112-738: Paul Vautin (born 21 July 1959), nicknamed Fatty , is an Australian football commentator and former professional rugby league footballer, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network 's coverage of rugby league since joining the network in 1992 and also hosted The Footy Show from its beginnings in 1994 opposite co-host Peter Sterling , until 2017. An Australian Kangaroos test and Queensland State of Origin representative lock or second-row forward, Vautin played club football in Brisbane with Wests , before moving to Sydney in 1979 to play with Manly-Warringah , whom he would captain to
224-471: A Lock in 1978, sometimes playing opposite another talented young lock from Valley's destined for future greatness as a Five-eighth named Wally Lewis . Vautin was signed by Manly-Warringah club Secretary Ken Arthurson in late 1978 after Arthurson had viewed a tape of him scoring a 75-metre try from a scrum for Wests at Lang Park , and moved from Brisbane to play for the defending NSWRFL premiers starting in 1979 . After playing Reserve Grade for Manly in
336-642: A 20-match unbeaten run in the league helped Warrington win the League Leader's Trophy. The 1973–74 season was the most successful at Warrington, with the club winning the Challenge Cup , Captain Morgan trophy, John Player trophy and Club Merit trophy. The highlight was when Murphy coached , captained and played stand-off in Warrington 's 24–9 victory over Featherstone Rovers in the 1974 Challenge Cup Final during
448-526: A 30–22 win over Hull Kingston Rovers at Craven Park in Hull . He signed with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters for two years, where he even spent time in reserve grade after being dropped by coach Mark Murray - a former Queensland and Australian teammate, before retiring at the end of the 1991 NSWRL season . His last game for the out of contention Roosters was an 8-42 loss to eventual premiers Penrith at
560-605: A breakaway faction of England's Rugby Football Union (RFU). Both organisations played the game under the same rules at first, although the Northern Union began to modify rules almost immediately, thus creating a new simpler game that was intended to be a faster-paced form of rugby football. Similar breakaway factions split from RFU-affiliated unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908, renaming themselves "rugby football league s" and introducing Northern Union rules. In 1922,
672-565: A decree by the RFU banning the playing of rugby at grounds where entrance fees were charged led to twenty-two clubs (including Stockport, who negotiated by telephone) meeting at the George Hotel, Huddersfield , on 29 August 1895 and forming the "Northern Rugby Football Union". Within fifteen years of that first meeting in Huddersfield, more than 200 RFU clubs had left to join the rugby league. In 1897,
784-405: A four-yearly cycle in the 2010s; as of 2023 , the holders are Australia . A short-sided version of the sport, rugby league nines , using modified rugby league rules also exists, and is comparable to rugby sevens . Wheelchair rugby league is a mixed-gender sport using heavily modified rugby league rules for disabled and able-bodied players. Unlike wheelchair rugby which adopted its name after
896-631: A fractured cheekbone during the 18–6 win which saw Australia retain The Ashes. Vautin's injury kept him out of the third test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and caused him to miss 11 games of the 1984 NSWRL season . Vautin played 13 test matches during his career, touring New Zealand twice in 1985 and 1989 . In addition to the thirteen tests he played for Australia, he played two tour games in New Zealand in 1985 and three tour games in 1989. Vautin
1008-402: A handful of young and inexperienced players, Vautin and Queensland were expected to be easy prey for NSW, who could still boast almost half a side of international players as well as Origin and dual premiership winning coach Phil Gould . However, his representative coaching début took a fairy tale turn when the young Maroons, without any of the stars from Super League -aligned clubs (most notably
1120-493: A league match at Hilton Park . Murphy's Leigh overcame a depleted St. Helens side by 29–5. Murphy later recounted in an issue of the Rugby Leaguer some 20 years later that: "It never entered my mind to leave Saints in the first place. But events took over and there was a lot of pride involved on both sides and the situation reached the stage where a parting of the ways became inevitable." Alex Murphy played scrum-half , and
1232-437: A mix of the two sports' rules. Much more so than rugby union, rugby league shares significant similarities with North American gridiron codes. Although described as evolving from both rugby and association football , the basic structures of American and Canadian football are remarkably similar to rugby league through a process of parallel evolution: a try-and-goal based scoring system, a set number of plays before handover of
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#17328524958241344-629: A professional level. 45 national teams are ranked by the RLIF and a further 32 are officially recognized and unranked. The strongest rugby league nations are Australia , England , New Zealand , Samoa and Tonga . The Rugby League World Cup is the highest form of representative rugby league. Countries that have contested are Australia , Cook Islands , England , Fiji , France , Ireland , Italy , Jamaica , Lebanon , New Zealand , Papua New Guinea , Russia , Samoa , Scotland , South Africa , Tonga , US and Wales . The 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which
1456-453: A result play stops much less frequently in rugby league, with the ball typically in play for 50 out of the 80 minutes compared to around 35 minutes for professional rugby union. Other differences include that there are fewer players in rugby league (13 compared to 15) and different rules for tackling . Rugby union has more detailed rules than rugby league and has changed less since the 1895 schism. Since rugby union turned professional in
1568-529: A serious concussion in 2005 filming for the show in a segment called "Dare-Devil Dudes", when he hit his head on concrete, with a helmet luckily minimising the damage. He did not host for a period of about 10 weeks. From 1992 to 2004, he was a mainstay of the Channel Nine match commentary team along with Peter Sterling and Ray Warren , calling club, Origin and international games. Since the concussion incident, he had focussed on his Footy Show appearances but
1680-415: A team's creative unit or 'playmakers'. During the interactions between a team's 'key' players (five-eighth, half-back, fullback, lock forward, and hooker), the five-eighth and half-back will usually be involved in most passing moves. These two positions are commonly called the "halves". The forwards' two responsibilities can be broken into "normal play" and "scrum play". For information on a forward's role in
1792-706: A try-less game 8–2 at Central Park . During the match, Vautin was tackled over the sideline in front of the main grandstand. After easily being the best side in the Sydney competition during the year, and after the unbeaten 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, the Manly players later admitted to over-confidence and took the game far too lightly, treating the trip more as a holiday than anything serious and actually continued their grand final celebrations while in England. Vautin and Manly teammate Michael O'Connor both signed to play for
1904-401: A value of 2 points when kicked from beyond the 40 metre line. Field position is crucial in rugby league, achieved by running with or kicking the ball. Passing in rugby league may only be in a backward or sideways direction. Teammates, therefore, have to remain on-side by not moving ahead of the player with the ball. The ball may be kicked ahead, but if teammates are in front of the kicker when
2016-542: Is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 m (74 yd) wide and 112–122 m (122–133 yd) long with H-shaped posts at both ends. It is one of the two major codes of rugby football , the other being rugby union . It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield , Yorkshire , England, as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over
2128-468: Is conducted under the direction of the Federation of International Touch (FIT). Though it shares similarities and history with rugby league , it is recognised as a sport in its own right due to its differences which have been developed over the sport's lifetime. Touch is a variation of rugby league with the tackling of opposing players replaced by a touch. As touches must be made with minimal force, touch
2240-432: Is the dominant winter sport in the eastern Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland . The game is also among the predominant sports of Tonga and is played in other Pacific nations such as Samoa and Fiji . Researchers have found that rugby league has been able to help with improving development in the islands. In Australia, and indeed the rest of the region, the annual State of Origin series ranks among
2352-536: Is therefore considered a limited-contact sport. The original basic rules of touch were established in the 1960s by members of the South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club in Sydney, Australia . OzTag is a non-contact form of rugby league, and can be seen as a variation of British tag rugby. Cronulla Sharks and St George Dragons halfback Perry Haddock introduced the sport in Australia while coaching
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#17328524958242464-413: Is worth. One of the main differences is the rules of possession. When the ball goes into touch , possession in rugby union is contested through a line-out , while in rugby league a scrum restarts play. The lesser focus on contesting possession means that play focuses more on powerful running, hard tackling, forward progression and the contest for field position (commonly compared to an "arm wrestle"); as
2576-579: The 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final replay at Odsal Stadium , Bradford , England, setting a new record for attendance at a rugby football match of either code. Also in 1954, the Rugby League World Cup, the first for either code of rugby, was formed at the instigation of the French. In 1966, the International Board introduced a rule that a team in possession was allowed three play-the-balls and on
2688-406: The 1959 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1959–60 season at Central Park , Wigan on Saturday 31 October 1959, played scrum-half in the 15–9 victory over Swinton in the 1960 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1960–61 season at Central Park , Wigan on Saturday 29 October 1960, played scrum-half , and scored a try in the 25–9 victory over Swinton in the 1961 Lancashire Cup Final during
2800-551: The 1961–62 season at Central Park , Wigan on Saturday 11 November 1961, played scrum-half in the 15–4 victory over Leigh in the 1962 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1962–63 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 26 October 1963, and played scrum-half in the 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. Alex Murphy played stand-off in St. Helens ' 0–4 defeat by Castleford in
2912-436: The 1965 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1965–66 season at Knowsley Road , St. Helens on Tuesday 14 December 1965 Murphy left St. Helens to become player-coach at Leigh because he was unhappy at being moved to the centres to accommodate the signing of Tommy Bishop . As the 1966–67 season began, Murphy declined to play for St. Helens. The Australian club, North Sydney indicated their interest in signing him. At
3024-401: The 1965–66 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 28 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 30,165. Alex Murphy played scrum-half , and scored a try in St. Helens ' 12–6 victory over Wigan in the 1961 Challenge Cup Final during the 1960–61 season at Wembley Stadium , London on Saturday 13 May 1961, in front of a crowd of 94,672, and played at centre and scored a conversion in
3136-441: The 1967–68 season at Headingley , Leeds on Saturday 16 January 1968, and played scrum-half , was the coach , and scored a conversion in the 11–6 victory over Wigan in the 1969 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1969–70 season at Central Park , Wigan on Tuesday 16 December 1969. Murphy left Leigh shortly afterwards to become player-coach at Warrington. Murphy won one Great Britain cap while at Warrington. In 1973
3248-456: The 1969–70 season at Central Park , Wigan on Saturday 1 November 1969, and played scrum-half in the 7–4 victory over St. Helens in the 1970 Lancashire Cup Final replay during the 1970–71 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 28 November 1970. Alex Murphy played scrum-half , and was the coach in Leigh 's 5–8 defeat by Castleford in the 1967 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during
3360-422: The 1973–74 season at Wembley Stadium , London on Saturday 11 May 1974, in front of a crowd of 77,400. He was again the coach in the 7–14 defeat by Widnes in the 1975 Challenge Cup Final during the 1974–75 season at Wembley Stadium , London on Saturday 10 May 1975, in front of a crowd of 85,998, but missed playing in the match through injury, retiring as a player shortly after but remaining as coach of
3472-654: The 1987 NSWRL premiership . He also played for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs , and in England for St Helens . After playing, Vautin became a sports commentator for the Nine Network, calling rugby league games alongside Ray Warren and the recently retired Peter Sterling . Later, during the Super League war , he was hired to coach Queensland in the 1995 State of Origin series and took the Maroons to an upset 3–0 whitewash of series favourite New South Wales . Vautin made his name in
Paul Vautin - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-659: The 1994 Kangaroo tour . He was also employed to write opinion columns for newspapers such as the Daily Mirror , and the Manchester Evening News . One was known as 'Murphy's Mouth.' In 2006 he became Chairman of Oxford Cavaliers rugby league club. Murphy is an inductee in both the St Helens RFC Hall of Fame, and the Warrington Wolves RLFC Hall of Fame. (7/9) indicates the number of games played in
3696-449: The 1999 NRL season . Figure shown is the total attendance which is officially counted for both games. ** The official attendance of the 1954 Challenge Cup Final replay was 102,569. Unofficial estimates put the attendance as high as 150,000, Bradford Police confirming 120,000. Alex Murphy (rugby league) Alexander James Murphy OBE (born 22 April 1939) is an English former professional rugby league footballer, and coach of
3808-451: The ARL and NZRL . Since rugby league was introduced to Australia in 1908, it has become the largest television sport and 3rd most attended sport in Australia. Neighbouring Papua New Guinea is one of two countries to have rugby league as its national sport (with Cook Islands ). Australia's elite club competition also features a team from Auckland , New Zealand's biggest city. Rugby league
3920-631: The Alex Murphy coached St. Helens during the 1988–89 Rugby Football League season on 2 August 1988. Fatty would go on to captain St. Helens in his last match for them, a 27–0 loss to Wigan in the 1989 Challenge Cup Final played on 29 April 1989 at Wembley Stadium in front of 78,000 fans. It was the first time since 1952 that a team had been held scoreless. Vautin played 21 games for St. Helens in 1988–89 and made his début in English club football on 9 October 1988 in
4032-544: The Brisbane Capitols to the Winfield State League championship in 1992 (winning all 5 games), he was considered an inferior replacement for dual premiership winning coach Wayne Bennett who was originally named to return as coach of the 1995 Queensland State of Origin team (Bennett had previously coached the Maroons from 1986-1988), and with Queensland having lost the last three consecutive series and being given
4144-613: The International Rugby League . Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands and is a popular sport in countries such as England , Australia , New Zealand , France , Tonga , Fiji , Samoa , Lebanon , Jamaica , and Malta . The first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954, the first World Cup of either rugby code, and has been held sporadically ever since, settling into
4256-620: The New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded at Bateman's Hotel in George Street. Unlike in England, where both codes maintained their own geographic areas of dominance, in Australia rugby league went on to displace rugby union entirely as the primary football code in New South Wales and Queensland , while Australian rules football dominated the rest of Australia. On 5 May 1954, 102,569 spectators watched
4368-672: The Ottawa Aces were scheduled to join the English league pyramid, becoming the only Canadian team in the system after the Wolfpack were denied re-entry. The club subsequently relocated to Penryn, Cornwall , and are now known as Cornwall R.L.F.C. In 2021, the North American Rugby League announced an attempt to be North America's professional championship, with Canadian club Toronto Wolfpack joining several USA Rugby League clubs, New York Freedom and Cleveland Rugby League to form
4480-572: The Rugby League European Federation and Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation expanding the game to new areas such as Chile , Canada , Ghana , Philippines , Czech Republic , Germany , The Netherlands , Sweden , Norway , Spain , Sri Lanka , Hungary , Turkey , Thailand and Brazil to name a few. The two most prominent full-time professional leagues are the Australian National Rugby League and
4592-469: The Sydney Cricket Ground . Before the 1987 season had started, the Manly club board had wanted Bob Fulton to install 1986 Kangaroo tour second rower Noel Cleal as club captain , replacing Vautin who had captained the side since 1985. Following the grand final victory in 1987, he traveled with Manly to England for the 1987 World Club Challenge against their champions, Wigan . The home side won
Paul Vautin - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-582: The Sydney Football Stadium on 25 August, the final round of the season. Vautin made his Origin début for the Maroons in game 2 of the 1982 series . In 1984, Vautin and Manly teammate Chris Close became the last Queensland representative players to be selected for the annual NSW City vs NSW Country game, when he was selected in the second row for NSW City for the game at the SCG, won 38–12 by City. For
4816-548: The line-out was abolished and in 1898 professionalism introduced. In 1906, the Northern Union changed its rules, reducing teams from 15 to 13 a side and replacing the ruck formed after tackles with the play-the-ball . By this point, rule changes meant the game organised by the RFL was distinct as a sport from its union cousin. A similar schism to that which occurred in England took place in Sydney , Australia. There, on 8 August 1907
4928-589: The 1973–74 Captain Morgan Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at The Willows , Salford on Saturday 26 January 1974, in front of a crowd of 5,259. Upon retirement, Murphy built upon the experience he had acquired as a player-coach by taking up the reins as a full-time coach. He was co-coach of England with Bill Oxley during the 1975 World Series . After Warrington, Murphy was appointed to high-profile roles at Salford (May 1978 to November 1980), Leigh (1980 to 1982) where in 1982 he guided Leigh to
5040-466: The 1990s, when News Corporation paid for worldwide broadcasting rights. The media giant's "Super League" movement created changes for the traditional administrators of the game. In Europe, it resulted in a move from Rugby League being a winter sport to a summer one, as the new Super League competition tried to expand its market. In Australasia, the Super League war resulted in long and costly legal battles and changing loyalties, causing significant damage to
5152-518: The 1992 St George Jersey Flegg side. Together with Chris Parkes, the two took the sport to fields across Australia. Today, it is played by over 200,000 players in organised leagues across the country. League Tag replaces tackling with the removal of one of two tags carried on an opponent's hips, attached directly to specific League Tag shorts with Velcro patches, but otherwise retains almost all other rules of traditional rugby league (such as kicking). A number of additional rules are also added relating to
5264-506: The 2017 Kingstone Press League 1 in their inaugural season and earned promotion to the 2018 Rugby League Championship. In 2019 The Wolfpack won promotion to the Super League, lasting only a few months before having to withdraw due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic . New ownership is currently trying to revive the club with matches against amateur clubs in the US and Canada. Beginning in 2022,
5376-429: The 21–2 victory over Wigan in the 1966 Challenge Cup Final during the 1965–66 season at Wembley Stadium , London on Saturday 21 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 98,536. Alex Murphy played scrum-half in St. Helens ' 2–12 defeat by Oldham in the 1958 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1958–59 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 25 October 1958, played scrum-half in the 4–5 defeat by Warrington in
5488-594: The Australian Nine Network during television coverage of The Ashes series during the 1994 Kangaroo tour . In 1991, he joined Huddersfield : within a year, promotion to the Second Division had been achieved. After a six-year absence from rugby league, Murphy returned to the game in 2003 as football director of Leigh after the National League One club sacked coach Paul Terzis . In 1998 Murphy
5600-645: The Australian Lock-forward position, and as such was often selected in the second row. Of his 13 test matches, Vautin played 8 in the second row, 4 at lock and one (a 70–8 win over Papua New Guinea in Wagga Wagga in 1988) from the bench. Loyal to his Channel Nine employer, Vautin was a vocal supporter of the Kerry Packer -backed Australian Rugby League during the Super League war which started in 1995. With only limited coaching experience having coached
5712-647: The British Super League (with teams from New Zealand and France respectively). Other professional and semi professional leagues include Australia's Queensland Cup (which includes a team from Papua New Guinea ) and NSW Cup , the British RFL Championship and RFL League 1 , the French Super XIII and Elite 2 . The Papua New Guinea National Rugby League operates as a semi-professional competition and enjoys nationwide media coverage, being
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#17328524958245824-955: The Division 1 championship and Lancashire cup winners, before taking the role of coach of Wigan in 1982. There, he led them to victory in the John Player Trophy in 1983, and took them to the Challenge Cup Final in 1984, where they lost to Widnes. He left at the start of the next season, following a row with vice chairman Maurice Lindsay . In 1988 Murphy was an inaugural inductee into the Rugby League Hall of Fame . He took over as coach of St. Helens in 1986, taking them to Wembley Stadium , London in 1987, against Halifax, and again in 1989 where they played Wigan. St Helens lost by one point to Halifax, and were humiliated by Wigan in an error-ridden performance two years later, losing 27–0, becoming
5936-525: The National Rugby League, this was reduced to ten prior to the 2008 season and further reduced to eight prior to the 2016 season. If a team has to interchange a player due to the blood bin rule or due to injury, and this was the result of misconduct from the opposing team, the compromised team does not have to use one of its allocated interchanges to take the player in question off the field. The backs are generally smaller, faster and more agile than
6048-605: The Northern Union also changed its name to the Rugby Football League and thus over time the sport itself became known as "rugby league" football. In 1895, a schism in Rugby football resulted in the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). The success of working class northern teams led to some compensating players who otherwise would be on their job and earning income on Saturdays. This led to
6160-411: The RFU reacting to enforce the amateur principle of the sport, preventing "broken time payments" to players who had taken time off work to play rugby. Northern teams typically had more working class players (coal miners, mill workers etc.) who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to affluent southern teams who had other sources of income to sustain the amateur principle. In 1895,
6272-473: The Wayne Bennett coached Brisbane Broncos ), completed a 3–0 series whitewash of New South Wales that year. With the Super League players available for selection in the 1996 State of Origin series , Queensland were rated a chance of retaining their crown but lost the series 0–3. After losing the 1997 series 1–2, Vautin was replaced as Queensland coach the following year by Wayne Bennett . In 2000, Vautin
6384-447: The ball comes into contact with the ground. An attacking team gets a maximum of six tackles to progress up the field before possession is changed over. Once the tackle is completed, the ball-carrier must be allowed to get to his feet to ' play-the-ball '. Ball control is also important in rugby league, as a fumble of the ball on the ground forces a handover, unless the ball is fumbled backwards. The ball can also be turned over by going over
6496-421: The ball is kicked, they are deemed off-side. Tackling is a key component of rugby league play. Only the player holding the ball may be tackled. A tackle is complete, for example, when the player is held by one or more opposing players in such a manner that he can make no further progress and cannot part with the ball, or when the player is held by one or more opposing players and the ball or the hand or arm holding
6608-632: The club until 1978. During his time as the Warrington coach, his old rivals, Widnes succeeded in reaching another Challenge Cup final in 1976, their opponents being St. Helens. Murphy caused controversy by declaring that he would jump off the Runcorn-Widnes Bridge Silver Jubilee Bridge and into the River Mersey if Widnes won; luckily, Widnes were defeated 20 points to 5 and Murphy managed to keep his feet on dry land. Alex Murphy
6720-469: The code in an extremely competitive sporting market. In 1997 two competitions were run alongside each other in Australia, after which a peace deal in the form of the National Rugby League was formed. The NRL has since become recognised as the sport's flagship competition and since that time has set record TV ratings and crowd figures. The objective in rugby league is to score more points through tries , goals and field goals (also known as drop goals) than
6832-486: The domestic season and there was some speculation he would never play again. On this tour he scored 9 tries in 11 appearances. Murphy became the first British rugby league footballer to have two testimonial matches . They were at St. Helens in 1965, and at Warrington in 1976. Alex Murphy played at centre and scored a conversion in St. Helens ' 35–12 victory over Halifax in the Championship Final during
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#17328524958246944-426: The end of September, Murphy submitted a written transfer request to the St. Helens board who accepted it, putting him on the list at £12,000. North Sydney tabled a bid of £8,000 for Murphy which was accepted. However, at the last minute, Murphy agreed to a 5-year deal with Leigh to become the highest paid coach in the Rugby Football League . Murphy's first game in charge of his new team was against his former club in
7056-532: The end of his playing career to include clubs such as Wigan , Salford and Huddersfield . He later returned to both Warrington and Leigh respectively as a football manager. He was the first player to captain three different clubs to victory in the Challenge Cup Final . Born in St. Helens , Lancashire on 22 April 1939, Murphy was brought up in Thatto Heath , and at ten years of age had played in both
7168-510: The famous second Test in which they were down to ten men. He scored 21 tries in 20 appearances on that tour. He won the Championship with St. Helens in 1958–59 season . The following year he played in Great Britain's World Cup -winning side. With his club he claimed the Challenge Cup in 1961. On the 1962 Ashes tour he suffered a shoulder injury which caused him to miss three months of
7280-437: The first side ever held scoreless in a Challenge Cup Final at Wembley. During the last 10 minutes of the Challenge Cup Final, St. Helens received a penalty that was well within kicking range for either of their goal kickers, Great Britain international Paul Loughlin , and Australian dual international Michael O'Connor . Knowing that no side had ever been held scoreless in a Cup Final at Wembley and not wanting his St. Helens to be
7392-468: The first, Murphy frantically gestured from the sideline to team captain Paul Vautin to take the kick at goal despite the scoreline. Vautin ignored Murphy's instructions and instead the ball was kicked into touch for a tap restart. Wigan's defense held firm though and St. Helens last scoring opportunity was lost. This led to tension between Murphy and Vautin for a number of years until they worked together for
7504-658: The five years prior to the Second World War , the sport's popularity increased as Frenchmen became disenchanted with the state of French rugby union in the 1930s. However, after the Allied Forces were defeated by Germany in June 1940, the Vichy regime in the south seized assets belonging to rugby league authorities and clubs and banned the sport for its association with the left-wing Popular Front government that had governed France before
7616-530: The football, each play restarting from a set piece position and ended by a tackle. Although the Canadian Football League in particular maintained the word 'rugby' in its name for many years, alluding to that shared past, the introduction of the forward pass and unlimited substitution in North American games created a fundamentally different species of game from either original rugby code. Although
7728-407: The forwards. They are often the most creative and evasive players on the field, relying on running, kicking and handling skills, as well as tactics and set plays, to break the defensive line, instead of brute force. Generally forwards play a more collision oriented game, making ground by pure strength, and tackling near the play-the-ball. Usually, the stand-off/five-eighth and scrum-half/half-back are
7840-406: The fourth tackle a scrum was to be formed. This was increased to six tackles in 1972 and in 1983 the scrum was replaced by a handover. 1967 saw the first professional Sunday matches of rugby league played. The first sponsors, Joshua Tetley and John Player , entered the game for the 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season . Television had an enormous impact on the sport of rugby league in
7952-566: The ground, with the ball usually set in a kicking tee , and the opposing team not allowed to directly challenge the kicker. The Super League in Europe and the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australasia are the world's premier club competitions. Globally, rugby league is played internationally , predominantly by European , Australasian , and Pacific Island countries, and is governed by
8064-411: The historic link between the codes continues to be acknowledged, neither Canadian or American football is commonly considered a rugby code today except in the broadest sense, and are more commonly referred to collectively as gridiron codes, or simply as 'football' within their respective countries. Players on the pitch are divided into forwards and backs , although the game's rules apply to all players
8176-584: The introduction to the game and dropped the "F-bomb", only to find out that it was in fact being broadcast live around Australia. Vautin was then signed by the Nine Network and has been a regular commentator for Nine's Wide World of Sports ' coverage of rugby league matches alongside Ray Warren and Peter Sterling since 1992. Tim Brasher actually fell over in front of Tony Smith . He's hit every limb, Rabs – all five of 'em came out and he's brought down Tony Smith... Vautin has hosted The NRL Footy Show since 1994, propelling him to TV stardom. He suffered
8288-440: The invention of the sport previously called murderball and is not directly linked to rugby union, wheelchair rugby league has grown out of the parent sport, and retains key aspects of that sport such as an egg shaped ball, the forward-pass rule and conversions. While not a Paralympic sport, the sport has its own Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup . A further variation for ambulatory disabled players, physical disability rugby league ,
8400-412: The issue of payments to players. The rules of the game governed by the new Northern Rugby Football Union progressively changed from those of the RFU with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income the new organisation and its members depended. In rugby league, points are scored by carrying an oval ball and touching it to the ground beyond
8512-447: The junior and senior XIIIs at St Austin's School. Murphy had received town and county schoolboy honours by the time he signed with his native St. Helens for £80 on his 16th birthday in 1955. The signing itself was almost akin to a military operation. St. Helens representatives smuggled Murphy 'under cover' to a nearby house until the clock struck midnight to signal Murphy's 16th birthday, and his eligibility to sign professional terms. He
8624-470: The ladder and then into the grand final against minor premiers Parramatta, he was not selected for the end of season 1982 Kangaroo tour . He returned to the test team for Australia's mid-season tour to New Zealand in 1983, and in 1984 was selected for the second Ashes Test against Great Britain at Lang Park, copping an elbow to the face from replacement Mick Adams as he tackled the Lions forward, resulting in
8736-763: The late 1970s. He played for the Wests Panthers in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership , the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in Sydney, St. Helens in England, Queensland in the State of Origin and the Australia national rugby league team . He finished his playing career with Sydney club the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1991. He was graded as an 18-year-old by Brisbane Rugby League club Wests as
8848-504: The league's inaugural season. Several brand new clubs from Western USA were scheduled to join in 2022 but never played. The new competition is sanctioned by Canada Rugby League , but not yet by the United States governing body. Unfortunately, while some exhibition matches were played in 2021 and 2022, NARL was defunct by 2023 The early 21st century has seen other countries take up the game and compete in international rugby league with
8960-499: The mid to late 20th century. Known as 'Murphy the Mouth' (or "Yapper" by some referees) and regarded as one of the greatest halfbacks in the history of the British game, he represented Great Britain in 27 Tests and his club career was played at three clubs, St. Helens , Leigh and Warrington . Murphy assumed a player-coach role of the last two clubs and expanded his coaching role toward
9072-453: The mid-1990s, it has increasingly borrowed techniques, tactics and even laws from rugby league, while high-profile players and coaches from the league game have increasingly gone on to success in the union code in those countries where both codes are popular (e.g. Andy Farrell , Jason Robinson and Henry Paul ). The inherent similarities between rugby league and rugby union have at times led to experimental hybrid games being played that use
9184-530: The most popular sporting events. The Rugby League European Federation are responsible for developing rugby league in Europe . In England, rugby league has traditionally been associated with the historic northern counties of Yorkshire , Lancashire , and Cumberland , where the game originated, especially in towns and cities along the M62 corridor . Its popularity has also increased elsewhere. As of 2024 , only two of
9296-413: The national sport of the country. Five main variant sports of rugby league exist worldwide; Touch , OzTag , League tag , Nines , and Sevens . Touch, OzTag, and League Tag are all non-contact versions of the sport, where as Nines and Sevens are both reduced form (shorter match times and smaller teams) of the sport. Touch (also known as touch football or touch rugby) is a variant of rugby league that
9408-548: The new Super League, although the club was dissolved in 1997. In 2006, the Super League admitted the Catalans Dragons, a team from Perpignan in the southern Languedoc-Roussillon region. They have subsequently reached the 2007 Challenge Cup Final and made the playoffs of the 2008 Super League XIII season. The success of the Dragons in Super League has initiated a renaissance in French rugby league, with new-found enthusiasm for
9520-526: The next nine years, he played for Queensland with the exception of 1986 . Game 1 of the 1990 series was Vautin's last game of State of Origin football as he was dumped after Queensland lost 0–8 to NSW after having won both the previous two series 3–0. Vautin made his test début for Australia in 1982 in the first test against New Zealand , at Lang Park in Brisbane under the coaching of his original Manly coach Frank Stanton. However, after playing for Queensland and Australia, and helping Manly to second on
9632-405: The north of England there have been complaints about its lack of profile in the British media. On the eve of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup final where England would face Australia, English amateur rugby league coach Ben Dawson stated, "we're in the final of a World Cup. First time in more than 30 years and there's no coverage anywhere". France first played rugby league as late as 1934, where in
9744-703: The opening game of the tour. He would later captain the side in another tour game against Auckland for the only loss of the tour, the Australians surprised 26–24 at Carlaw Park (the Kangaroos first non-test loss since losing to Widnes on the 1978 Kangaroo tour ), before captaining the team from the unfamiliar position of Five-eighth for a 28–10 win over Wellington at the Basin Reserve . During his career, Vautin often had to compete with players such as Ray Price , Wayne Pearce and fellow Queenslander Bob Lindner for
9856-458: The opening round of the 1979 season, against St. George at Kogarah Oval , Vautin went on to play in grand finals with Manly in 1982 and 1983 , going down to Parramatta both times. Vautin was named captain of Manly-Warringah in 1985 by coach Bob Fulton . Vautin enjoyed success in leading Manly to an 18–8 victory over the Canberra Raiders in the 1987 Grand Final , the last played at
9968-404: The opposing team's goal line; this is called a try , and is the primary method of scoring, worth four points. The opposing team attempts to stop the attacking side scoring points by tackling the player carrying the ball and denying forward progress. On occasion, where a clear try scoring opportunity has been thwarted by foul play, a penalty try may be awarded without the ball being grounded over
10080-475: The opposition within the 80 minutes of play. If after two-halves of play, each consisting of forty minutes, the two teams are drawing , a draw may be declared, or the game may enter extra time under the golden point rule, depending on the relevant competition's format. The try is the most common form of scoring, and a team will usually attempt to score one by running and kicking the ball further upfield or passing from player-to-player in order to manoeuvre around
10192-400: The opposition's defence. A try involves touching the ball to the ground on or beyond the defending team's goal-line and is worth four points. A goal is worth two points and may be gained from a conversion or a penalty . A field goal, or drop goal, is only worth one point and is gained by dropping and then kicking the ball on the half volley between the uprights in open play. A field goal has
10304-542: The position they play, similarly to association football . Substitutes (generally referred to as "the bench") are allowed in the sport, and are typically used when a player gets tired or injured , although they can also be used tactically. Each team is currently allowed four substitutes, and in Australia and New Zealand, these players occupy shirt numbers 14 to 22. There are no limitations on which players must occupy these interchangeable slots. Generally, twelve interchanges are allowed in any game from each team, although in
10416-501: The same way. Each position has a designated number to identify himself from other players. These numbers help to identify which position a person is playing. The system of numbering players is different depending on which country the match is played in. In Australia and New Zealand, each player is usually given a number corresponding to their playing position on the field. However, since 1996 European teams have been able to grant players specific squad numbers, which they keep without regard to
10528-496: The scrum see rugby league scrummage . Forward positions are traditionally named after the player's position in the scrum yet are equal with respect to "normal play" with the exception of the hooker. Forward positions are traditionally assigned as follows: Rugby league is played in over 70 nations throughout the world. Papua New Guinea is the only country to have rugby league as its national sport . Four countries – Australia, England, France, and New Zealand – have teams that play at
10640-524: The sideline. Rugby league and rugby union are distinct sports with many similarities and a shared origin. Both have the same fundamental rules, are played for 80 minutes and feature an oval-shaped ball and H-shaped goalposts. Both have rules that the ball cannot be passed forward, and dropping it forwards leads to a scrum. Both use tries as the central scoring method and conversion kicks , penalty goals and drop goals as additional scoring methods. However, there are differences in how many points each method
10752-526: The specific issues associated with a tag based game. Rugby League played with nine players per team with nine minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. Rugby League played with seven players per team with seven minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. The top five attendances for rugby league test matches (International) are: The top five attendances for domestic based rugby league matches are: * NRL double header played to open Round 1 of
10864-633: The sport in the south of the country where most of the Super XIII teams are based. In other parts of Europe, the game is played at semi-professional and amateur level. As of 2023, there is no professional rugby league in North America. From 2017 to 2020, the Toronto Wolfpack were North America 's only active professional Rugby League team, competing in the English Rugby League system. They won
10976-482: The try line. In addition to tries, points can be scored by kicking goals. Drop goals (or field goals) can be attempted from the hand at any time for a single point. Following a successful try, the scoring team gains a free kick to try at goal with a conversion worth a further two points. Penalty kicks at goal, known simply as penalties, may also be awarded for general foul play, and are also worth two points. Unlike drop goals, penalty kicks and conversions are taken from
11088-559: The twelve Super League teams are based outside of these traditional counties: Catalans Dragons and London Broncos . One other team from outside the United Kingdom, Toulouse Olympique , competes in the British rugby league system , although not at the highest tier Super League level, but rather in the second tier Championship . Super League average attendances are in the 8,000 to 9,500 range. The average Super League match attendance in 2014
11200-566: The war. The sport was unbanned after the Liberation of Paris in August 1944 and the collapse of the Vichy regime, although it was still actively marginalised by the French authorities until the 1990s. Despite this, the national side appeared in the finals of the 1954 and 1968 World Cups, and the country hosted the 1954 event. In 1996, a French team, Paris Saint-Germain was one of eleven teams which formed
11312-469: Was 8,365. In 2018 average Super League match attendance was 8,547. Ranked the eighth most popular sport in the UK overall, rugby league is the 27th most popular participation sport in England according to figures released by Sport England ; the total number of rugby league participants in England aged 16 and over was 44,900 in 2017. This is a 39% drop from 10 years ago. While the sport is largely concentrated in
11424-549: Was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. After Manly had been knocked out of the finals series, Paul Vautin made his television commentary début during the 1988 NSWRL Grand Final with the ABC alongside long time caller David Morrow. Vautin's introduction to television commentary did not go to plan though as he thought they were pre-recording
11536-449: Was awarded the OBE for services to the game of rugby league. In 2000 his autobiography, Saint and Sinner was published. Murphy was also employed as a commentator by BBC television for a number of years working alongside long-time league commentators Eddie Waring , and later former dual rugby international Ray French . He also worked for Australia's Nine Network as an expert commentator during
11648-419: Was carried off the pitch on a stretcher, but later returned to the bench and was able to lift the trophy at the end of the game. Over the years, tales of Murphy winking to his teammates as he was carried from the field have endured, and Hynes always maintained his innocence. Alex Murphy played scrum-half , and scored a conversion in Leigh 's 2–11 defeat by Swinton in the 1969 Lancashire Cup Final during
11760-468: Was coached from an early age by Jim Sullivan . During his national service Murphy played rugby union for the Royal Air Force , frequently playing for an Air Force team the same week as playing rugby league for St. Helens. Murphy began his career at St. Helens playing reserve team rugby (known then as the 'A' team). After several "A" team games, Murphy demanded a place in the first team. This demand
11872-538: Was created and had its first world cup in 2022 to coincide with the rescheduled 2021 Rugby League World Cup competitions. Rugby league football takes its name from the bodies that split to create a new form of rugby, distinct from that run by the Rugby Football Unions, in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand between 1895 and 1908. The first of these, the Northern Rugby Football Union , was established in 1895 as
11984-476: Was hosted by England during October and November 2022, staged the Men's , Women's and Wheelchair competitions together for the first time. The competition formerly featured 16 teams, but has been cut down to 10 for the upcoming 2026 Rugby League World Cup . The Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation 's purpose is to spread the sport of rugby league throughout their region along with other governing bodies such as
12096-464: Was refused and so he promptly demanded a transfer. The dispute was settled and Murphy's first team début was against Whitehaven at Knowsley Road . Murphy's career at St. Helens went on to be long and successful. While still a teenager, he was selected to tour Australasia with the Great Britain side in 1958, becoming the youngest touring player at the time, and helping Great Britain to victory in
12208-543: Was selected for Australia in their successful 1988 Ashes series against the Great Britain tourists. Vautin was the vice-captain of Australia's mid-season tour of New Zealand in 1989, captaining the team in three tour games (Wally Lewis was the tour and test captain). Fatty captained the Australian team (now coached by Bob Fulton) to a 50–18 win over a New Zealand XIII at the Palmerston North Showgrounds in
12320-621: Was still part of the broader Nine expert commentary team for big fixtures like the State of Origin. Speculation existed that 2017 would be Vautin's last season as host of The Footy Show . In October 2017, Vautin was axed from The Footy Show. Rugby league Rugby league football , commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby XIII in non- Anglophone Europe and South America, and referred to colloquially as football , footy , rugby , or league in its heartlands,
12432-452: Was the coach in Warrington 's 0–0 draw with Salford in the 1974 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1974–75 season at The Willows, Salford on Tuesday 17 December 1974, and in the 5–10 defeat by Salford in the 1974 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final replay during the 1974–75 season at Wilderspool Stadium , Warrington on Tuesday 28 January 1975. Alex Murphy was the coach in Warrington 's 4–0 victory over Featherstone Rovers in
12544-589: Was the coach , and was man-of-the-match winning the Lance Todd Trophy in Leigh 's 24–7 victory over Leeds in the 1971 Challenge Cup Final during the 1970–71 season at Wembley Stadium , London on Saturday 15 May 1971, in front of a crowd of 85,514. This was a match where Murphy's ability to attract controversy was once again exemplified. He was involved in an altercation with Leeds' Syd Hynes which resulted in Hynes being sent off for headbutting Murphy. Murphy
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