Doug Laughton

Doug Laughton
Personal information
Born 13 May 1944[1]
Widnes, Lancashire, England
Playing information
Position Loose forward
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1963–66 St Helens 79 14 0 0 42
1967–73 Wigan 185 38 0 0 114
1973–80 Widnes 186 36 0 0 108
Total 450 88 0 0 264
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1964–74 Lancashire 11 5 0 0 15
1970–79 Great Britain 15 7 0 0 21
1977 England 1 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1978–83 Widnes
1986–91 Widnes
1991–95 Leeds
1995–97 Widnes
Total 0 0 0 0
Source: [2]

C. Doug Laughton (born 13 May 1944) is an English former rugby league footballer and coach. He played club football as a Second Row, or Loose forward for St. Helens, Wigan, Widnes and Canterbury Bulldogs. He also captained Great Britain, winning 15 caps in all,[3] and a further cap for England.[4]

As a coach, he managed Widnes and Leeds.

Playing career

Widnes-born Laughton played for St. Paul's the Lowerhouse junior team. He then signed as a professional for St Helens.[5] From there he went to Wigan,[6] before signing for Widnes.

Laughton played Loose forward in Widnes' 14–7 victory over Warrington in the 1974–75 Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 10 May 1975, the 5–20 defeat by St Helens in the 1975–76 Challenge Cup final at Wembley on Saturday 8 May 1976, the 7–16 defeat by Leeds in the 1976–77 Challenge Cup final at Wembley on Saturday 7 May 1977, and the 12–3 victory over Wakefield Trinity in the 1978–79 Challenge Cup final at Wembley on Saturday 5 May 1979.

He also led Widnes to victory over the Australian tourists in 1978.

In 1979, he captained Great Britain team on a tour of Australia. In 1979, while playing for Widnes, Laughton won the Man of Steel Award.

County Cup final appearances

Doug Laughton played Loose forward/Lock in St. Helens' 12–4 victory over Swinton in the 1964 Lancashire Cup final during the 1964–65 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 24 October 1964, played Loose forward/Lock in Wigan's 15–8 victory over Widnes in the 1971 Lancashire Cup final during the 1971–72 season at Knowsley Road, St. Helens on Saturday 28 August 1971,[7] played Loose forward/Lock in Widnes' 6–2 victory over Salford in the 1974 Lancashire Cup final during the 1974–75 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 2 November 1974, played Loose forward/Lock in the 16–11 victory over Workington Town in the 1976 Lancashire Cup final during the 1976–77 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 30 October 1976, and played Loose forward/Lock and scored 2-tries in the 15–13 victory over Workington Town in the 1978 Lancashire Cup final during the 1978–79 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 7 October 1978.

Coaching career

Laughton coached Widnes and Leeds. He had three coaching spells at Widnes between 1978 and 1996. During the 1989–90 Rugby Football League season, he coached defending champions Widnes to their 1989 World Club Challenge victory against the visiting Canberra Raiders. He arrived at Leeds in 1991, and took the club to two successive Challenge Cup finals, but was beaten by Wigan on both occasions. He surprisingly resigned at the end of the 1994–95 season.[8]

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "Doug Laughton". The National Archive of Rugby League. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Quirke, Andrew; Laughton, Doug (2003). A Dream Come True: A Rugby League Life. London: London League Publications. ISBN 978-1903659120.
  3. ↑ "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Duggie Laughton". Saints Heritage Society. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Doug Laughton". cherryandwhite.co.uk. rlfans.com.
  7. ↑ "1971–1972 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  8. ↑ Hadfield, Dave. "Leeds stunned as Laughton resigns". The Independent. Retrieved 31 May 2014.

External links