Darrel Shelford
Darrel Shelford (born 29 July 1962) is a former professional rugby union and rugby league footballer,[1] and coach.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Auckland, New Zealand | 29 July 1962||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early years
Shelford attended Western Heights High School in Rotorua, New Zealand. He is the brother of All Blacks legend Buck Shelford.
Playing career
Shelford played rugby union for the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union, and the New Zealand Māori team before switching codes and heading to England in 1990.
He played rugby league for Bradford Northern, and the Huddersfield Giants, playing in the Centres.
Shelford played at centre in Bradford Northern's 2–12 defeat by Warrington in the 1990–91 Regal Trophy Final during the 1990–91 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 12 January 1991.
Shelford then returned to union, playing for Wakefield RFC.
Representative career
Shelford won five caps for the Scotland national rugby league team while at the Huddersfield Giants in 1995 and 1996, including playing at the 1995 Emerging Nations Tournament.[4][5]
Coaching career
Shelford has coached the Scottish rugby league side and also worked as an assistant coach at Wakefield RFC.
Shelford returned to Bradford Bulls in 1997 as part of the coaching staff, initially coaching the Academy team before being given a full-time role two years later as an assistant to head coach Matthew Elliott.[6] He left the club in 2002 to join Saracens, where his brother Buck was the head coach.[7] He was released along with the rest of the coaching staff a year later.[8] He also coached at Italian club Arix Viadana between 2006 and 2009.[9]
For many years, Shelford worked as a director at the Rotorua-based New Zealand Sports Academy.[10][11]
References
- "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- "Player Summary: Darrel Shelford". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- John Coffey, Bernie Wood (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908–2008. Huia Publishers. pp. xv. ISBN 978-1-86969-331-2.
- Williams, Graham; Lush, Peter; Farrar, David (2009). The British Rugby League Records Book. London League. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-1-903659-49-6.
- "Shelford gets place in Bulls coaching team". Telegraph & Argus. 9 November 1999. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- "Shelford signs brother for Sarries". BBC Sport. 24 October 2002. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- "Shelford leaves Saracens". BBC News. 26 June 2003.
- "Il duo Birchall-Shelford nuova guida tecnica del Biella Rugby". Prima Biella (in Italian). 23 May 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- "For Love of the game". Rotorua Daily Post. 25 June 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- "Rugby: Darrel Shelford hopes to drive coaches". Rotorua Daily Post. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2023.