Patrick Stewart was born in the neighbourhood, and the Sex Pistols played their final British gig here in 1977 but this weekend the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield will be at the centre of the sporting world like never before. Huddersfield has its place in British sporting folklore already secure: it is where rugby league was founded in 1895 and Huddersfield Town were once the driving force of English football, the first club to win the league three times in a row, from 1924-26.
But the town nestled on the edge of the Pennines and in the shadow of Leeds and Manchester – geographically and metaphorically – has never known a time like this. On Saturday, Huddersfield Giants will aim to win rugby league’s Challenge Cup for the first time since 1953 when they face Wigan in the final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
