| Location | Kingston upon Hull |
|---|---|
| Teams | |
| First meeting | 22 March 1902 |
| Latest meeting | Hull F.C. 14–28 Hull KR (18 April 2025) |
| Next meeting | 7 September 2025 |
| Stadiums | MKM Stadium Craven Park |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 247 |
| Most wins | Hull F.C. (124) |
| Largest victory | Hull F.C. 56–12 Hull KR (19 April 2019)[1] |
Locations of the two Hull teams within theEast Riding of Yorkshire | |
TheHull derby refers to therugby league rivalry betweenHull F.C. andHull Kingston Rovers. Both rugby teams are based in the city ofKingston upon Hull,East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The rivalry is the onlyBritish rugby league rivalry where the two clubs are from the same city. It is compared to theSt Helens R.F.C.–Wigan Warriors rivalry as one of the highest profile rugby league rivalries in the United Kingdom.[2][3]
Hull F.C. and Hull KR were founded in 1865 and 1882 respectively. Hull F.C. were founding members of theNorthern Rugby Football Union and breakaway code of rugby league in 1895. Hull KR initially remained playing rugby union but opted to join rugby league two years later after controversy over alleged professionalism (which was banned in rugby union) in theirYorkshire Cup win in 1897. Though theYorkshire Rugby Football Union found them not guilty after an inquiry,[4] theRugby Football Union overturned the YRFU's decision and suspended Hull KR.[5][6]
The two clubs were at the centre of a dispute in 1896 over use of theAthletics Ground (later renamed The Boulevard). Hull KR originally had tenancy however Hull F.C. took it over, forcing Hull KR out, after arguing they should have primacy as the older club and because they paid triple the £50 (£5,800 in 2019) a year rent that Hull KR were paying.[7] Hull F.C. purchased the ground outright in 1899 for £6,500 (£737,100 in 2019).[7] Hull KR moved to the east of the city and founded their own ground of Craven Street.[7] Hull KR took their place as a fully-fledged Northern Union club in 1899/1900 and, on 16 September 1899, they played the first competitive first team derby against Hull FC, winning 8–2 in front of a crowd of 14,000 at Craven Street. Finishing sixth out of 16 clubs in the YSC, above their neighbours, was a remarkable achievement in their first season in the NU.
The rivalry between the two sides sees a geographic split with the two teams separated by theRiver Hull; people living west of the river tend to support F.C. while residents east of the river are mostly Hull KR fans.[8] In 1981, the derby match on Good Friday was marred by hooliganism and brick throwing between the rival fans at The Boulevard. Hull F.C. were fined £1,000 and threatened with closure of their home ground unless it passed an inspection.[9]
The two sides competed in the1979–80 Challenge Cup Final atWembley, which saw a Hull KR victory with a scoreline of 10–5 to mark their first and only Challenge Cup. Hull FC had won the cup once prior to then but never at Wembley, which became a source of ridicule for Rovers fans. The Black and Whites have since won the cup 4 times including twice at Wembley, most recently in2017.[10]
Ahead of the formation of theSuper League in 1996, a merger proposal was rejected along with several others which would have seen both teams merge to form one club called Humberside.[11] The merger proposal was intended to form higher-quality teams ahead of the new competition.[11] Hull F.C. were first promoted to the Super League in itsthird season in 1998, whilst Hull KR gained their first season in the competition in 2007, with the two clubs then playing their first derby in 13 years.[12] Hull F.C. have never been relegated from the Super League since their initial promotion,[13] whereas Hull KR spent one season in the Championship in2017.[14]
The2025 Challenge Cup quarter final derby was the first cup derby in 39 years, attracting an attendance of 20,226 to the MKM Stadium, the largest Challenge Cup quarter final attendance since a fixture betweenLeeds andWidnes in the1989 Challenge Cup attracted over 29,000 fans to theHeadingley Rugby Stadium.[15][16] Hull KR won the fixture with a scoreline of 32–16, knocking Hull F.C. out of the cup and ensuring their place in the semi finals.[17]
In all competitions, competitive and uncompetitive:
| Played | Hull F.C. | Drawn | Hull KR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 247 | 124 | 10 | 113 |
Played – 9 Hull KR wins – 5Hull FC wins – 4Hull KR points – 76Hull FC points – 89
| Hull F.C. | Honour | Hull KR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | No. | No. | Rank | |
| 5th | 6 | League | 5 | 9th |
| 7th | 5 | Challenge Cup | 1 | 20th |
| 7th | 1 | Premiership | 2 | 4th |
| 6th | 1 | League Cup | 1 | 6th |
| — | 0 | Charity Shield | 0 | — |
| — | 0 | World Club Challenge | 0 | — |
| 5th | 4 | Yorkshire League | 2 | 8th |
| 6th | 5 | Yorkshire Cup | 7 | 5th |
| 5th | 1 | BBC2 Floodlit Trophy | 1 | 5th |
