FORMER Leeds Rhinos stalwart Jamie Peacock has named the biggest derby in Super League.
For years, there have been debates about which rivalry is biggest in Super League, with the Hull KR-Hull FC and St Helens-Wigan Warriors derbies always coming into question.
The so-called original ‘Derby’ was the Wigan-Saints equivalent, but the Hull derby has reared its head in recent years after the rise of the Robins and the decline of the Black and Whites.
Peacock, meanwhile, is no stranger to a derby having played for both Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos in the West Yorkshire rivalry, whilst the BBC pundit also played a fleeting role for KR against Hull FC.
It is the latter rivalry which Peacock feels is the biggest in Super League.
“For me, I think the Hull KR and Hull FC derby is just crazy when you’re in that city. I think it’s the only derby that takes over a city,” Peacock said on Sky Sports’ The Bench podcast.
“I know Wigan and Saints is huge, Bradford and Leeds was back in the day. I know Wigan and Saints is still massive today, but it (Hull derby) takes over the city. You’ve got to be in the city to realise what it’s like.”
Peacock does, however, believe that the occasion of a derby has been diluted due to the increase in the number of games rivals play against each other in a season.
“I think one of our greatest attributes of Rugby League, certainly in the Northern Hemisphere, is the derby and the tribalism between the derbies.
“It’s diluted because you’ve got four or five a year. I like watching the derbies even though I’m not involved in them.
“Wigan versus Saints and Hull FC versus Hull KR, you know it means so much to them but when you watch it four or five times, you’re like, I can watch it whenever.”
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