The digital version of our game day programme for our Eighth home game of the 2025/26 season with Otley will appear here.
Today’s Visitors : Otley RUFC
A warm welcome to the Ferens Ground for this National Two North league fixture against our visitors from West Yorkshire, Otley RUFC.
Otley have a long and distinguished history, originally founded in 1865 they joined the Northern Union in 1900 for just six years after which they disbanded and rejoined the RFU in 1907. They moved to their current ground at Cross Green in 1921 and many rugby followers will remember the famous North’s defeat of the All Blacks at the ground in 1979. Cross Green also staged the North v Australia match in 1988 and Italy v USA in the 1991 World Cup. Many internationals have come through the junior section including former England captain Nigel Melville, who returned to the Director of Rugby role at the club for a spell following his retirement from playing, and more recently Danny Care.
Otley have won the Yorkshire Cup nine times, twice defeating one of our club predecessors Hull & East Riding RUFC in 1910 and 1911. They played in the second tier of rugby union in 1993/94, then again in 2000/01 for seven seasons and again in 2008/09. Eventual relegation into National Two North in 2010/11 resulted in Otley remaining in the league until 2019/20 when the Covid pandemic brought a premature end to the season in March 2020 and the club was relegated along with Preston Grasshoppers and Scunthorpe.
With no rugby in 2020/21 Otley bounced back at the first available opportunity and gained promotion by winning the North Premier championship in 2021/22 and back into the fourth tier.
All our previous meetings have taken place at National Two North level with the results as follows ;
2011/12 Otley 20-15 Hull Hull 27-5 Otley
2012/13 Hull 32-30 Otley Otley 21-26 Hull
2013/14 Hull 12-3 Otley Otley 45-0 Hull
2014/15 Otley 30-0 Hull Hull 30-18 Otley
2019/20 Otley 27-23 Hull Hull 20-14 Otley
2023/24 Otley 27-32 Hull Hull 37-36 Otley
2024/25 Hull 12-13 Otley Otley 45-48 Hull
Otley currently sit 8th in the league having won 4 and lost 7 of their 11 games played.
Enjoy the game.
Stephen Hodgson
Club Historian
HULL RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 