Lee Paul Briers(born 14 June 1978) is a professionalrugby leaguecoach who is currently a development coach atBrisbane Broncosin theNational Rugby Leagueand assistant coach of theEngland national team.Briers is set to joinSuper LeaguesideSt Helensas assistant coach at the start of the 2025 season.[5]
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| Full name | Lee Paul Briers[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 14 June 1978 St Helens,England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 13 st 1 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Scrum-half,Stand-off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A formerGreat BritainandWalesinternational, he played the majority of his career atWarrington Wolvesin theSuper Leagueas astand-offorscrum-half.He won threeChallenge Cupfinals during his time at the club.[3][4]
Club Career
editSt Helens (1997)
editLoan to Carcassonne (1996–97)
editBriers' first experience of first team rugby was on loan atAS Carcassonnefor the 1996–97French Rugby League Championshipseason. While at home for Christmas leave, he played a friendly for St Helens in theirBoxing DayChallenge Match againstWigan Warriors.[6]
Return to parent club
editBriers made his competitiveSt. Helenson 8 February 1997 in the fourth round match of the1997 Challenge Cupgame against Wigan at the age of 18, standing in for suspended captainBobbie Gouldingafter an emergency player recal from his loan at Carcassonne.[7]Saints won the game 28–12.
From his debut to April of the 1997 season, Briers made six appearances for St Helens, scoring one try and 24 goals. He was dropped from the starting line-up following the return of Goulding.[8]
Warrington (1997–2013)
edit
Briers signed forWarrington Wolvesin April 1997 for a fee of £65,000,[9]declining a three-year deal fromAS Carcassonnein the process.[6]He was named Young Player of the Year in his first season atWilderspool Stadium.
Briers was named as captain in 2003 and became known for his excellent kicking skills and his ability to successfully convert drop goals. He currently holds the Super League record, and jointly Warrington all-time record (with Paul Bishop), for the most drop goals in a game (5 againstHalifaxatthe Shayin 2002).[citation needed]
Briers'testimonial matchatWarringtontook place in 2007. He stepped down as captain at the end of the 2007 season.[citation needed]
Briers played in the2010 Challenge Cup Finalvictory over theLeeds RhinosatWembley Stadium.[10][11]
The 2011 Super League season was Briers' 14th. During this season he broke a number of club records including top all-time points scorer, having overtaken club greatsBrian Bevan,andSteve Hesford.He broke the record during a Challenge Cup home 112–0 demolition ofSwinton.[12]This match also saw Briers break his own club record for points in a match (set 11 years earlier against York), with 44 points, from 16 goals and three tries.
He played in the2012 Challenge Cup Finalvictory over theLeeds RhinosatWembley Stadium.[13][14][15][16]
He played in the2012 Super League Grand Finaldefeat by theLeeds RhinosatOld Trafford.[17][14]
In 2013, during the second match of the season against Wigan Warriors, Lee suffered a neck injury which saw him sidelined for 13 games. He returned for Warrington's Challenge Cup fifth round tie against Salford City Reds in which he made scored one try and kicked his 1,000th career goal.[citation needed]
He played in the2013 Super League Grand Finaldefeat by theWigan WarriorsatOld Trafford.[18][19][20][21][22]
In November 2013, although Briers had a year remaining on his contract, he announced his retirement due to a neck injury. He played 425 games for Warrington, scoring a club record 2,586 points.[23]Shortly before announcing his retirement, Briers released his autobiography,Off the Cuff.
International career
editHaving made hisWalesdébut in 1998, Briers went on to make 23 appearances for his country and featured in the2000 Rugby League World Cup.Briers was capped by Great Britain against France in their 42–12 win on 26 October 2001.
Following the Wales team's failure to qualify for the2008 Rugby League World Cup,Briers announced his international retirement.[citation needed]
Briers came out of international retirement to represent Wales in the2010 European Cup,and captained the side to victory in the tournament. He went on to captain Wales in the2011 Four Nations,before once again retiring from international rugby league at the tournament's end.[24]
Coaching career
editFollowing his retirement as a player, Briers became a youth coach atWarrington Wolvesbefore being promoted to Assistant First Team Head Coach in 2018.[25]In 2021 he was signed byWigan Warriorsas an Assistant Coach following the sacking ofAdrian Lam.Briers stayed for one season in which Wigan won the2022 Challenge Cup.[26]He was signed byBrisbane Broncosas a Development Coach ahead of the 2023 season.[27]Following the2023 NRL Grand Final,in which Brisbane finished runners-up, Briers was appointed Assistant Coach of theEngland national teamahead of the2023 Tonga tour of Englandin addition to his role at Brisbane.[28]Briers was not released by Brisbane for England's 2024 mid-season friendly againstFrance.[29]
References
edit- ^"Index entry".FreeBMD.ONS.Retrieved15 July2017.
- ^"Lee Briers".warringtonwolves.org.Warrington Wolves.Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
- ^ab"Profile at loverugbyleague.com".loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017.Retrieved1 January2018.
- ^ab"Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org".rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017.Retrieved1 January2018.
- ^"Lee Briers finally confirmed as Saints' new assistant coach".St Helens Star.6 September 2024.Retrieved7 September2024.
- ^ab"Lee Briers: My time in Carcassonne was the making of me".Love Rugby League.12 March 2021.Retrieved29 June2024.
- ^"Saints Heritage Society".
- ^de la Rivière, Richard (28 December 2010)."Lee Briers".WordPress.Retrieved15 July2017.
- ^Hadfield, Dave."Briers signs for Warrington".The Independent.Retrieved15 July2017.
- ^Scott, Ged (28 August 2010)."Leeds 6–30 Warrington".BBC.Retrieved22 November2019.
- ^Wilson, Andy (28 August 2010)."Chris Hicks hat-trick leads Warrington to Challenge Cup triumph over Leeds".The Guardian.London.Archivedfrom the original on 31 August 2010.Retrieved22 November2019.
- ^"Warrington 112–0 Swinton".Guardian. 21 May 2011.Retrieved22 July2011.
- ^"Warrington's battered Brett Hodgson recovers to see off Leeds in final".Guardian UK.25 August 2012.Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^ab"Leeds' Kevin Sinfield stars in Grand Final triumph against Warrington".Guardian. 6 October 2012.Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^"Leeds Rhinos 18–35 Warrington Wolves".BBC Sport.25 August 2012.Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^"Warrington Wolves Are Challenge Cup Winners 2012!".Warrington Wolves Official Site.25 August 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 17 December 2013.Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^"Grand Final: Warrington 18-26 Leeds".BBC Sport.6 October 2012.Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^"Super League Grand Final".Super League. Archived fromthe originalon 29 July 2013.Retrieved14 July2013.
- ^Newsum, Matt (5 October 2013)."Super League Grand Final: Wigan Warriors beat Warrington".BBC Sport.Retrieved13 November2019.
- ^"Super League Grand Final: Warrington v Wigan".BBC Sport.Retrieved13 November2019.
- ^"Warrington Wolves 16 Wigan Warriors 30".Daily Telegraph.5 October 2013.Retrieved13 November2019.
- ^"Wigan see off Warrington in X-rated Grand Final to complete double".Guardian.5 October 2013.Retrieved13 November2019.
- ^"Lee Briers: Warrington Wolves half-back announces retirement".BBC Sport.8 November 2013.Retrieved1 January2014.
- ^"Briers announces international retirement".bbc.co.uk. 31 December 2017.Retrieved1 January2018.
- ^"Lee Briers: Warrington Wolves assistant coach to leave at end of season".21 April 2021.
- ^"Lee Briers to leave Wigan".9 August 2022.
- ^"Briers Appointed Development Coach for 2023".9 August 2022.
- ^"Lee Briers named as England Men's Assistant Coach".
- ^"Key takeaways from Shaun Wane England call including NRL availability".17 June 2024.
External links
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