Kris Radlinski

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Kris Radlinski
Kris Radlinski.jpg
Personal information
Full nameKristian John Radlinski [1]
Born (1976-04-09) 9 April 1976 (age 47)
Wigan, Greater Manchester, England
Playing information
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight14 st 2 lb (90 kg)
Position Fullback, Centre
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
1993–05 Wigan Warriors 31618310734
2006 Wigan Warriors 60000
Total32218310734
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2001–03 Lancashire 330012
1995–01 England 1030012
1996–03 Great Britain 2050020
Source: [2] [3] [4]

Kristian John Radlinski MBE (born 9 April 1976) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played mainly as a fullback. He is currently CEO of Wigan Warriors whom he played his entire professional career for, making over 300 appearances between 1993 and 2006, and also represented England and Great Britain at international level.

Contents

Background

Radlinski was born in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. His family originated in Poland and have lived in Wigan since World War II.

Playing career

Club career

Radlinski signed for his hometown club in 1993, aged 17, and went on to play his entire professional career for them after having played for Wigan St Judes and Wigan St Patricks at amateur level. He debuted for the first team as a substitute in October 1993 against Castleford. [5]

He made his first start during the following year, scoring a try in a 30–6 win against Featherstone Rovers in November 1994. He spent most of the 1994–95 season playing on the wing, deputising for Jason Robinson or Martin Offiah whenever they were injured. [6] In May 1995, at age 19, he scored a hat-trick in the 1995 Premiership final against Leeds, becoming the first player to do so in a Premiership final, and was also the youngest ever winner of the Harry Sunderland Trophy for man-of-the-match in Wigan's victory. [7]

Radlinski played at centre and scored a try in Wigan's 25–16 victory over St Helens in the 1995–96 Regal Trophy Final during the 1995–96 season at Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield on Saturday 13 January 1996. [8]

Radlinski was a Premiership winner with Wigan, playing fullback in Wigan's 44–14 victory over St Helens in the Rugby League Premiership Final during Super League I at Old Trafford, Manchester on Sunday 8 September 1996. [9]

Radlinski was named in the Super League Dream Team of 1998. He also appeared for Wigan Warriors at fullback in their 1998 Super League Grand Final victory over Leeds Rhinos. Radlinski played for Wigan at centre in their 2000 Super League Grand Final defeat by St Helens.

Radlinski played at fullback in Wigan's 2001 Super League Grand Final loss against the Bradford Bulls. In the 2002 Challenge Cup Final at Murrayfield Stadium Radlinski won the Lance Todd Trophy for man of the match. Kris competed in this match despite being in hospital all week prior to Wigan's 21–12 victory over St Helens with a serious foot infection,.

Radlinski played for Wigan at fullback in the 2003 Super League Grand Final defeat by Bradford Bulls.

He was given a testimonial year in 2005 for his loyal service to Wigan Warriors. Radlinski made only 15 appearances for the team during a season that was interrupted by multiple injuries. [10] [11] His testimonial match was played at the JJB Stadium on 2 February 2006 against the Huddersfield Giants. [12] Wigan won this match 38–22. [13]

Radlinski announced his retirement from the sport prematurely on 2 March 2006 due to persistent injuries. [14] He had made over 300 appearances for Wigan, scoring 183 tries. [15] This brought down the curtain on a successful career during which the player was a loyal servant to his club.

In June 2006 Radlinski came out of retirement and returned to Wigan for the remainder of 2006's Super League XI, playing for "no fee" to aid the team during their personnel struggles that year. [16] He helped the club avoid relegation, making six appearances before retiring a second time in August 2006. [17]

International career

Radlinski was selected to play for England in the 1995 World Cup Final at fullback in their defeat by Australia.

He won his first cap for Great Britain on the 1996 Lions tour. In the 1997 post season, Radlinski was selected to play for Great Britain at centre in all three matches of the Super League Test series against Australia.

Internationally he was capped 20 times by Great Britain, and won 10 England caps. The pinnacle of his international career, in which he was a main stay in the international setup, saw him captain the team against New Zealand 'A'. He scored three tries in this match.

Post-retirement

In 2007, Radlinski was awarded an MBE for his services to rugby league. [18] [19]

Radlinski returned to Wigan during the 2009 season to take a scholarship coaching role. As well as publishing an autobiography entitled Simply Rad, [20] he was given a place on the England coaching staff for the 2009 Four Nations tournament. On 1 December 2009, Radlinski was appointed Rugby General Manager at Wigan, working alongside new head coach Michael Maguire. [21]

In 2022, he was inducted into the Wigan Rugby League Hall of Fame. [5]

Honours

Club

Individual

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References

  1. ↑ Phillips, Ewan (2010). The Wigan Warriors miscellany. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN   978-0752456751.
  2. ↑ "Kris Radlinski". Cherryandwhite.co.uk. RLFans.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Player Summary: Kris Radlinski". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Radlinski inducted into Hall of Fame". Wigan Warriors. 4 September 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  6. ↑ Irvine, Christopher (26 April 1995). "Offiah turns down more money to stay with Wigan". The Times. p. 38.
  7. ↑ "Radlinski rampant in Wigan rout". Independent.co.uk . 21 May 1995.
  8. ↑ "13th January 1996: St Helens 16 Wigan 25 (Regal Trophy Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "8th September 1996: St Helens 14 Wigan 44 (Premiership Trophy Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Radlinski blow for luckless Wigan". BBC Sport. 6 June 2005. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "Injury ends season for Radlinski". BBC Sport. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  12. ↑ "Wigan confirm Radlinski benefit". BBC Sport. 25 November 2005. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Sharp given Super-style headache". YorkshireLive. 3 February 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Injury forces Radlinski to retire". BBC Sport. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Radlinski - a true rugby league great". BBC Sport. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  16. ↑ "Radlinski comes out of retirement". BBC Sport. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "Radlinski calls time on comeback". BBC Sport. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  18. ↑ "No. 58358". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 15 June 2007. p. 21.
  19. ↑ "RFL hails impact of Radlinski MBE". BBC Sport. 16 June 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  20. ↑ Radlinski, Kris (2009). Simply Rad. UK: Vertical Editions. ISBN   9781904091349 . Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  21. ↑ "Radlinski appointed Wigan manager". wwos. Archived from the original on 6 December 2009.
  22. ↑ "The County of Origin". League Unlimited. 21 June 2003. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
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