Neil Holding(born 15 December 1960) is an English former professionalrugby leaguefootballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, andcoachedin the 1990s. He played at representative level forGreat Britain,EnglandandLancashire,and at club level forSt Helens,OldhamandRochdale Hornets,as astand-offorscrum-half,[1]and coached at club level forRochdale Hornets.[4]
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| Born | 15 December 1960 St Helens, Lancashire,England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Stand-off,Scrum-half | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing career
editSt Helens
editHolding made his debut forSt Helensin October 1977 againstSwinton.
Holding playedscrum-halfin St Helens' 7–13 defeat byWidnesin the1978 BBC2 Floodlit TrophyFinal during the1978–79 seasonatKnowsley Road,St Helenson Tuesday 12 December 1978.
Holding playedscrum-halfin St Helens 0–16 defeat byWarringtonin the1982 Lancashire CupFinal during the1982–83 seasonatCentral Park,Wiganon Saturday 23 October 1982, and playedscrum-halfin the 28–16 victory overWiganin the1984 Lancashire CupFinal during the1984–85 seasonatCentral Park,Wiganon Sunday 28 October 1984.
Holding playedscrum-halfin St Helens' 18–19 defeat byHalifaxin the1987 Challenge CupFinal during the1986–87 seasonatWembley Stadium,Londonon Saturday 2 May 1987.
Holding playedscrum-half,and scored adrop goalin St Helens' 15–14 victory overLeedsin the1987–88 John Player Special TrophyFinal during the1987–88 seasonatCentral Park,Wiganon Saturday 9 January 1988.
Later career
editIn September 1990, Holding was signed byRochdale Hornetsfor a fee of £50,000.[6]In February 1991, he was appointed asplayer-coachat Rochdale.[7]Following the club's relegation from the First Division at the end of the1990–91 season,he was replaced as coach by Stan Gittins.[8]
In August 1991, he was signed byOldhamin exchange forBrett ClarkandRonnie Duane.[9]
International honours
editHolding won onecapforEnglandwhile at St Helens in 1980 against Wales,[2]and woncapsforGreat Britainwhile at St Helens on the1984 Lions touragainst Australia (3 matches) and New Zealand.[3]
Post-playing career
editAfter retiring from rugby league, Holding worked as a groundsman at St Helens. In 1998, he left the club to take up a similar role atLiverpoolfootball club.[10]He worked at Liverpool until 2014, when he left the club to set up his own gardening business.[11]
Neil Holding is aSt Helens R.F.C. Hall of Fameinductee.[12]
References
edit- ^ab"Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org".rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017.Retrieved1 January2018.
- ^ab"England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk".englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017.Retrieved1 January2018.
- ^ab"Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk".englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017.Retrieved1 January2018.
- ^ab"Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org".rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017.Retrieved1 January2018.
- ^RL Record Keeper's Club
- ^Fitzpatrick, Paul (15 September 1990). "Hull KR defend release of Austin".The Guardian.London. p. 18.ProQuest187150339.
- ^Fitzpatrick, Paul (4 February 1991). "Fieldhouse fighters come close to upset".The Guardian.London. p. 13.ProQuest187206921.
- ^"Skerrett's final hopes hit by ban".The Guardian.London. 12 April 1991. p. 17.ProQuest187226591.
- ^Fletcher, Raymond; Howes, David, eds. (1992).Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1992-93.London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 19.ISBN978-0-7472-7906-8.
- ^"Neil quits Saints for Reds".Lancashire Telegraph.24 September 1998.Retrieved7 November2022.
- ^"Rugby League Heroes: Neil Holding".Total Rugby League.28 January 2021.Retrieved7 November2022.
- ^"St Helens Hall of Fame".saints.org.uk. 31 December 2011.Retrieved1 January2012.
External links
edit- Profile at saints.org.uk
- (archived by web.archive.org)Saints snap up Holding