Neil Holding

Neil Holding
Personal information
Born (1960-12-15) 15 December 1960 (age 64)
St Helens, Lancashire, England
Playing information
PositionStand-off, Scrum-half
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1977–90 St Helens 343 145 84 44 739
1990–91 Rochdale Hornets 22+4 3 1 4 18
1991–92 Oldham 4 0 1 0 2
1993 Bradford Northern 0+5 1 0 0 4
Total 378 149 86 48 763
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1980 Lancashire 2 1 0 0 3
1980 England 1 0 0 0 0
1984 Great Britain 4 0 0 1 1
1984 GB tour games 3+3 3 0 0 12
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1991 Rochdale Hornets 11 1 0 10 9

Neil Holding (born 15 December 1960) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Lancashire, and at club level for St Helens, Oldham and Rochdale Hornets, as a stand-off or scrum-half,[1] and coached at club level for Rochdale Hornets.[4]

Playing career

St Helens

Holding made his debut for St Helens in October 1977 against Swinton.

Holding played scrum-half in St Helens' 7–13 defeat by Widnes in the 1978 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1978–79 season at Knowsley Road, St Helens on Tuesday 12 December 1978.

Holding played scrum-half in St Helens 0–16 defeat by Warrington in the 1982 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1982–83 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 23 October 1982, and played scrum-half in the 28–16 victory over Wigan in the 1984 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1984–85 season at Central Park, Wigan on Sunday 28 October 1984.

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

Holding played scrum-half, and scored a drop goal in St Helens' 15–14 victory over Leeds in the 1987–88 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1987–88 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 9 January 1988.

Later career

In September 1990, Holding was signed by Rochdale Hornets for a fee of £50,000.[6] In February 1991, he was appointed as player-coach at Rochdale.[7] Following the club's relegation from the First Division at the end of the 1990–91 season, he was replaced as coach by Stan Gittins.[8]

In August 1991, he was signed by Oldham in exchange for Brett Clark and Ronnie Duane.[9]

International honours

Holding won one cap for England while at St Helens in 1980 against Wales,[2] and won caps for Great Britain while at St Helens on the 1984 Lions tour against Australia (3 matches) and New Zealand.[3]

Post-playing career

After retiring from rugby league, Holding worked as a groundsman at St Helens. In 1998, he left the club to take up a similar role at Liverpool football club.[10] He worked at Liverpool until 2014, when he left the club to set up his own gardening business.[11]

Neil Holding is a St Helens R.F.C. Hall of Fame inductee.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. ^ RL Record Keeper's Club
  6. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (15 September 1990). "Hull KR defend release of Austin". The Guardian. London. p. 18. ProQuest 187150339.
  7. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (4 February 1991). "Fieldhouse fighters come close to upset". The Guardian. London. p. 13. ProQuest 187206921.
  8. ^ "Skerrett's final hopes hit by ban". The Guardian. London. 12 April 1991. p. 17. ProQuest 187226591.
  9. ^ Fletcher, Raymond; Howes, David, eds. (1992). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1992-93. London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7472-7906-8.
  10. ^ "Neil quits Saints for Reds". Lancashire Telegraph. 24 September 1998. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Rugby League Heroes: Neil Holding". Total Rugby League. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  12. ^ "St Helens Hall of Fame". saints.org.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.