The 2021 Rugby League World Cup is coming to Leeds this month, and with eight games to be played between Saturday 15 October and Friday 11 November, there's going to be plenty to get involved in around the city.
From the headline games to how to buy tickets, here's what you need to know about the upcoming RLWC21 events across Leeds.
Fixtures in Leeds
The following Men's Rugby League World Cup games will be held in Leeds:
Australia v Fiji on Saturday 15 October, 7.30pm @ Headingley Stadium
Jamaica v Ireland on Sunday 16 October, 5pm @ Headingley Stadium
New Zealand v Ireland on Friday 28 October, 7.30pm @ Headingley Stadium
Semi Final on Friday 11 November, 7.45pm @ Elland Road
Image: Rugby World Cup 2021
The following Women's Rugby League World Cup games will be held in Leeds:
England v Brazil on Tuesday 1 November, 2.30pm @ Headingley Stadium
Papua New Guinea v Canada on Tuesday 1 November, 5pm @ Headingley Stadium
Canada v Brazil on Wednesday 9 November, 5pm @ Headingley Stadium
England v Papua New Guinea on Wednesday 9 November @ Headingley Stadium
How to get tickets to the games
Tickets are available from just £10 for the Men's, Women's and Disabled tournaments, with tickets for under 16s coming in at just £2.21 each.
Leeds city council warned that the inaugural Leeds game Australia v Fiji on Saturday 15 October, 7.30pm at Headingley Stadium is almost sold out, so those looking to grab tickets to the event are advised to act quickly before the tickets sell out completely.
All tickets can be purchased on the RLWC21 website here.
Leeds Rhinos
Image: Rugby League World Cup 2021
The matches will affect Leeds Rhinos matches as a result. The club has put out the following statement regarding the RLWC21:
"Only five RLWC2021 fixtures (four match-days) have been affected during the rescheduling of 61 matches staged at 21 iconic venues, across 18 host towns and cities. These changes involve the switching of two fixtures between existing venues in Leeds and Hull and the relocation of fixtures from Anfield Stadium and M&S Bank Arena."
Leeds Rhinos v New Zealand- Bartercard International Challenge
The Bartercard International Challenge will see Leeds Rhinos play the New Zealand game ahead of the World Cup matches later this month.
The highly anticipated match will take place on Saturday 8 October 2022 from 6pm at Headingley Stadium.
The club has announced that Rob Burrow will be the guest of honour at the game, Leeds Rhinos have commented that "the game will have special significance for Burrow as his greatest achievement on the international stage came against New Zealand when he was Man of the Series for Great Britain against the Kiwis in 2007."
Image: Leeds Rhinos
You can grab tickets for the Bartercard International Challenge here.
Kevin Sinfield's Ultra 7 in 7 Challenge
In the past year, the Leeds Rhinos player has completed a 101 mile run in 24 hours; ran 10k with Rob Burrow and in 2020, the sportsman ran seven marathons in seven days, raising over £2.7 million for charity. Now Sinfield has announced that he plans to run from Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh to Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, spanning across seven days during the Rugby World Cup.
The ‘Ultra 7 in 7 Challenge’ will see the former Leeds Rhinos captain to run over 60 km each day in order to reach the destination in time, and will travel through Melrose, Newcastle, York, Bradford, Middlesborough and Leeds before arriving in Manchester.
Image: Leicester Tigers
The idea is that Sinfield will reach Old Trafford at half-time during the men’s rugby league World Cup final on Saturday 19 November, having set off six days prior on Sunday 13 November 2022.
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Sophie Smith -
5th October 2022 
