Leeds v Wakefield boxing day friendly

[widdenoldboy]

Looks like a decent turn out today, 10,883 for an 11:30am KO

[Charriots Offiah]

Looks like a decent turn out today, 10,883 for an 11:30am KO

Good luck to them, at least the weather was kind.

[fozzie58]

While it doesn’t involve us once this fixture gets played the countdown is on for the new season

[Charriots Offiah]

I miss playing Saints on Boxing Day, not the weather though

[josie andrews]

I miss playing Saints on Boxing Day, not the weather though

I was just reading the other day that it’s 20 + years since we last played Saints on Boxing Day in a pre season friendly.
Will need to find it

[josie andrews]

I miss playing Saints on Boxing Day, not the weather though

I was just reading the other day that it’s 20 + years since we last played Saints on Boxing Day in a pre season friendly.
Will need to find it

20 years today since Saints played a game on Boxing Day

TODAY marks 20 years since Saints last played a game on Boxing Day.

The Saints had a long tradition of playing Wigan on Boxing Day, but the switch to summer meant that the last competitive game between the sides on that date was the 58-4 defeat at Central Park in the 1995-96 Centenary season.

Saints fielded a youthful side that afternoon, with Gareth Cunningham - son of former international Eddie - playing hooker.

Despite the arrival of Super League and switch to summer, the tradition of Saints and Wigan playing on Boxing Day continued with a crowd of 16,199 packing into Central Park in 1996.

In 1997 the Boxing Day friendly was part of a two-legged affair with crowds of 15,000 and 10,000 watching.

Another 16,000 plus crowd gathered for the 1999 friendly and although the gate of 11,197 the following Boxing Day was still healthy that was the last festive fixture between the sides.

Four years later in 2004 Saints tackled Leigh in the snow at Knowsley Road for the side's last ever Boxing Day date.

A crowd of 4,676 saw 16-year-old Scott Moore drop a winning goal in the 17-16 win over Leigh.

Twice his age that day, and making his Saints debut was try-scorer Paul Anderson who had just joined from Bradford.

Also making debut was ex-Castleford and Hull packman Michael Smith - whose two friendly appearances were his sum total in the red vee.

Other Saints tries came from Mike Bennett and Gareth Langley.

https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/sport/24 ... oxing-day/