Gary Stephens

This article is about the 1960s-80s rugby league player for Castleford, Manly, Wigan, Warrington, Leigh, Halifax & York. For the 1990-2000s rugby league player for Leeds, Castleford, Sheffield, Halifax & York, see Gareth Stephens.

Gary Stephens
Personal information
Born (1952-08-23) 23 August 1952 (age 72)
Castleford, England
Playing information
PositionScrum-half
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1969–80 Castleford 315 109 0 0 327
1976–77 Manly-Warringah 30 2 0 0 6
1980–84 Wigan 90+3 15 0 2 50
1983(loan) → Warrington 7 1 0 0 3
1984 Leigh 16 2 0 0 8
1985–87 Halifax 82 17 0 9 77
1988–89 Ryedale-York 14+1 2 0 1 9
Total 558 148 0 12 480
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1975–79 Yorkshire 5 1 0 0 3
1979 England 1 0 0 0 0
1979 Great Britain 5 1 0 0 3
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1988–91 Ryedale-York
RelativesGareth Stephens (son)

Gary Stephens (born 23 August 1952) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a scrum-half, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s.

He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Castleford, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles,[6] Wigan, Warrington, Leigh, Halifax and York.[2] and coached at club level for Ryedale-York.[5]

Playing career

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Castleford

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Stephens played scrum-half in the 7–11 defeat by Hull Kingston Rovers in the 1971–72 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1971–72 season at Belle Vue, Wakefield on Saturday 21 August 1971, and was a substitute (replacing Scrum-half Clive Pickerill) in the 17–7 victory over Featherstone Rovers in the 1977–78 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1977–78 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 15 October 1977.

Stephens played scrum-half in Castleford's 12–4 victory over Leigh in the 1976 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1976–77 season at Hilton Park, Leigh on Tuesday 14 December 1976.

Stephens played scrum-half, was man of the match (jointly with Blackpool Borough's Howard Allen) and scored a try in Castleford's 25–15 victory over Blackpool Borough in the 1976–77 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1976–77 season at The Willows, Salford on Saturday 22 January 1977.

Gary Stephens' Testimonial match at Castleford took place in 1980.

Manly-Warringah

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In 1976 Gary Stephens and Manly-Warringah team mates Phil Lowe and Steve Norton became the third Englishmen to have played in a NSWRFL Grand Final-winning team following Dick Huddart (St. George in 1966), Dave Bolton (Balmain in 1969), and Mal Reilly (Manly in 1972 and 1973).

Wigan

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Stephens was signed by Wigan for a fee of £35,000, and made his debut in November 1980 against Fulham.[7]

Halifax

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Stephens played scrum-half in Halifax's 19-18 victory over St. Helens in the 1986-87 Challenge Cup Final during the 1986–87 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 2 May 1987.

Representative honours

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Stephens won a cap for England while at Castleford in 1979 against Wales,[3] and won caps for Great Britain while at Castleford in 1979 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches).[4]

Stephens won caps for Yorkshire while at Castleford playing Scrum-half in the 17-7 victory over Lancashire at Wigan's stadium on 20 December 1975, the 12-12 draw with Cumberland at Whitehaven's stadium on 15 February 1977, scoring 1-try in the 18-15 victory over Lancashire at Castleford's stadium on 1 March 1977, the 7-23 defeat by Lancashire at Widnes' stadium on 27 September 1978, and the 16-19 defeat by Lancashire at Castleford's stadium on 12 September 1979.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Emery, David (1984). Who's Who in Rugby League. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-356-10435-5.
  2. ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Player Profile - Gary Stephens". yesterdayshero.com.au. SmartPack International Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Edward (1 December 1980). "Upstarts put down". The Guardian. p. 20. Retrieved 15 June 2022 – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ "Statistics at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk". 31 December 2013. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
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