1897 Challenge Cup

The 1897 Challenge Cup was the first time the Northern Rugby Football Union's tournament for the Challenge Cup was held and involved 52 clubs from across England. Played over five rounds in March and April 1897, it culminated in a Final which was won by Batley.

Many Rugby players had found it difficult, if not impossible, to play regularly as it meant missing a day's work, with the consequence of the loss in a days earning. "Broken Time" payments was a possible answer to compensate for this loss of income. Generally the southern clubs did not have quite as serious a problem and were less sympathetic.

In 1892 charges of professionalism were made by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) against clubs in Bradford and Leeds, after they compensated players for missing work (although at that time the RFU was allowing other players to be paid (e.g. the 1888 British Isles team that toured Australia)).

In 1893 many Yorkshire clubs complained that southern clubs were dominating the RFU committee, and as all the committee meetings were held in London, this made it difficult, expensive and generally inconvenient for the Yorkshire members to attend. In effect they were arguing that there was a bias by the few southern clubs with "gentlemen" players against the many northern clubs with more "working class" players over the issue of "Broken Time" payments.

The Yorkshire clubs had put forward a proposal that would allow players to receive up to six shillings, if and when they lost a full days work and hence pay because of match commitments. The RFU voted against this and widespread suspensions of Yorkshire clubs began.

These clubs met to discussed a break away, maybe encouraged by the success of the similar action taken in 1888 by the Northern Association football teams.

This meeting was held on Tuesday, 20 August 1895, at a meeting at the Mitre Hotel, Leeds, when the twelve clubs agreed they should form a Northern Union, not as a complete breakaway, but with ties to the RFU. A five-man panel met a sub-committee of the Yorkshire Union to discuss a scheme to settle the 'dispute'. The Union however immediately rejected the proposal out of hand.

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