Sheffield Eagles
| Eagle | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sheffield Eagles Rugby League Football Club |
| Colours | Red and Yellow |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Website | www.sheffieldeagles.com |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) | |
| Competition | National League Two |
Sheffield Eagles RLFC are a rugby league team based in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. They compete in the LHF Healthplan National League Two and play their home games at the Don Valley Stadium.
History
Foundation
Sheffield is not historically a rugby league area but in 1984 Gary Hetherington, at that time in the later stages of his playing career, decided to start a new professional club in the city. Hetherington was both manager and player in the first season, building the team using experienced players from traditional areas. He also began signing up promising young players, one of whom was Mark Aston, later to be a critical part of the Eagles' survival as a club.
The first games were played at the Owlerton speedway stadium, but after stadium safety became an issue the Eagles began their nomadic journey around South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, playing at several temporary venues including Hillsborough, Bramall Lane, Saltergate and Oakwell. Finally in 1991 the World Student Games was held in Sheffield and the newly built Don Valley Stadium became home for the club.
Progress
On the field the club progressed steadily, improving their league position until in 1988/89 they finished third in the league table and made it to the Premiership final at Old Trafford. In the final they outplayed Swinton, beating them by 43-18 and gaining promotion to the top flight of rugby league. They survived one season but were then relegated. This was a temporary decline as they immediately regained their place in the First Division, winning the second division title and Premiership. In 1992 they reached the Yorkshire Cup final, losing to Wakefield Trinity. No matter, because over the next few seasons the Eagles became a fixture in the top flight, with notable firsts including being part of the first game of the SuperLeague era (against the ill-fated Paris St. Germain franchise in 1996) and being the first English team to beat an Australian team on English soil in the World Club Challenge in 1997.
Wembley 1998
May 2nd, 1998 is the greatest day in the history of the Sheffield Eagles. Having beaten Leigh, Egremont, Castleford and Salford the Eagles faced the mighty Wigan at Wembley Stadium in the final of the Challenge Cup. Wigan were overwhelming favourites with a side containing some of the best players of the modern era, including Andy Farrell, Jason Robinson and Henry Paul. Sheffield coach John Kear devised a game plan that was executed perfectly by the team on the day. Star of the show was scrum half Mark Aston, who won the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match. The Eagles led from start to finish, running out 17-8 winners in one of bthe biggest upsets in the history of the competition.
Dark Days
Just as the club seemed to be on the verge of its greatest period, following the win in the Cup Final, things began to go wrong. The expected increase in attendances didn't happen and the team didn't perform well enough, finishing close to the relegation zone only 1 year after the Wembley triumph. In late 1999 the club accepted an offer from the RFL to merge with the Huddersfield Giants, making a new team Huddersfield/Sheffield Giants, playing games in both Sheffield and Huddersfield. This team (known disparagingly within the Rugby League community as Shuddersfield) lasted only one season before reverting to the Huddersfield name. The main reason for this was the lack of acceptance of the new venture by both sets of supporters, but in particular in Sheffield. Between the end of the SuperLeague season and the start of the next semi-professional season (only 3 months) legendary player Mark Aston rallied support to restart the Eagles from scratch and achieved this objective thanks to the unfortunate demise of the Bramley club and the support of the SuperLeague clubs and Barrow.
Rebirth
From 1999 to the present the Eagles have played in the semi-professional leagues, first the Northern Ford Premiership and then the second division of the LHF Healthplan National League. Mark Aston assumed the role of player manager, continuing on the field until 2004, when he officially retired from playing. After the 2004 season Mark replaced his father Brian as Chief Executive, bringing in a new head coach in Gary Wilkinson at the end of the following year. As soon as the new club was reformed, it vowed to never overstretch its finances to achieve success. This made life difficult as the Eagles were denied the money received by other clubs in the NFP for TV rights as part of the deal that allowed them to re-enter the professional leagues.
In 2003 the team won the NL2 league championship and then reached the Grand Final, agonisingly losing 13-11 to the Keighley Cougars. Victory would have sent the Eagles into National League One, but this was not to be and a second play-off against the Batley Bulldogs ended in failure for the demoralised squad. Since then the team has struggled to match this effort, with key players retiring or being signed by bigger clubs - young players Mitchell Stringer and Andy Raleigh went on to sign for SuperLeague clubs.
Club Records
Club Honours
Challenge Cup Winners 1998
Division Two Champions 1991-92, 2003
Second Division/Divisional Premiership Winner 1988-89,1991-92
Yorkshire Cup Finalists 1992-93
NL2 Grand Finalists 2003
Tolent Cup 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005
South Yorkshire Cup 2001, 2002
Northern Ford Premiership Club of the Year 2001
Wigan Sevens Champions 1989 - 90
Oldham Sevens Finalists 1993-94
Match Records
Goals: 13 by Gavin Brown against London Skolars on 3rd August 2003
Tries: 5 by Darryl Powell against Mansfield Marksmen on 2nd January 1989
Points: 32 by Roy Rafferty against Fulham on 21st September 1986
Season Records
Goals: 148 by Mark Aston in 1988/89
Tries: 30 by Iva Ropati in 1991/92
Points: 307 by Mark Aston in 1988/89
All Time Scoring Records
Goals: 940 + 46(DG) by Mark Aston, 1985 - 2004
Tries: 114 by Darryl Powell, 1984 - 1995
Points: 2142 by Mark Aston, 1986 - 2004
Record Club Appearances
389 by Mark Aston 1986 - 2004
Highest Score For
98-4 against London Skolars on 3rd August 2003
Highest Score Against
0-88 against Hull FC on 2nd February 2003
Highest Attendance
10,603 against Bradford Bulls on 16th August 1997