Dewsbury Rams

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Dewsbury Rams
Full name Dewsbury Rams Rugby League Football Club
Emblem Ram
Colours Red, Amber and Black
Founded 1898
Sport Rugby league
League National League One
Ground The Tetley's Stadium
Official website www.dewsburyrams.co.uk

Dewsbury Rams RLFC are a rugby league team based in the West Yorkshire town of Dewsbury. They compete in the LHF Healthplan National League One and play their home games at the Tetley's Stadium, on Owl Lane.

They are the current National League Two champions and National League team of the year.

Contents

[edit] History

A club called Dewsbury was formed in 1875 following a meeting at the Little Saddle Inn on 22 October 1875.

The first fixture was played near Sugar Field adjacent to the Crown Flatt ground. The team consisted of seven members of the committee. The club soon realised they needed a ground and the following year secured a sub tenancy at Crown Flatt for £20. 1881 saw the club's first success in the Yorkshire Challenge Cup beating Huddersfield, Bradford and Halifax before an Alfred Newsome drop goal gave them victory over Wakefield in the Final.

Crown Flatt was rapidly gaining the reputation as one of the best-equipped ground in Yorkshire. This was further enhanced when the club purchased the famous "Noah's Ark" stand at a cost of £250 Two years later however the club amalgamated into the Dewsbury and Savile and Dewsbury United Clerks Cricket club. The Yorkshire Senior Competition was formed in 1892 and Dewsbury immediately became members. However, the club struggled and finished in the bottom three due to financial problems. It therefore came as a big surprise that, at the famous meeting at the George Hotel, Dewsbury were the only members of the YSC not to agree to form the Northern Union. They elected to remain in the YSC and marginally improved their position in the league to 10th. Next season however they were back at the bottom.

In 1897-98 it was no better and halfway through the season the club decided to abandon rugby union and withdrew from the league concentrating on soccer instead. A breakaway movement soon developed and moves were soon afoot to found the club known today as Dewsbury Rams.

[edit] New club formed

On 21 April 1898 an historic meeting was held at the Black Bull public house to consider the possibility of forming a new Northern Union club. The question was discussed at some length and over £100 in donations was promised. Ironically it was local rivals Batley who helped Dewsbury gain election to the Northern Union. They were fully supportive of Dewsbury's bid and obviously looked forward to rekindling the rivalry, as well as their pockets, with the derby matches and also to thank the old Dewsbury supporters who had switched their support to Mount Pleasant during the two or three preceding seasons.

Dewsbury joined the Northern Union in 1901-02; six years after opting not to join the breakaway which led to the formation of the sport. In 1902/3 The Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues were combined to form a second division. Dewsbury was one of the new teams to join the second division.

The club's first major success came in 1912, when they beat Oldham 8-5 in the Challenge Cup final at Headingley. In 1929, Dewsbury also had the honour of playing in the first Wembley Challenge Cup final, losing 13-2 to Wigan.

Managed by Eddie Waring, Dewsbury enjoyed huge success during the Second World War when their side was boosted by the inclusion of a number of big-name guest players. Dewsbury won the Wartime Emergency League in 1941-42 and again the following season, though that championship was declared null and void when it was discovered they had played an ineligible player. They were also runners-up in 1943-44.

[edit] Post World War two

Dewsbury's only championship title came in the 1972/73 season when they beat Leeds in the play-off final at Bradford's Odsal Stadium 22-13. They had been hammered 36-9 by the same opposition in the Yorkshire Cup final earlier that season. Dewsbury, captained by Mike Stephenson finished 8th in the league but the title was to be decided through a series of play-offs in which they also defeated Oldham, Featherstone and Warrington on their way to glory.

Many people argued about the validity of the centenary celebrations held in 1975, holding that the centenary should not have been held until 1998.

On 13 September 1988, at about 4pm, three youths deliberately set fire to the historic wooden stand erected in 1914. The stand was in excellent condition, the club having just spent £25,000 bringing it up to the required safety standards. The club also lost everything gathered over the past 113 years; programmes, records and memorabilia.

However, the fire enabled the club to build a new state of the art stadium at Owl Lane, Shaw Cross, Dewsbury and on the 14 April 1991 Dewsbury RLFC played their last home game at Crown Flatt against Barrow and went on to play their home games at Batley's Mount Pleasant whilst the new ground was being built.

The club played their first home game at the new Crown Flatt stadium (often erroneously called New Crown Flatt) on 6th September 1994 in front of another full house against Barrow, a match they won 82-6.

The Rams suffix was adopted in 1996 as part of the sport's transition from a winter to a summer schedule and despite its partial return to the old setup, the moniker has stuck.

Crown Flatt stadium was renamed Ram Stadium in 1998.

[edit] Recent Times

The Rams have enjoyed a high degree of success in recent years. They finished top of the Northern Ford Premiership for two consecutive seasons in 1999 and 2000, as well as winning the Grand Final and Trans-Pennine Cup in 2000. Despite the Rams' sustained success, they were denied entry mainly because of an insufficient stadium capacity. The Rams proposed ground sharing with Sheffield Eagles playing home games at their Don Valley Stadium while Dewsbury's stadium was improved was turned down by the RFL. After a difficult couple of seasons which saw the club relegated to rugby league's 3rd tier for the first time in ten years.

In 2005, The stadium was again renamed Tetley's Stadium. The Rams enjoyed success in National League Two in 2005 thanks mainly to a successful recruitment drive which brought several big names to the club. The Rams went on to reach the play-off final where they were defeated by NL1 strugglers and local rivals Batley Bulldogs, 28-26.

In 2006 the Rams were crowned champions of National League Two. They finished top of the division, two points ahead of Sheffield Eagles, and have been promoted to National League One along with the Eagles, who won the division's play off series. Further accolades for the Rams included being crowned National League team of the year as well as the National League Two coach of the year trophy awarded to Rams boss Andy Kelly.

[edit] The Future

2007 will be a vital year for the Rams. Their objective during their first season in National League One is to survive. Something that York, Barrow and Keighley, who made the step up in previous seasons, failed to do. Close season recruitment has, once again, picked up pace with the emphasis focused on signing local talent.

[edit] Stadium

The stadium has two covered stands, one seated and one standing with an approximate capacity of 3,500 including 900 seats and fantastic disabled facilities. As part of the Rams' Community Development Programme, the stadium also hosts matches for a number of other organisations. This ranges from local schools matches, representative amateur and student rugby league games to American football matches and fun days.

There are plans to develop the complex over the next couple of years as the club aims to bring the ground up to Super League standards.

[edit] Major Honours

[edit] Records

[edit] Team Records

[edit] Individual Records

  • Season
    • Goals: 170 by Barry Eaton in 2000
    • Tries: 40 by Dai Thomas in 1906/07
    • Points: 398 by Barry Eaton in 2000
  • Career
    • Goals: 863 by Nigel Stephenson (1967-78 and 1984-86)
    • Tries: 144 by Joe Lyman (1913 to 1931)

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links


Rugby League National Leagues - National League One

Batley Bulldogs | Castleford Tigers | Dewsbury Rams | Doncaster Lakers | Halifax RLFC
Leigh Centurions | Rochdale Hornets | Sheffield Eagles | Whitehaven RLFC | Widnes Vikings

See also: Rugby League Championship Second Division


Rugby league in Britain and Ireland

Competitions
Super League | National League | Challenge Cup | North West Counties | Pennine League
National League Cup | National Conference League | Rugby League Conference | Scotland Rugby League | Midlands Merit League

National teams
Great Britain | England | Ireland | Scotland | Wales

Federations
RFL | BARLA | Rugby League Ireland | Wales Rugby League

Former competitions
Championship | Premiership | Lancs/Yorks Cups | Lancs/Yorks League
Regal Trophy | Charity Shield | BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
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