THEY are used to battling it out against one another on the rugby pitch.
But this week, Hull FC and Hull KR players gathered at Beverley's newest restaurant for a Man vs Food challenge.
Owners of Rebels' Smokehouse in Butcher Row, Sally McIntosh and Jason Rowe, organised the challenge to raise money for the Steve Prescott Foundation.
Taking part in the challenge to eat the infamous MeetMeatEat platter – consisting of buffalo wings, a full rack of ribs, pulled pork, four corn dogs, four mini burgers, a full BBQ chicken and eight sides including fries, mash potato, onion rings and macaroni cheese – was Jason Netherton, of Hull KR, and Aaron Heremaia, of Hull FC.
Taking the honours in the competition, ahead of Sunday's crucial derby match, was Jason, who beat Aaron with the mammoth task of eating the dish normally set aside for four people.
Aaron said: "I'm really happy I won, but it's all a bit of fun at the end of the day and, of course, we need to remember why we are all here, to raise money for such a good charity."
Restaurant owner Sally McIntosh said: "Everyone involved had such a fantastic evening.
"We ended up raising about £200 for the charity, which is close to all these guys hearts.
"We will definitely be hosting another one of these challenges again in the near future."
As well as the Hull KR vs Hull FC challenge, rugby players from Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria also took part in the Man vs Food event.
Kyle Amore won the three counties competition by beating Yorkshire's Ian Kirke and Lancashire's Paul Johnson.
They all managed to eat a massive four to five pounds of food each.
Speaking before the challenge, Rovers star Jason said: "I knew the mammoth amount of food I had to eat, so all I had before the challenge was some Coco Pops for my breakfast.
"It's great we are able to take part in things like this to raise money for such an important charity. The food was delicious, too."
Rebels' Smokehouse opened in Beverley last month, offering people a real taste of the southern states of America.
Owner Sally grew up in Alabama with the barbecue food culture and has brought over a number of her secret recipes for the people of Beverley to sample.
