Jason Critchley

Jason Critchley
Personal information
Full nameJason Roy Critchley
Born (1970-12-07) 7 December 1970 (age 54)
St Helens, England
Playing information
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Rugby league
PositionWing, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1989–92 Widnes 20 2 0 0 8
1992–95 Salford 95 51 0 0 200
1995–97 Keighley Cougars 49 39 0 0 156
1997–98 Castleford Tigers 39 15 0 0 60
1999 Widnes Vikings 11 3 0 0 12
2000 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 8 4 0 0 16
2001 Whitehaven 6 0 0 0 0
Total 228 114 0 0 452
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1992 England 1 0 0 0 0
1996–01 Wales 8 2 0 0 8
Rugby union
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1998–99 Newport 8 3 0 0 15
1999–00 Leicester Tigers 2 0 0 0 0
1999–00 → Manchester (loan) 15 6 0 0 30
2000–01 US Dax 14 3 16 0 47
2002–03 De La Salle Palmerston 24 10
Total 63 22 16 0 92
Source: [1][2][3]

Jason Critchley (born 7 December 1970) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. At club level for the Castleford Tigers, Keighley Cougars, Salford City Reds, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Whitehaven and the Widnes Vikings as a wing or centre,[1] and top level club level rugby union for Newport RFC, Leicester Tigers, Manchester (loan), US Dax and De La Salle Palmerston.

He played representative rugby league for Great Britain at every age level from under 16's, 19's and 21's. He was also selected for England, Wales and Great Britain on the tour to Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Zealand in 1996.

Personal Information

Critchley was born in St Helens, Lancashire, England.[4]

Playing career

Club career

Critchley signed for Widnes Vikings from junior club Blackbrook in August 1989.[5] In 1992, he was sold to Salford as part of an exchange deal for Adrian Hadley.[6] Critchley was Salford's top try scorer in the 1993–94 season with 25 tries.

Critchley joined Keighley Cougars in 1995. In August 1996, he scored six tries for Keighley Cougars in a match against Widnes Vikings, breaking a club record which had stood for 90 years for most tries in a single match.[7]

In May 1997, Critchley was signed by Castleford Tigers in exchange for Adrian Flynn and an undisclosed transfer fee.[8] Castleford were bottom of the Super League, and hadn't won a single game when Critchley first arrived at the club, but he helped the club improve results during the rest of the season, and finished as the club's top try scorer.

In 1998, Critchley switched codes and joined rugby union side Newport. He returned to league during the rugby union off-season to play for Wakefield Trinity in 2000.[9]

International career

Critchley was selected for the 1996 Great Britain Lions tour, but did not play in any Test matches.

Following the relaxation of eligibility rules, Critchley qualified to play for Wales. He was selected in the 40-man training squad for the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, but did not make the final squad.[10] He made his debut a year later, and went on to win eight caps for Wales between 1996 and 2001.[1] He was selected by Wales for the 2000 Rugby League World Cup,[11] making five appearances during the tournament, and scoring a try in Wales' 22–8 win in the quarter final against Papua New Guinea.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Player Summary: Jason Critchley". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Jason Critchley". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  4. ^ de la Rivière, Richard (15 November 2023). "Rugby League Heroes: Jason Critchley". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  5. ^ Fletcher, Raymond; Howes, David, eds. (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-91. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 386. ISBN 978-0-356-17851-6.
  6. ^ "Sport in Brief". The Guardian. London. 4 August 1992. p. 15. ProQuest 187241495.
  7. ^ "Leeds find scoring touch at last". The Guardian. London. 19 August 1996. p. 12. ProQuest 187920731.
  8. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (17 May 1997). "Castleford swoop for Critchley the ambitious Cougar". The Guardian. London. p. A9. ProQuest 187976362.
  9. ^ "A game of two codes". BBC Sport. 16 November 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Saints hold Wales' World Cup hopes". BBC Sport. 25 September 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Tiger Critchley in Welsh RL World Cup squad". ESPN. 25 September 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Wales win sets up Aussie showdown". BBC Sport. 12 November 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2024.