Heavy Woollen Derby
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The Heavy Woollen Derby refers to the rugby league rivalry between Batley Bulldogs and Dewsbury Rams, both located in the Heavy Woollen district of West Yorkshire. The two sides compete an annual friendly on Boxing Day to celebrate their rivalry.
Batley Bulldogs
Dewsbury RamsFLAIR Stadium, home of Dewsbury, hosts of the 2025 Boxing Day match | |
| Location | Heavy Woollen District, West Yorkshire, England |
|---|---|
| Teams | Batley Bulldogs Dewsbury Rams |
| First meeting | 30 October 1909 (Batley 8–4 Dewsbury) |
| Latest meeting | 26 December 2025 (Dewsbury Rams 0-18 Batley Bulldogs) |
| Next meeting | 5 April 2026 (Mount Pleasant, Batley) |
| Stadiums | Mount Pleasant Crown Flatt |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 56 |
| Most wins | Batley Bulldogs (32) |
Head-to-head record
- Statistics correct as of 19/5/21[1]
In all competitions, competitive and uncompetitive:
| Played | Batley | Drawn | Dewsbury |
|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 30 | 0 | 24 |
Meetings in major finals
The two sides have never met in a major final.
Collective Honours
| Batley Bulldogs | Honour | Dewsbury Rams | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | No. | No. | Rank | |
| 17th | 1 | League (D1) | 1 | 17th |
| N/a | 0 | League (D2) | 2 | 4th |
| 12th | 3 | Challenge Cup | 2 | 16th |
| 8th | 2 | Yorkshire League | 0 | N/a |
| 13th | 1 | Yorkshire Cup | 3 | 9th |
Boxing Day Challenge
The Boxing Day Challenge is an annual Rugby league friendly match that takes place on 26 December in which the teams compete for the Roy Powell Trophy.[2] The venue alternates between the two sides' home grounds: Crown Flatt (The Tetley's Stadium) and the Fox's Biscuits Stadium (Mount Pleasant) respectively. Before the move to the summer season from 1996, the teams would often meet for matches on Boxing Day and New Year's Day as part of their regular league schedule.[3][4]
The trophy is named in honour of Roy Powell who died on 27 December 1998. Powell was born in Dewsbury, and in 1998 had been part of the Batley team that won the Trans-Pennine Cup.[5]
Results
| Year | Home team | Result | Away team | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Dewsbury | 12–20 | Batley | 2,411 | [6][7] |
| 2010[a] | Batley | 30–6 | Dewsbury | 2,027 | [6] |
| 2011 | Dewsbury | 28–6 | Batley | [8] | |
| 2012 | Batley | 28–18 | Dewsbury | [9] | |
| 2013 | Dewsbury | 4–10 | Batley | [10] | |
| 2014 | Batley | 18–16 | Dewsbury | [11] | |
| 2015 | Dewsbury | 4–12 | Batley | 2,123 | [12] |
| 2016 | Batley | 28–18 | Dewsbury | [13] | |
| 2017 | Dewsbury | 16–28 | Batley | [14] | |
| 2018 | Batley | 16–10 | Dewsbury | [15] | |
| 2019 | Dewsbury | 14–14 | Batley | [16] | |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2021 | |||||
| 2022 | Batley | 32–22 | Dewsbury | [17] | |
| 2023 | Dewsbury | 12–12 | Batley | 1,893 | [18] |
| 2024 | Batley | 36–16 | Dewsbury | 1,883 | [19] |
See also
Notes
- Postponed to 2 January 2011 due to poor weather
