27th December….
In 1910 a Challenge match was played at Wigan between members of the previous summer’s Lions Tourists and the Colonials (overseas players with English clubs). Bill Jukes was in the Tourists forwards. The proceeds from the 8,000 crowd were donated to the fund set up for the recent Pretoria Pit disaster at nearby Westhoughton. The Colonials opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a try to which Jukes replied minutes later. The Tourist were then on top for the rest of the game turning a 20-12 half-time lead into a 40-22 win.
In 1921 scrum-half Ernest Young made his debut at home to Salford. He had signed from Burley Vale. After a tentative start in his first season he then made the scrum-half position his own being a virtual ever present for the next seven season. In all he played 274 games and scored 78 tries. He was club captain in 1928/29 and was selected for Yorkshire on two occasions. He later went on to be Hunslet’s trainer.
Erenest Young
28th December….
In 1908 England played Wales at Broughton Rangers. Hunslet were well represented with Billy Batten in the backs and John Willie Higson and Bill Jukes in the forwards. A crowd of only 4,000 saw England win easily 31-7.
30th December….
In 1933 the Rugby League decided it was good idea for the Australian tourists to play a game between Christmas and the new year in London. Wales were selected as their opponents and the game at Wembley only attracted a gate of around 11,000. Les White was selected as the Wales hooker but he and his team mates were thoroughly routed by the Aussies 51-19.
An even stranger decision was to then put the Australians on the overnight boat train to Paris to play another international the next day. This time their opponents were England and this was the first time a match under Rugby League rules had been played on French soil. Les White and three of his Welsh colleagues accompanied the Australians and then turned out as England players in the match! 10,000 Frenchmen turned out to watch the Australians eclipse their Wembley performance winning 63-13. It is reported the French crowd were wildly enthusiastic seeing the new code and carried future Hunslet player Vic Hey and his Aussie teammate Brown shoulder high from the field.
There were problems at holiday period games over the years. In the first in 1979. Castleford were to be the opponents at the Greyhounds. A frosty night before the game didn’t seem to have caused a problem – Hunslet officials inspected at 10 o’clock and found that 90% of the ground was soft with some hard patches in the centre of the field. These were forked and covered with peat. The floodlights were also turned on to try and raise the temperature a degree or two. Referee Cliff Hodgson inspected at 2 o’clock and declared the game on, the hard patches being considered no worse than a hard pitch in August. Cas turned up at 2.40 and immediately lodged a complaint saying they did not consider the pitch playable. Referee Hodgson then had no option than to call the match off at 2.45 much to the annoyance of a fair number of spectators already in the ground.
And in today’s 1911 programme it was reported that Hunslet had travelled to Keighley on the 23rd and found the Rugby League had appointed the referee for the game to the Rochdale Australia game and not named a replacement. The touch judges decided one of them would act as referee and the programme emphasised “acted”. They considered his inept performance as the catalyst for an extremely heated game which was halted many times for warnings to be admonished. The rough-house tactics did not suit Hunslet and they went down 3-8.
The weather was also a problem in 1950 for the home game against Batley. Knowing a sharp frost was coming the club treated the pitch with 4 cwt of salt covered with sand and a further layer of salt. Referee Mr Armitage agreed to inspect early and the game was declared on. However Hunslet will have regretted the expense of the precautions as a gate of £227 was the lowest of the season and the lowest for a Saturday game since the War. Hunslet at least won the game but only by the add point in 19. The salt would also likely require the pitch to be re-seeded in the summer.
