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It looks like Leeds United is taking the saying “All Leeds Aren’t We” seriously, as the club will host Rugby Super League champions at Elland Road twice next year. This comes after Leeds United had the Rhinos present their trophy at half-time of the match at Elland Road against Reading FC.
| We are delighted to announce Leeds Rhinos will play two of their high profile fixtures at Elland Road
— Leeds United (@LUFC) November 1, 2017
➡️ https://t.co/eu2tdB9mgg pic.twitter.com/GxL9AQT6a9
Leeds Rhinos will take on Hull KR on Thursday 8 February at Elland Road. The Rhinos will also take on local rivals and 2017 Grand Final opposition Castleford Tigers on 23 Match, 30 years after the two club squared off in the Yorkshire Cup final. The match will be bittersweet for some LUFC fans, as many fans* of Castleford are also Leeds United fans and seeing the team take on their rivals, hosted by their football club might be a little much.
Leeds Rhinos have also played World Cup Challenge games at Elland Road in 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Elland Road also hosted two matches during the Rugby Union World Cup in 2015, with Scotland playing the USA and Canada taking on Italy both taking place at the ground.
Leeds United Executive Director Paul Bell told the club’s official website that
Everyone at Leeds United is delighted to welcome Gary Hetherington and his Leeds Rhinos side to Elland Road next year and we are incredibly proud of the new partnership we have formed with the Super League side in recent months.
Playing at Elland Road gives the Rhinos the chance to create two major events here and we are sure that we can help them create memorable experiences for their fans and hopefully break their highest Super League home attendance record for a game played in Leeds. Elland Road is one of the finest sports stadiums in the UK and we will look to host other non football events here in the future.
I'd like to thank Gary and his team for the hard work and effort they have put in this summer in preparation for this announcement
So good luck to the Rhinos, and with the increased capacity of Elland Road, the Rhinos hope to break their record for a “home” match, which currently is a little over 23,000.
* And by “many fans,” I really mean Jack Robshaw. Sorry Jack.