Hugh Waddell (rugby league)

Hugh Waddell (13 November 1958 – 1 November 2019) was a Scottish professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s as a prop or second-row. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Scotland, and at club level for Blackpool Borough, Oldham, Leeds, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Sheffield Eagles, Swinton Lions, Wakefield Trinity, Rochdale Hornets, Carlisle, South Wales, and Barrow.[1][6]

Hugh Waddell
Personal information
Born(1958-11-13)13 November 1958
Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland
Died1 November 2019(2019-11-01) (aged 60)
Playing information
PositionProp, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1983–87 Blackpool Borough 104 18 5 0 82
1987–88 Oldham 54 7 0 0 28
1988–90 Leeds 53 2 0 0 8
1989 Manly Sea Eagles 12 1 0 0 4
1990–92 Sheffield Eagles 83 6 0 0 24
1993 Swinton Lions 8 0 0 0 0
1993 Wakefield Trinity 5 0 0 0 0
1993 Rochdale Hornets 3 0 0 0 0
1994–95 Carlisle 41 13 0 0 52
1996 South Wales RLFC 15 1 0 0 4
1997–98 Barrow 19 2 1 0 10
Total 397 50 6 0 212
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1984 England 1 0 0 0 0
1995 Scotland 4 1 0 0 4
1988–89 Great Britain 5 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1994 Carlisle RLFC 0 0 0 0

Waddell died on 1 November 2019, at the age of 60.[7]

Background

Hugh Waddell was born on 13 November 1958 in Irvine, Ayrshire in Scotland. During his childhood, he moved south with his family to Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire in England.[8] Waddell initially played football, and had trials with Leicester City before switching to rugby union to play for Burton RFC.[9]

Rugby league career

Club career

In 1980, Waddell had trials with rugby league club Keighley,[9] but was not offered a contract. In 1983, while on holiday in Blackpool, he asked for a trial at Blackpool Borough, and subsequently accepted an offer to sign for the club.[10]

In January 1987, Waddell was signed by Oldham for a fee of £15,000.[11][12]

Waddell joined Leeds in September 1988.[11] He played in Leeds' 33–12 victory over Castleford in the 1988 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1988–89 season at Elland Road, Leeds on Sunday 16 October 1988.

Waddell joined Sheffield Eagles in 1990, and went on to play for Swinton, Wakefield Trinity and Rochdale Hornets. In 1994, he joined Carlisle. He was briefly appointed as player-coach at the club following the departure of Cameron Bell, but was replaced as coach a few months later by Paul Charlton. He played for South Wales RLFC in 1996 before finishing his professional career with Barrow.[13]

Representative career

Waddell made his international debut in 1984 while at Blackpool Borough, making his first (and only) appearance for England against Wales.[2]

He debuted for Great Britain while at Oldham in 1988, playing in two matches against France. He was selected for the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour later that year, and was the only player from a Second Division club to be chosen in the squad. He played in two Test matches during the tour; the 26–12 victory against Australia in the 3rd Ashes Test, and the 10–12 defeat against New Zealand. He made one further appearance for Great Britain while at Leeds in 1989 against France.[3]

Waddell also made four appearances for the newly-formed Scotland national team in 1995, including playing all three games for the team at the 1995 Emerging Nations Tournament.

References
  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Player Summary: Hugh Waddell". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  5. Rothman Rugby League Yearbooks 1984–95
  6. "Biography at therhinos.co.uk". therhinos.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  7. "RIP Hugh Waddell | A Tribute". Rugby Football League. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  8. Vallance, Matt (20 November 2019). "Obituary: Hugh Waddell, Scottish Rugby League player who deserved to be better known". The Scotsman. National World Publishing. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  9. "Globe-trotting former Raiders star Hugh Waddell dies aged 60". The Mail. Barrow-in-Furness. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  10. "Obituary: Hugh Waddell, rugby league internationalist". The Herald. Glasgow: Newsquest Media Group. 19 November 2019.
  11. Halstead, Roger (4 November 2019). "Rugby league fraternity mourns passing of Hugh Waddell". The Oldham Times. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  12. Fitzpatrick, Paul (26 January 1988). "Waddell bridges the class chasm". The Guardian. p. 31 – via ProQuest.
  13. Hadfield, Dave (6 December 1998). "Rugby League: Waddell leads the border raiders". The Independent. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
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