Nigel Stephenson

Nigel Stephenson (born 12 October 1950), also known by the nicknames of "Nij", and "Stivvy", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s,[2] and coached in the 1980s and 1990s.[3] He played at representative level for England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Shaw Cross ARLFC (in Shaw Cross, Dewsbury),, Dewsbury (two spells), Bradford Northern, Carlisle, Wakefield Trinity (captain) (Heritage No. 906), York and Huddersfield, as a centre, i.e. number 3 or 4, and coached at club level for Hunslet and Huddersfield.

Nigel Stephenson
Personal information
Full nameNigel Stephenson
Born (1950-10-12) 12 October 1950
Dewsbury, England
Playing information
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight12 st 7 lb (79 kg)
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1968–78 Dewsbury 327+1 124 826 39 2063
1978–81 Bradford Northern 89+1 14 36 17 131
1981–82 Carlisle 34 14 0 5 47
1982–84 Wakefield Trinity 69+1 25 11 13 120
1984–86 Dewsbury 31+9 7 0 5 33
1986–88 York 29+27 12 1 2 52
1988–89 Huddersfield 6+5 1 1 1 7
Total 629 197 875 82 2453
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1971–78 Yorkshire 7+3 9 13 0 53
1975 England 1 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1981–82 Carlisle RLFC 0 0 0 0
1988 Hunslet 9 1 0 8 11
1988–90 Huddersfield 42 22 0 20 52
Total 51 23 0 28 45
Source: [1]

Background

Nigel Stephenson was born in Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.

Playing career

International honours

Nigel Stephenson played left-centre, i.e. number 4, in England's 0–25 defeat by Australia in the 1975 Rugby League World Cup Final at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds on Wednesday 12 November 1975.[4]

County honours

Nigel Stephenson was selected for Yorkshire County XIII on ten occasions. and scored 9 tries and won the county championship a record 5 times along with the late David Topliss.

Championship final appearances

Nigel Stephenson played left-centre, i.e. number 4, was captain, and scored a try, 4-goals and a drop goal in Dewsbury's 22–13 victory over Leeds in the Championship Final during the 1972–73 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on Saturday 19 May 1973.also won the championship with Bradford northern two years running 1980/81 1981/1982. second time as captain.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Nigel Stephenson played stand-off, and scored a goal in Dewsbury's 2–22 defeat by St. Helens in the 1975 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1975–76 season at Knowsley Road, St. Helens on Tuesday 16 December 1975.

John Player Trophy Final appearances

Nigel Stephenson played stand-off, and scored a drop goal in Bradford Northern's 6–0 victory over Widnes in the 1979–80 John Player Trophy Final during the 1979–80 season at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds on Saturday 5 January 1980.

Career records

Nigel Stephenson holds Dewsbury's career goalscoring record, 863-goals scored during his two spells with the club 1967–78 and 1984–86.

Family

Nigel Stephenson is the father of the rugby league footballer Francis Stephenson, his other son James is a highly regarded Community Coach with Shaw Cross Sharks & Dewsbury Rams and in 2010 James was awarded the RFL Kirklees Coach of the Year Award for his outstanding efforts in rugby league development.

Nigel Stephenson is not related to fellow Dewsbury 1973 Rugby Football League Championship winner Mike "Stevo" Stephenson.

References
  1. RL Record Keepers' Club
  2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
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