Paul Sculthorpe MBE
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| Personal information |
| Nickname |
Scully |
| Born |
(1977-09-22) 22 September 1977
Burnley, England |
| Playing information |
| Height |
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight |
16 st 1 lb (102 kg) |
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| Position |
Stand-off/Five-eighth, Second-row, Loose forward/Lock |
| Club |
| Years |
Team |
Pld |
T |
G |
FG |
P |
| 1996–97 |
Warrington Wolves |
78 |
|
|
|
69 |
| 1997–08 |
St. Helens |
247 |
113 |
392 |
10 |
1232 |
|
Total |
325 |
113 |
392 |
10 |
1301 |
| Representative |
|
| Years |
Team |
Pld |
T |
G |
FG |
P |
| 1996 |
England |
4 |
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|
16 |
| 1996–06 |
Great Britain |
26 |
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26 |
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Paul Sculthorpe MBE (born 22 September 1977 in
Burnley,
Lancashire), is an English retired
rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A Great Britain international representative
Stand-off/
Five-eighth, and Loose forward/Lock, he played club football for
St. Helens, with whom he won a total of four Grand Finals, three Challenge Cups and two World Club Challenges. He is the older brother of
Widnes Vikings player
Danny Sculthorpe.
Early years
Sculthorpe grew up in Oldham, Greater Manchester. Educated at Counthill School, he started his professional career with Warrington Wolves as a 20 year-old, and shortly after that made his debut for England.
In 1996 he was named in the Super League Dream Team.[1]
St. Helens paid £300,000[2] for Paul Sculthorpe when he moved from Warrington Wolves in 1997 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £469,000 in 2009).[3]
In the 1997 post season, Sculthorpe was selected to play for Great Britain at loose forward in all three matches of the Super League Test series against Australia.
St. Helens
Sculthorpe played for St Helens RLFC at stand-off half back in their 1999 Super League Grand Final victory over Bradford Bulls. Having won the 1999 Championship, St Helens RLFC contested in the 2000 World Club Challenge against National Rugby League Premiers the Melbourne Storm, with Sculthorpe playing at loose forward in the loss. He also played for St Helens at loose forward and kicked a drop goal in their 2000 Super League Grand Final victory over Wigan Warriors. As Super League V champions, St Helens RLFC played against 2000 NRL Premiers, the Brisbane Broncos in the 2001 World Club Challenge. Sculthorpe played at loose forward, scoring a try and kicking a field goal in Saints' victory.
In 2001 Sculthorpe was named man-of-the-match in the first test match against Australia.[4] He was named as Man of Steel in 2001 and 2002, becoming the first player to retain the award.[citation needed] He was Saints’ sole representative in the 2002 Super League Dream Team, a feat he repeated in 2004.[citation needed] culthorpe played for St Helens RFC at stand-off half back in their 2002 Super League Grand Final victory against the Bradford Bulls. Having won Super League VI, St Helens contested the 2003 World Club Challenge against 2002 NRL Premiers, the Sydney Roosters. Sculthorpe played at loose forward in Saints' 38-0 loss.
In 2004, his first season as captain, he lifted the Challenge Cup after Saints’ 32-16 win over Wigan Warriors at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. He also joined a select band of players to have scored 100 tries and 100 goals in Super League. Sculthorpe was then selected in the Great Britain team to compete in the end of season 2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament. In the final against Australia he played at loose forward in the Lions' 44-4 loss.
In 2005 Sculthorpe scored his 1,000th point for Saints.[citation needed] Paul had been one of Great Britain’s leading performers in those years, and it was no surprise when he was named as captain in 2005. Having been ruled out for the most of the 2005 season and prevented him from leading the side in the Gillette Tri-Nations tournament.
He is one of the stars of the world game and also the face of Gillette. Sculthorpe's deal with razor giants Gillette is the most lucrative sponsorship deal made by any rugby league player world wide.[citation needed] In March 2006, Sculthorpe signed a deal with Random House to publish his autobiography, Man of Steel, which was published in August 2007.[citation needed] Sculthorpe captained St Helens at second-row forward in their 2006 Challenge Cup Final victory against the Huddersfield Giants. Having been named Great Britain captain he only ever captained the side for 18 minutes. This came in the one off test game at Knowsley road in 2006, between Great Britain and New Zealand. He was forced off after injuring his knee. Sculthorpe was named man-of-the-match in St. Helens' win over the Brisbane Broncos in the 2007 World Club Challenge. In September 2007 he signed a new 12-month contract with St Helens which saw him celebrate his Testimonial Season at the club.
Sculthorpe's final game for St. Helens was in the 2008 Challenge Cup final, where he injured his shoulder in the opening minutes. After being injury hit in 2008's Super League XIII with only a handful of games played, St. Helens announced they would release Sculthorpe at the end of the season. He was being touted as a potential signing for Salford City Reds, or join up with brother Danny at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in time for the 2009 Super League season.[5] However, Sculthorpe announced his retirement from the game on 19 September 2008.[6]
He was awarded the honour of MBE in the 2013 New Year's Honours List, for "services to Rugby League and to charity".[7]
References
External links
| Persondata |
|---|
| Name |
Sculthorpe, Paul |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
English rugby league player |
| Date of birth |
22 September 1977 |
| Place of birth |
Burnley |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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