Morgan Knowles

Morgan Knowles

Personal information
Born	(1996-11-05) 5 November 1996 (age 27) Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	15 st 2 lb (96 kg)
Playing information
Position	Loose forward, Second-row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2015– St Helens 211 29 0 0 116 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2015–17 Wales 4 1 0 0 4 2021–22 England 4 0 0 0 0
Source: [1] [2] As of 5 November 2022

Morgan Knowles (born 5 November 1996) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a loose forward or second-row for St Helens in the Super League. ^[3] He has played for both Wales and England at international level.

Background

Knowles was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, and attended Ulverston Victoria High School. ^[4] He played junior rugby league for Barrow Island before signing for St Helens at the age of 15. ^[5]

Career

Knowles made his first team debut for Saints in May 2015, appearing as a substitute in a Challenge Cup game against York City Knights. ^[6] He established a regular place in the first team during the following year, and was rewarded with a new three-year contract at the club. ^[5]

He played in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Warrington at Wembley Stadium. ^[7] Knowles played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final victory over Salford at Old Trafford. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Knowles played in St Helens 2020 Super League Grand Final victory over Wigan at the Kingston Communications Stadium in Hull. ^[11] On 17 July 2021, he played for St. Helens in their 26-12 2021 Challenge Cup Final victory over Castleford. ^[12] On 9 October 2021, he played in St. Helens 2021 Super League Grand Final victory over Catalans Dragons. ^[13] In the 2022 semi-final, Knowles was sent to the sin bin for a chicken wing tackle during St Helens 19-12 victory over Salford which sent the club into their fourth consecutive grand final. Knowles was later suspended for two matches. St Helens appealed the decision which the RFL rejected. Knowles and St Helens then put in a second appeal which was successful meaning he was free to play in the 2022 Super League Grand Final. ^[14] On 24 September 2022, Knowles played for St Helens in their 2022 Super League Grand Final victory over Leeds. ^[15] On 18 February 2023, Knowles played in St Helens 13-12 upset victory over Penrith in the 2023 World Club Challenge. ^[16] On 12 April 2023, Knowles was suspended for five matches and issued a £500 fine after he was placed on report for an illegal tackle during St Helens 14-6 loss to Wigan in round 8 of the competition. ^[17] On 22 May 2023, Knowles was suspended for two games following being red carded during the clubs Challenge Cup victory over Halifax. Knowles was sent off in the final minute of the game for a high tackle on Halifax hooker Tom Inman. ^[18] Knowles played 21 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished third on the table. Knowles played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which stopped them reaching a fifth successive grand final. ^[19] Knowles played 16 matches for St Helens in the 2024 Super League season which saw the club finish sixth on the table. Knowles played in St Helens golden point extra-time playoff loss against Warrington. ^[20]

Representative

On 25 June 2021 he made a try scoring début for England in their 24-26 defeat to the Combined Nations All Stars, staged at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, as part of England’s 2021 Rugby League World Cup preparation. ^[21]

References

1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. "Player Summary: Morgan Knowles". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
3. "St Helens sign up Morgan Knowles, Ricky Bailey, Jake Spedding and Levy Nzoungou". Sky Sports. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
4. "St Helens bow for Barrow Island junior Morgan Knowles". North West Evening Mail. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
5. "Morgan Knowles and Matty Fleming sign new St Helens contracts". BBC. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
6. "Challenge Cup sixth round: St Helens 46-6 York". BBC Sport. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
7. "St Helens 4-18 Warrington RESULT: Challenge Cup Final as it happened from Wembley". Mirror. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
8. "St Helens give Justin Holbrook the perfect send-off with commanding Grand Final victory over Salford". Telegraph. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
9. Unwin, Will (12 October 2019). "St Helens 23-6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian.
10. "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports.
11. "Super League Grand Final: Wigan 4-8 St Helens". BBC Sport.
12. "How St Helens players have celebrated their first Challenge Cup win in 13 years". www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
13. "Super League Grand Final: Catalans Dragons 10-12 St Helens: Saints win three in a row". BBC Sport.
14. "St Helens' Morgan Knowles to play in Grand Final after winning second appeal against suspension". www.skysports.com.
15. Bower, Aaron (24 September 2022). "St Helens sink Leeds to win record fourth consecutive Grand Final". The Observer.
16. "St Helens stun Penrith to win World Club Challenge". BBC Sport.
17. "St Helens' Morgan Knowles' big ban for tackle on Mike Cooper". www.sthelensstar.co.uk. 11 April 2023.
18. "Morgan Knowles receives suspension following Challenge Cup red card". www.loverugbyleague.com. 22 May 2023.
19. "Paul Wellens Q&A: Saints review of year and a look to 2024". www.sthelensstar.co.uk. 14 October 2023.
20. Bower, Aaron (28 September 2024). "'Soul destroying': Warrington eliminate St Helens in golden drop goal thriller". The Observer.
21. "England 24-26 Combined All Stars - Shaun Wane loses first game". BBC Sport. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.

External links

• St Helens profile
• SL profile
• (archived by web.archive.org) Statistics at rlwc2017.com
• Saints Heritage Society profile
• England profile