Sheffield Eagles flourish on their big return to the city

It could hardly have gone better for Sheffield Eagles as they opened their new-look Olympic Legacy Park stadium with a commanding win over Widnes.

Despite trailing 12-0 inside the first 10 minutes in front of the limited capacity sell-out of 700, the Eagles roared back to lead with 34 unanswered points before Widnes added two late tries.

The night was the latest stop on the Sheffield rugby league rollercoaster that dates back 40 years.

It was perhaps fitting that their opponents were the side that they beat at Wembley to win the 1895 Cup final in 2019 – little over 20 years since the most famous of Wembley wins, when Sheffield beat the mighty Wigan in the Challenge Cup final.

There was a buzz about the place that belied the attendance figure.

A large number of the fans took up their seats in the newly constructed main stand, which generated a decent atmosphere looking out to the open three sides of the ground.

There are plans to add terracing to at least one end and the opposite side, though the timescales for that remain unclear.

It wasn’t the finished article – the large indoor room at the top of the sand was incomplete, some of the surroundings represented an unfinished building site and the roof on one side wasn’t fully completed, amongst other things – but the signs of progress are there for the Eagles.

You could sense the excitement from fans, volunteers and former players in attendance, including Challenge Cup final winning captain Paul Broadbent, who delivered the match ball to the referee ahead of kick-off.

The big boost is that it gives them roots in the city.

It marks a long and arduous journey for the club and Mark Aston, the Eagles’ most famous son, who co-founded the new club after the controversial merger