History
Club History
Leeds University Union Rugby League (LUURL) is a well renowned sporting society within the University, that is steeped in history. Established in 1967, the society became the first ocially recognised rugby league club in any UK university and as a result, acted as a catalyst for the formation of many more in the years to come.
Present-day
Currently the club has 2 teams, which both compete within BUCS cometitions and leagues.
1st XIII
The 1st XIII compete in the BUCS northern premier division, arguably the hardest of all the BUCS leagues. This past season (2017/18) saw the first team secure a 4th place position. Whilst in the national cup competition, they reached the quarter final stages, where they suered a close defeat to Southern premier division champions Loughborough. The season previous had seen the 1st XIII produce their best form to date, securing a 3rd place finish in the BUCS northern premier division, sitting only behind Northumbria and Leeds Beckett. Furthermore, the team reached the semi-finals of the national BUCs cup, its best ever cup run. Silverware was eventually won via the Yorkshire varsity match at Headingley Stadium, which was played against a Yorkshire Universities best XIII.
2nd XIII
The 2nd XIII had a very successful 2017/18 season, despite missing out on promotion from the BUCS Northern 3B division. This was a significant improvement on the previous season, showing that the side has grown and developed as a whole. The 2nd XIII allows for players of all abilities to gain experience playing Rugby League, and in recent seasons a large number of the squad have progressed and gone onto play 1st team, consistently week in and week out. Showing that our club has a clear pathway for members to play 1st team rugby.
Awards and Achievements
On-field:
Most recently, three of the team were selected to represent Yorkshire Universities after a successful regional trial. Two of these players went on to represent North of England Universities against the southern equivalent, with the other player missing out through injury.
The same Two players were then proudly selected to represent England Universities in a successful president’s cup competition and a drawn series against a touring New Zealand student side.
Off-field:
As a result of all the fantastic work our members are doing throughout the year, we have been recognised by the university and received numerous awards, the main ones being:
2016/17
• Sports team of the year
2017/18
• Riley award for ‘Best collaboration’
• Leeds for Life Citizenship Award for ‘Sport and Well being’
• Leeds Sport Award for Social Contribution.