Yorkshire’s rugby union clubs left counting cost of decade of decline

Since Leeds Carnegie’s relegation at the end of that season, England’s top flight has been without Yorkshire representation.

This term, under the guise of Yorkshire Carnegie, the Headingley outfit were relegated from the Championship to National One following an absolutely miserable campaign that saw them lose every single game that they played.

This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the county-wide demise of the game over the last decade.

When 2020/21 kicks-off, Rotherham Titans and Hull Ionians will be playing in the fourth tier having been demoted, meaning that there will be just two White Rose teams – Carnegie and Doncaster Knights – among the top 40 clubs in England.

Rewind 10 years to the 2009/10 season and Carnegie were still in the Premiership, Doncaster and Rotherham were playing in the Championship and Wharfedale and Otley were both members of National One.

Travel back even further, to 2000/01, and the Titans were in the top flight, Leeds, Otley and Wakefield were all competing in the Championship and Harrogate and Wharfedale were in National One.

Harrogate represent a rare success story of the season just gone, achieving promotion back to National Two, where they will join Wharfedale, Sheffield Tigers, Huddersfield and Hull, plus newly-relegated Rotherham and Hull Ionians.

Otley have just been demoted to the fifth tier, while Wakefield folded in 2004.

This downturn in fortunes across the whole county is staggering, given that one in seven players who have been capped by England have hailed from Yorkshire.

The question is, what has caused this Yorkshire-wide decline?

“I don’t know all the reasons, but you have to consider the financial side of things,” said former Carnegie player and coach Richard Beck, now in charge of London Wasps’ academy.

“I think there has probably been a lack of investment at all levels. Take National One, for example. That’s the league that Rotherham and Hull Ionians are dropping out of, but it won’t be easy for them to go straight back up. Teams are spending over a million pounds trying to get out of that division.

“You need a certain level of investment. I imagine you’d almost have to look to invest more than you were spending in the Championship just to try and get back in it. But, how do you get that without asking individuals to bankroll your club?”

Sheffield Tigers head coach Jamie Broadley, a former Rotherham player, also believes that money talks.

“The reality, if you look at any sport at any level, is that the teams that have most money tend to win. It’s not nice, but it’s true,” he said.

“I don’t know if the top Yorkshire clubs have the finances to compete with what some of the teams in other areas – particularly London – can offer players.

“There are clubs who will try to develop young players and create a player pathway to bring them through into their 1st XV. But when they get into senior rugby and another team is offering them double or triple the money to go and play there, then it’s a fairly easy decision for most.

“If you take my club as an example, in Sheffield we’re competing with clubs from the Manchester area and the East Midlands, and they can pay more.

“You’ve also now got so many Yorkshire clubs playing at a similar level and I wonder if the resources are spread too thin.”

While highlighting the significance of the financial side of the game, Broadley insists that there is more to the problems that Yorkshire clubs are currently experiencing than just a lack of cash.

“It’s tough because there are so many things influencing it,” he added.

“There’s certainly been a decline in terms of academy players coming through and into the National Leagues. There also don’t seem to be the links with the universities that you’ll find in other parts of the country.

“I also think there is a lack of clear, directed leadership at a county level, without which, things will stay as they are.

“I think that the Yorkshire RFU needs to bring everyone together if there is to be a change in the trend we’ve seen over the last decade.”

The raw materials are still there. Indeed, there is no shortage of numbers playing the game at grassroots and junior level.

There are currently 94 clubs affiliated with Yorkshire RFU compared to 83 within Lancashire, 48 in Devon and 37 in Cornwall. There are 120 junior clubs in Yorkshire, not including nine universities and more than 150 schools.

It is estimated that more than 7,000 teenagers are playing the game at Under-13 to Under-18 level across county clubs, with additional numbers participating in schools.

Yet, this season, for the first time in over 10 years, no Yorkshire players have played for England at Under-18 or Under-20 level.

Add in the fact that Yorkshire won the last of their their 15 Senior Men’s County Championship titles in 2008, and it raises questions about where all this young talent is going.

“The effects of not having a Premiership club for so long have had a real impact,” added Beck.

“Where’s the inspiration and motivation for the young players coming through? If you’re Saracens and you bring an England international like Maro Itoje into a room of 16 or 17-year old academy boys, that has a real impact. It’s been a long time since any club in Yorkshire could do that.

“Without a top club for youngsters to apsire to play for I think we’ll continue to lose them to other parts of the country or different sports.”

The womens game in Yorkshire is facing similar issues, despite the fact that the White Rose have won the county championship the past two years and reached the semi-finals the two years before that.

“Just last week, Yorkshire missed out on a Tyrell Premier 15s franchise. The womens game is really strong here, but where’s the pathway for those players now?” Beck said.

“The best players will be forced to look outside the county if they want to play at the top level and they’ll end up somewhere like Sale or Darlington Mowden Park.

“There are girls who I coached at West Park Leeds who have grown up playing rugby union, but we’ll lose a lot of them to rugby league.

“We’re losing the role models and inspiration for the younger players coming through.

“I just think it’s really sad.”