Tims 92

Bradford Bulls

Odsal Stadium

Ground No. 7

Visited - Sunday 30th July
Result - Leeds Rhinos 12-30 Huddersfield Giants
Competition - Challenge Cup Semi-Final
Attendance - 12,574

Whether a Rugby fan or not, anyone who is interested in grounds will have heard of Odsal, home to Bradford Bulls and host to what was once the highest Rugby League crowd in the world at 102,569. Since before I had really started to follow RL, it was a ground that I wanted to see, so when it was announced that the Challenge Cup semi-final between Leeds and Huddersfield would be played there, it seemed the perfect opportunity for a visit.

Setting out early on the Sunday morning, the journey northwards to Bradford went well enough, changing trains in Birmingham and Leeds, before arriving into Bradford itself just after midday. That gave me some time to briefly spend in the city centre, before walking down to the ground, which was a fair distance away, and probably easier to get to by bus!

On reaching Odsal (recently renamed ‘The Gratton Stadium’ thanks to a sponsorship deal), there really isn’t a great deal to see with there only being the perimeter wall and turnstiles, with only the tops of the floodlights sticking out to suggest something beyond that. That you could only see the very top of each floodlight pylon gave away the fact that the ground had been dug out into a vast bowl, but it wasn’t until going through the turnstiles that you could really appreciate this fact.

After entering you come out at the very top of a vast arena, with the ground still a good way below you. First of all you are on a wide path that runs around the perimeter of the ground, before having grass banks with a number of staircases that lead down to another path running in a continuous circular fashion around the top of the stands. On both of these concourses are situated the refreshment and toilet areas, plus the club shop tucked away in one corner, whilst below the lower concourse lies the ground itself. Dug out into the ground, it really is a ‘bowl’ like no other, with huge terracing running along one side and curving around the one end, before meeting the newer Main Stand, which is a good sized, single tier of seating and featuring the only cover in the ground. Unfortunately the terracing doesn’t continue around the far end, (although at one time it did), instead there is just grass banking finishing the bowl off, whilst in front of that stands the newest part of the ground, the Coral Stand. An interesting structure, it features two levels of executive boxes and seating raised a good distance above pitch level. Whilst beforehand I had thought that this would spoil the appearance of the ground, it did actually help add something, breaking up that end of the ground, making it look more interesting. Whilst some would no doubt criticise a lack of seats and cover at Odsal that would be completely ignoring the fact that all of that actually adds something to the ground, making it just an immense arena that you can’t possibly not be impressed by.

Having taken a few pictures and visited the club shop, I eventually found a spot on the terrace and waited for the game to start. The winners of the match would go on to the final at Twickenham to face St Helens who had beaten Hull KR the day before, so all was to play for, and with Leeds the firm favourites, it was no surprise that most of the neutrals/Bradford fans were cheering on the underdogs.

The game eventually got started, and from the off Huddersfield looked up for it. They thought they had taken the lead in just the 3rd minute, only for the try to be disallowed for offside, so it was Leeds who were first on the scoresheet when Scott Donald went over in the corner to make it 4-0 with Kevin Sinfield converting. Undeterred, it didn’t take long for Huddersfield to get back in it, with Chris Nero scoring the try, before Michael De Vere levelled the scores with his conversion. The Giants took the lead on 25 minutes, when Chris Thorman sent a good kick towards the line, which Stuart Donlan was able to win the race to, touching down to make it 10-6. De Vere once again converted to add another two points to the score. With half-time approaching it was looking good for Huddersfield, but Leeds managed to put the game in the balance again with sheer determination and strength from Willie Poching, who barged through the tackles to cross the line. Sinfield converted with ease, which made the scores 12-12 as the teams went into the break.

The second half continued much the same as the first with Huddersfield looking the brightest, and helped by Leeds having an off day, they went ahead once more on 52 minutes. It was Brad Drew’s superb chip over the oncoming Leeds players which allowed Steve Snitch to collect before passing to Thorman who released the ball to Chris Nero who went over for his second try of the afternoon. De Vere converted once more to increase the Giants’ lead. Next it was Stuart Donlans turn to get his second try when he was able to freely race over in the corner. De Vere couldn’t get his kick on target this time though, leaving the score at 22-12 to Huddersfield. He was able to redeem himself shortly afterwards though with two successful penalty kicks, and in the very last minute a try which put the Giants in the final with a well earned victory.

Despite Leeds fans making up most of the 12,574 crowd, it was the Huddersfield fans who made most the noise, creating a good atmosphere which was helped by the bowl like design of the ground.

After leaving the ground, it was another fairly long walk back to the station, before getting back on the train homewards.

Overall, it had been quite a good day out. Although I was looking forward to visiting the ground, I hadn’t been convinced that I’d actually like it, however after going through the turnstiles and standing at the top of the huge banks of terracing/grass I really couldn’t help but love the place. It’s been a long time since a venue made me quite as taken aback as Odsal, but there is just so much to see at the ground that it makes it a must visit for anyone.