James Olds (rugby league)

Last updated
James Olds
Full nameJames Olds
Date of birth (1991-04-06) 6 April 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Bridgend, Wales
Height169 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb; 12 st 0 lb)
Notable relative(s) Ollie Olds (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Youth career
Tondu RFC
-2010 Bridgend Athletic
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2009–2012 Bridgend Athletic 34 (60)
2013–2016 Albury Wodonga ()
Correct as of 27 February 2024
Rugby league career
Playing information
Position Centre, Wing
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2016–2019 Wests Panthers
2020–2021 Albury Thunder
2022– Fortitude Valley Diehards
Total00000
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2018– Wales 442

James Olds (born 6 April 1991) is an international Welsh rugby league player who currently plays for Fortitude Valleys Diehards in the Brisbane Rugby League. He mainly plays at centre or on the wing. [1] [2]

Contents

Club career

Olds was born in Bridgend in Wales, beginning his career at local side Tondu RFC before moving to Bridgend Athletic RFC, winning the Ospreys Youth League championship. [3] He made his 1st XV debut at 18, playing at the club until 2012 he scored 12 tries in 34 appearances. [4]

He moved to Australia with his brother, Ollie Olds. Playing for Albury Wodonga RUFC winning the Southern Inland Rugby Union Premiership in 2013 and 2015, [5] [6] before joining Brisbane Rugby League side Wests Panthers, winning a minor premiership with the side. In 2020 he joined Albury Thunder. [7] [8] [9] In 2022 he joined Fortitude Valleys Diehards scoring 76 points in his first season. [10] [11]

International career

He made his debut for the Wales national rugby league team in the European Championship 2018, scoring a try and three goals in a 18–54 loss against France. On 11 November 2018 he scored 8 goals in a European Championship win over Ireland, this put him at joint-third for the most goals by a player in a match for Wales, and joint-sixth for most points by a player in a match for Wales. [12] [13] His efforts helped secure a second-place finish for Wales, qualifying them for the 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup.

In 2019 he played in the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s featuring once, in a 23–6 loss against France. [14]

After the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s he didn't feature again for Wales until being named in the Wales squad for the 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup, [15] he did not feature in the competition however started on the wing in a warmup match against Lebanon scoring a solitary goal.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff RFC</span> Welsh rugby union club, based in Cardiff

Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since.

Rugby league is a sport played in Wales. The governing body of the game in Wales is the Wales Rugby League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortitude Valley Diehards</span> Australian semi-pro rugby league club, based in Brisbane, QLD

The Fortitude Valley Diehards, often referred to simply as Valleys, are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in the Brisbane suburb of Fortitude Valley.

Wales Rugby League is the national governing body for rugby league football in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgend Ravens</span> Welsh rugby union football club

Bridgend Ravens are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steele Retchless</span> US international rugby league footballer

Steele Retchless is a former United States international rugby league footballer who played as a second-row and prop forward in the 1990s, and 2000s. He played for the Brisbane Broncos and the South Queensland Crushers in the ARL Premiership and the London Broncos in the European Super League. He also played for the Ipswich Jets and Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhys Williams (rugby league)</span> Wales international rugby league footballer

Rhys Williams is a Welsh former professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Swinton Lions in the RFL Championship and Wales at international level.

The South Wales Men's League is a summer rugby league competition for amateur teams in South Wales. The competition was formed in 2003 as the RLC Welsh Premier. Following the 2012 restructure of amateur rugby league in Great Britain, it was renamed the South Wales Premiership.

Christiaan Roets is a former semi-professional rugby league footballer who represented the Welsh national team, most notably at the 2011 Four Nations, 2013 World Cup, and 2017 World Cup. He primarily played as a centre for the South Wales Scorpions and the North Wales Crusaders.

Matthew Silva is a Welsh rugby union coach, who is the current coach of RGC 1404. He is a former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer, who played from the 1980s to the 2000s. In rugby union (RU), he played as a number eight, fly-half, centre, wing and fullback. In rugby league (RL), he played as a fullback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhys Evans (rugby league)</span> Wales international rugby league footballer

Rhys Evans is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a wing, centre or fullback mostly recently for the Bradford Bulls in the Betfred Championship. He has played for both the England Knights and Wales at international level.

Raymond Kehm "Ray" Smith is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1970s. He also played professional rugby league for Fortitude Valley in 1970 and was a part of their premiership-winning team.

Max Clark is a professional rugby union player for Dragons in the United Rugby Championship who plays at centre. He previously played for Bath in Premiership Rugby.

Greg Prosser is a Welsh former international rugby union player who represented the Wales national team on one occasion during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He played in the top division of Welsh club rugby for Pontypridd RFC, where he spent a total of twelve seasons, and Bridgend RFC for two seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regan Grace</span> Wales international rugby league footballer

Regan Grace is a Welsh professional dual-code rugby footballer who plays as a wing for English rugby union side Bath Rugby.

Tom O'Flaherty is an English rugby union player who plays for Premiership Rugby Sale Sharks. His playing position is a Wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nita Maynard</span> Australia and New Zealand international rugby union & league footballer

Nita Maynard is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Rees-Zammit</span> Former rugby player, Jaguars NFL member

Louis Rees-Zammit is a Welsh athlete who plays as a professional American football wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played professional rugby union. From 2018 Rees-Zammit played in the position of winger for the Gloucester Rugby club in the English Premiership, and also at international level for Wales between 2020 and 2023 and the British & Irish Lions in 2021. Then, in January 2024, Rees-Zammit declared his intention to swap rugby for American football and leave the United Kingdom and move abroad to the United States in order to play in the NFL, and has since signed to the Jacksonville, Florida team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamika Upton</span> Australian rugby league footballer (born 1997)

Tamika Upton is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her position is fullback. She previously played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRLW, CQ Capras and Burleigh Bears in the QRL Women's Premiership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pride Petterson-Robati</span> Cook Islands international rugby league footballer

Pride Petterson-Robati is a Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who plays as a lock, and was last contracted to the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL).

References

  1. "James Olds – Playing Career – RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  2. "James OLDS – Player statistics – It's rugby". www.itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  3. WalesOnline (2010-04-14). "Rugby: Same Olds story as Athletic Youth home and dry". Wales Online. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  4. "Current & Recent BARFC Player – Centres". Bridgend Athletic RFC. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  5. "Premiership player Olds heads up north". The Border Mail. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  6. "Border footballer beats spider bite to play in World Cup 9s". The Border Mail. 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  7. "Thunder form can only help my World Cup chances". The Border Mail. 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  8. Moore, Glenn (2022-10-03). "Diehards' Olds bros to play in World Cup". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  9. "International returns as Albury look to get back on field". The Daily Advertiser. 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  10. "Team: Valleys Premier A-Grade 2022". www.playrugbyleague.com. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  11. "Gwylio'r Cymry: Mis Mawrth 25–28 2022 – Wales Rugby League (WRL)". 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  12. "Wales – Records – RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  13. "Player Records – WRL International Sides" . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  14. "James Olds". National Rugby League. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  15. "Rugby League World Cup 2022: Every nation's full squad | Sporting News United Kingdom". www.sportingnews.com. 2022-10-10. Retrieved 2024-02-27.