Rivals Across the River – The Story of Hull’s Rugby League Derbies

Derby days featuring Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers have existed since 1899 and in the ensuing 100 years the two factions have had a natural divide because they have been based on either side of the River Hull. This is the story of the matches.

Hull colonised the west and Rovers settled in the east and the clubs’ close encounters have generated their own characters and controversies, dramas and dreams.

This culminated in a special day in May 1980 when the two sides met each other in the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley.

But Hull’s professional rugby league derbies have not only thrown up their own magic moments and marvellous memories, they have also taken place in a variety of competitions, settings and guises.

This is a paperback reproduction of the long out of print book from 1999.

About the Author

DAVID BOND was born in Hull in 1949 and still lives in his beloved Yorkshire. He attended Hull’s Bellfield County Primary School and Hymers College before studying journalism at Highbury Technical College, near Portsmouth.

He has been a specialist sports writer since 1975, since when he has worked on the staff of the Hull Daily Mail in two spells and the Yorkshire Post in Leeds.

He has contributed articles to various specialist sports publications and brochures, he has been an after-dinner speaker and compere and he spent ten years with Leeds Hospitals Broadcasts doing ball-by-ball cricket commentaries from Headingley.