picturesque setting so windswept it felt like a blustery Saturday afternoon at Clifton Lane.

“It’s a big thing for me being a Yorkshireman, this is nice to celebrate the Yorkshire teams doing well in the Championship,” said Challinor, who was recently-appointed Doncaster’s captain.

“There’s a perception that rugby union is weak in the north.

“I don’t think it’s weak. There’s a big junior set-up and a lot of junior clubs.

“I’ve been lucky enough to go down that road. I started at Dinnington and progressed to the England age groups.

“You just have to look at people like Danny Care. If you’re good enough there’s a way to get where you want to be.

“And from a team perspective, Rotherham and Leeds have both been in the Premiership. There’s only 16 or 17 teams who have been in the Premiership, so to have two of them from Yorkshire is positive.”

The first battlelines of the 
2012-13 Yorkshire Trophy will be drawn at Headingley Carnegie tomorrow night as Leeds welcome Doncaster Knights.

It is already an intriguing Championship encounter, spiced further by the knowledge that it is no longer just bragging rights on the line.

“This game doesn’t need any spicing up to be fair,” said Challinor. “When the fixture list comes out we always look for the Yorkshire derbies first.

“It’s big game for us. We’re just gathering a bit of momentum and Leeds comes at a good time for us.

“We beat them at Headingley last year which was a massive result for us. Headingley’s a nice stadium, people go there and are always up for the game.”

The status of each club and how close they are to aspiring to the Premiership would suggest that Leeds are favourites to win the inaugural Yorkshire Trophy.

However, had the Yorkshire Trophy been introduced last season, it would have been won by Rotherham Titans, who collected 13 points from three wins in four games against their country rivals.

Doncaster and Leeds each won a game apiece and also drew at Castle Park.

Doncaster won at Headingley and were the only team that Leeds failed to beat last season.

Carnegie captain Jacob Rowan said: “I think it’s great for the county and the Championship itself to have its own mini-competition within it.

“It’s great for the players because you want to win a trophy at the end of the season and there’s huge competition between Leeds, Rotherham and Donny.

“Local derbies are huge, and there’s a lot of players who have played for more than one of the clubs.

“We’ve got a couple of Donny players from last season, plus Ryan Burrows who used to play for Rotherham, and it’s always good for those guys.

“Promotion is the main focus, but we can only finish up there if we win our games, and Rotherham and Doncaster are no exception.”

While the first blows of the Championship will be thrown by Leeds and Doncaster tomorrow, Rotherham will be preparing for their game with Bristol on Saturday.

Their first foray into the competition comes on Saturday, November 3, at home to Doncaster.

“I really like the idea,” said Titans lock Toby Freeman, a Cornwall-born summer recruit. “There’s a big following for rugby league here, and while there is a following for rugby union, this can only help to improve exposure for the sport.

“Union is what you grow up with in Cornwall, whereas up here you’ve got football and rugby league which for kids are much bigger sports.

“It’s not about changing what is already here, but generating greater exposure and getting kids more aware of union.

“There’s three teams in the Championship from Yorkshire, so there is a stronghold already.

“This just adds a little spice to what goes on between the three teams.”

Yorkshire Trophy fixtures in the Championship: Oct 5 - Leeds v Doncaster; Nov 3 - Rotherham v Doncaster; Nov 24 - Rotherham v Leeds; Feb 15 - Doncaster v Leeds; Mar 9 - Doncaster v Rotherham; Mar 31 - Leeds v Rotherham.