Swinton Lions
| File:Lion | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Swinton Lions Rugby League Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Lions |
| Colours |  |
| Founded | 1866 (as Swinton & Pendlebury FC) |
| Website | swintonlionsrlc.co.uk |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
|
| Chairman |  John Kidd |
| Coach | Steve McCormack |
| Competition | Co-operative Championship |
| 2012 Championship | 1st 2011 Championship 1 |
 Current season | |
| Records | |
| Premierships | 6 (1926–27, 1927–28, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1962–63, 1963–64) |
| Challenge Cups | 3 (1899–1900, 1925–26, 1927–28) |
| Lancashire Cup | 4 (1925–26, 1927–28, 1939–40, 1969–70) |
| Lancashire League | 6 (1924–25, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1939–40, 1960–61) |
| Second Division | 1 (1984–85) |
| Most capped | 602 – Ken Gowers |
| Highest points scorer | 2105 – Ken Gowers |
Swinton Lions is an English professional rugby league club from Swinton, Greater Manchester. The club has won the Championship six times and three Challenge Cups. They currently play in the Championship.
History
Early years
The club was formed in October 1866 when members of Swinton Cricket Club decided to take up football in the winter. In 1871 they joined the Rugby Football Union, under the name Swinton and Pendlebury FC, playing at their first ground located off Station Road in the town. Their first game was against Eccles Standard.
They moved from playing at a field in the Station Road area in 1873 to a ground known as Stoneacre, and used the nearby White Lion public house as changing rooms. They have been known as "the Lions" ever since.
The first rugby match under floodlights took place in Salford, between Broughton and Swinton on 22 October 1878.
In 1886 they moved again to their Chorley Road ground. By this time the Lions had become a very strong team, and played the likes of Oxford University. They were initially reluctant to join the new Northern Union, but did so on 2 June 1896 due to the fact that the majority of other teams in the region had done so, causing financial hardship to the club. The Northern Union was then split into two county leagues, Lancashire and Yorkshire.
In 1900 they won the Rugby League Challenge Cup defeating Salford at Fallowfield, Manchester.
On Saturday 8 September 1906, Swinton hosted a Pontefract team who arrived with only 12 players. The Lions scored 18 tries in a club record 76–4 victory. This record would stand for ninety years but three months later when the Lions visited Pontefract they lost 5–0.
They beat the visiting Australasian team of the 1921-22 Kangaroo tour 9–0.
In 1925 they won the Lancashire Cup. In 1926 they won the Challenge Cup again.
Under captain, Hector Halsall, Swinton were the last team to win All Four Cups; they were also the only side from Lancashire to achieve this feat (Hunslet and Huddersfield were the two other clubs). In addition to the Championship Trophy, the Challenge Cup, the Lancashire League and the Lancashire Cup; Swinton won a fifth cup, the Salford Royal Hospital Cup, which was competed for by Salford, Broughton Rangers and Swinton. The Lions were a side with a strong Welsh presence, with players like Billo Rees, Rees Thomas, Dai Moses, Ron Morgan and Graham Rees as well as the Cumbrian goal-kicking second row forward, Martin Hodgson who signed for Swinton in January 1927. Hodgson still holds the long distance penalty goal world record with a kick of 77¾ yards (at the Athletic Grounds, Rochdale, in April 1940).
The 1927–28 season saw the Lions sweep all before them, under the captaincy of centre Hector Halsall. They topped both the Championship and the Lancashire League, having already defeated Wigan in the Lancashire Cup. In a tense Challenge Cup Final they squeezed past Warrington 5–3, and three weeks later the Holy Grail was achieved when they comfortably eased past Featherstone Rovers 11–0 to take the Rugby Football League Championship.
In 1929, the club then moved to a new stadium back near their original home off Station Road. This new stadium's name was simply named after its location, Station Road. The decision to purchase land next to the railway line, was made after a breakdown in negotiations with their existing landlord at their Chorley Road ground close to the White Lion. This soon became a favoured ground for major fixtures such as Test matches, Challenge Cup semi-finals, Lancashire Cup finals and Championship finals.
Martin Hodgson played his last game for Swinton in December 1940. In 1941–42 Swinton abandoned the Lancashire League due to the Second World War and did not return until the 1945–46 season.
Post war
Swinton became winners of the Rugby Football League Championship in seasons 1962–63 and 1963–64, during a decade that saw the club enjoy the services of star players such as John Stopford, Alan Buckley, Ken Gowers, Dave Robinson, Billy "Daz" Davies, Bill Holliday and Albert Blan.
When two divisions were reintroduced in 1973, Swinton were out of the top flight, and have struggled to regain their former glories ever since. In 1992, financial mis-management necessitated the sale of Station Road for property development. The club moved to Gigg Lane, Bury, the home of Bury F.C.. In the Lions' last season at Station Road they were drawing crowds of 3,000 but this sudden move caused the club to lose many supporters. [1]
Summer era
In 1996, the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inaugural Super League season and changed from a winter to a summer season.[1] The rest of the professional game in Britain would follow this move to summer.
In 1996 Swinton officially added 'Lions' to their name. Peter Roe led Swinton to promotion from Division Two in 1996. The former Great Britain captain, Mike Gregory was the head coach of the club between 1998 and 2001.
The financial failure of major creditor and de facto owner Hugh Eaves in 2002 put the future of the club in jeopardy, the Chairman and benefactor Malcolm White resigned. The Swinton Supporters' Trust began life on 14 February 2002 in the White Lion public house and set about raising funds for the club. Shortly afterwards, Swinton were forced out of Gigg Lane by the financial problems of their landlords, Bury FC. [2]
In August 2002 the club played their first match at Moor Lane in Kersal as tenants of Salford City FC, after travelling to Leigh and Chorley to play 'home' matches.
Since 2003, the Lions have played their home games at Park Lane, Whitefield, home of Sedgley Park RUFC.
Peter Roe quit as coach of Swinton Lions in September 2003, after less than a year in charge. He rejected a two-year contract to continue as the coach and general manager and left the National League Two club. [3].
In May 2007, Swinton Lions went into administration for about 48 hours in order to restructure the club from top to bottom. A new company Swinton Lions Rugby Club was set up to remove problems with shareholdings from the previous administration. Currently the club are under the stewardship of chairman, John Kidd and fellow directors Paul Kidd (chairman's son), Dave Roberts and Ben Jones. During the autumn of 2009 director Paul Kidd stood down as head coach and moved to his new role as director of rugby. It was also announced that the new player/coach for season 2010 would be Paul Smith with Ian Watson as his assistant player/coach. During the season, on 25 May 2010, Paul Smith announced his resignation from his head coach role and left to play for Leigh. He was replaced by Paul Kidd and Ian Watson.
On 26 September 2010, former Barrow coach Steve McCormack was confirmed as the head coach for the 2011 season with Ian Watson and Marlon Billy continuing in their roles as assistant coaches. Swinton played their home games for the 2011 season at the Willows, Salford. Swinton went on to win promotion to the Co-operative Championship as Champions of Championship 1.
With City Reds moving to a new stadium in Barton, Swinton will ground-share with Leigh in the Co-operative Championship in 2012 whilst they await permission to build their own ground at Agecroft.[4]
The return to M27
In 2006, the return to Swinton and Pendlebury was taken one step further when club chairman, John Kidd, announced on 9 August that the club had acquired a site to build a 6,000 capacity stadium with training facilities and community use in Agecroft, Pendlebury. As of May 2009, the club announced that it confidently hopes to be in a position to apply for planning permission from the local authority by the autumn of this year. Once given the thumbs up from Salford Council it was envisaged that construction could be completed quickly. Director, Ben Jones reported that being of a modular construction, which allows for quick and easy erection and future development if crowd numbers dictate, the stadium could be built in 12 to 14 weeks and any further development would be completed in very short time. Director, Dave Roberts outlined that £50K was needed to fund Phase 1 and that funding possibilities from central and local sources are available. Dave will be working closely with the consultants to ensure that the right amenities within the stadium would attract and guarantee this funding. Grants are available for developments such as this and can be used retrospectively. Stadium naming rights was another option open to raise funds and this avenue is also being explored. Chris Martin from Pendlebury United F.C. spoke of the need for a base not only for the Lions but a base for all local sports teams and that the Agecroft Development must be supported by the local and sporting community as a whole in order to generate the necessary funding and to ensure that the local council are aware of the sporting facilities the Swinton and Pendlebury M27 community require.
As of 7 June 2011 when the club hosted a fans' meeting at Moorside Social Club, Swinton, the club now confidently expects that the building, of the stadium should commence no later than New Year's Day, 2012 with completion set for the end of April (2012). However, the predicted return date of early 2012 proved to be a somewhat optimistic and premature forecast and, as of March, 2012, there appears to be no immediate starting date for the Agecroft project.
2011 squad
Swinton Lions 2011 squad[2]
| No | Nat | Player | Position | Former Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Richard Hawkyard | Full Back | Bradford |
| 2 |
|
Rob Foxen | Wing | Swinton |
| 3 |
|
Gavin Dodd | Centre | Widnes |
| 4 |
|
Dean Thompson | Centre | Swinton |
| 5 |
|
Sam Reay | Wing | Wigan |
| 6 |
|
Martin Ainscough | Stand Off | Swinton |
| 7 | 
|
Ian Watson | Half Back | Leigh |
| 8 |
|
Mike Morrison | Prop | Leigh |
| 9 |
|
Mark Smith | Hooker | Widnes |
| 11 |
|
Dale Cunniffe | Second Row | Swinton |
| 12 |
|
Lee Wingfield | Second Row | Leigh |
| 13 |
|
Phil Joseph | Loose Forward | Halifax |
| 14 |
|
Tommy Gallagher | Prop | Rochdale Hornets |
| 15 |
|
Darren Hawkyard | Hooker | Swinton |
| 16 |
|
Neil Holland | Prop | Swinton |
| 17 |
|
Carl Forber | Second Row | Swinton |
| 18 |
|
Andy Ainscough | Prop | Swinton |
| 19 |
|
Neil Rigby | Stand Off | St Helens |
| 20 |
|
Richard Flooks | Prop | Swinton |
| 21 |
|
Ian Mort | Full Back | Leigh |
| 22 |
|
Adam Ryder | Centre | Swinton |
| 23 |
|
Alex Hurst | Half Back | Swinton |
| 24 |
|
Barry Hamilton | Wing | Swinton |
| 25 |
|
Karl Ashall | Second Row | Swinton |
| 26 |
|
Joe Fitzpatrick | Full Back | Swinton |
| 27 |
|
Bruce Johnson | Prop | Swinton |
| 28 |
|
Carl Sneyd | Centre | Swinton |
| 29 |
|
Chris Tyrer | Centre | Swinton |
| 30 |
|
Richard Mervill | Prop | Swinton |
| 31 |
|
Anthony Stewart | Centre | Swinton |
Honours
- Championship (6 times): 1926–27, 1927–28, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1962–63, 1963–64
- Challenge Cup (3 times): 1899–1900, 1925–26, 1927–28
- Lancashire Cup (4 times): 1925–26, 1927–28, 1939–40, 1969–70
- Lancashire League (6 times): 1924–25, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1939–40, 1960–61
- Second Division: 1984–85
Players earning international caps while at Swinton
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Other notable players
Records
Player records
- Most tries in a match: 6 by Mark Riley vs Prescot Panthers, 11 August 1996
- Most goals in a match: 12 by Ken Gowers vs Liverpool City, 3 October 1957
- Most points in a match: 30 by:
- Greg Pearce vs Prescot Panthers, 11 August 1996
- Mick Nanyn vs York, 25 March 2001
- Gavin Dodd vs Gateshead, 22 August 2010
- Ian Mort vs South Wales Scorpions, 17 April 2011
- Most tries in a season: 48 by James "Jim" Valentine, 1888–89, (2nd most tries in a season, John Stopford, 42, season 1963–64)
- Most goals in a season: 128 by Albert Blan, 1960–61
- Most points in a season: 310 by Lee Marsh, 2005
- Most career tries: 298 by James "Jim" Valentine, 1884–1901
- Most career goals: 970 by Ken Gowers
- Most career points: 2105 by Ken Gowers
- Most career appearances: 602 (including 8 as substitute) by Ken Gowers, 1954–1973.
- World record distance for a penalty goal, 77.75 yards by Martin Hodgson, Rochdale Hornets v Swinton, at the Athletic Grounds, Rochdale, 13 April 1940
- Rugby League Cup, Wigan v Swinton, Golden Moment, Rob Russell touches down after only four minutes against the mighty Wigan.
- 2010 Leading try scorers: Phil Joseph & Rob Foxen
- 2010 Junior Lions Player of the Year: Richard Hawkyard
- 2010 Supporters Player of the Year: 1st Richard Hawkyard, 2nd Phil Joseph, 3rd Rob Foxen
- 2010 Player's Player of the Year: Phil Joseph
- 2010 Man of Steel: Lee Wingfield
- 2010 Champagne Moment: Sam Reay – For the pass to Rob Foxen away at South Wales Scorpions.
- 2010 Club Person of the Year: Marlon Billy
Team records
- Biggest victory: 94–0 vs Gateshead, 22 August 2010
- Heaviest defeat: 0–112 vs Warrington Wolves, 20 May 2011
- Highest attendance:
- Club: 26,891 vs Wigan, RL Challenge Cup 1st round replay, Wednesday, 12 February 1964 ( at Station Road – score Swinton 13 Wigan 8 )
- Station Road: 44,621 for Warrington vs Wigan, 7 April 1951
References
- ^ Dave Hadfield (20 December 1995). "Rugby's pounds 87m deal gives Murdoch transfer veto". The Independent. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
- ^ http://www.swintonlionsrlc.co.uk/04-pages/07-team/squad.html