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Danny Brough

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Danny Brough
Personal information
Full nameDaniel Brough
Born (1983-01-15) 15 January 1983 (age 41)
Thornhill, West Yorkshire, England
Playing information
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight12 st 8 lb (80 kg)[1]
PositionScrum-half, Stand-off, Hooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2002–03 Dewsbury Rams 37 4 33 5 87
2003–04 York City Knights 53 20 265 6 616
2005–06 Hull F.C. 43 3 95 2 204
2006–07 Castleford Tigers 35 12 153 4 358
2008–10 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 57 19 204 5 489
2010–18 Huddersfield Giants 247 51 793 25 1815
2019–20 Wakefield Trinity 26 2 76 5 165
2021 Bradford Bulls 13 2 48 5 109
Total 511 113 1667 57 3843
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–17 Scotland 25 4 58 2 134
2012 England 1 0 2 0 4
Source: [2][3][4][5]

Danny Brough (born 15 January 1983) is a Scottish former professional rugby league footballer who played as a stand-off, scrum-half or hooker.

Brough started his professional career in 2002 with Dewsbury Rams in the second tier before moving to York City Knights a year later. Brough made his Super League debut in 2005 after signing for Hull F.C., winning the Challenge Cup final with the club in the same season. After spending a season with Castleford Tigers in 2007's National League One, he returned to the Super League with the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats before switching to the Huddersfield Giants in 2010. After a second spell with Wakefield, he finished his career at Bradford Bulls in 2021.

Brough also played at international level for England and Scotland, being eligible to play for the latter through his grandfather, and won a Scottish record 25 caps.

Background

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Brough was born in Thornhill, West Yorkshire, England.

Playing career

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Domestic career

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Dewsbury Rams

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Brough started his playing career as a junior at Thornhill before signing for Wakefield Trinity at the age of 15.[6] He failed to make a first team appearance for the club and moved to Dewsbury in the Northern Ford Premiership, making his senior début in 2002.[7] Seeking more regular first team opportunities, Brough requested a transfer during the 2003 season, and was subsequently sold to National League Two side York City Knights after two seasons at the Dewsbury Rams.[8]

York City Knights

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In 2004, Brough set new club records at York for most goals scored in a season (178), and most points scored in a season (412),[9][a] helping the club reach the quarter-final of the Challenge Cup,[7] and narrowly missing out on promotion to National League One following a 30–34 defeat in the play-off final against Halifax. After just two seasons he was signed by Super League side Hull F.C. after making 53 appearances for York.

Hull FC

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Brough had a dream start at Hull, scoring four goals and a drop-goal in Hull's 2005 Challenge Cup Final win over Leeds Rhinos, with many claiming he was unlucky not to win the Lance Todd Trophy. After an impressive first season, he signed a new two-year contract with the club.[11] During the following season, Brough lost his place in the starting lineup after the arrival of new head coach Peter Sharp, and was signed by Castleford Tigers for an undisclosed fee in June 2006.[12]

Castleford Tigers

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Brough played 10 games for Castleford in 2006, but was unable to prevent the team from being relegated from the Super League. He remained with Castleford in 2007 and was part of the team that won promotion from National League One back into the Super League.

Brough kicking at goal for Wakefield

Wakefield Trinity

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Following Castleford's promotion, Brough was signed by rivals Wakefield Trinity in 2008 and became a key player for the team, going on to win the Albert Goldthorpe Medal that year. Brough, again only stayed at Wakefield for two seasons before leaving at the end of 2009 to join West Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield. He made 57 appearances for Trinity scoring 468 points.

Huddersfield Giants

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In March 2010, Brough was signed by Huddersfield Giants for a fee of £30,000, and agreed to loan Danny Kirmond to Wakefield until the end of the season.[13]

Brough playing for Huddersfield

He was named club captain during 2012 following the mid-season departure of Kevin Brown.[14][15]

At the end of the 2013 Super League season, Brough won the Man of Steel award for his excellent performances throughout the season. He also became the first player ever to win a second Albert Goldthorpe Medal.[16]

Brough and Ian Henderson playing for Scotland in 2013 Rugby League World Cup

Wakefield Trinity

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Brough returned to Wakefield in 2019.

He left at the end of the 2020 season.

Bradford Bulls

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In June 2020, it was announced that Brough would link up with former coach John Kear on a 2-year deal in the RFL Championship with the Bradford Bulls.[17] Brough announced his retirement in November 2021.[18]

International career

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Scotland

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Brough played at international level for Scotland, qualifying via his grandfather, making his international début in 2004 and playing in sporadic competitions and test matches.

In 2008 he was called up to the Scotland squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, and was named captain for the first time. Brough's international future was thrown into question following the World Cup, as he announced his intention to switch allegiance to England in 2009, citing a lack of opportunities to play in major tournaments with Scotland.[19] However, Brough was not selected for England, and did not feature at international level for two years.[4]

In 2013, Brough reverted to Scotland and captained the team during the 2013 World Cup. After the tournament, Brough was shortlisted alongside Sonny Bill Williams and Greg Inglis for the RLIF International Player of the Year.[20]

In October 2014, Brough led Scotland in the 2014 European Cup.[21] The Winner of the tournament would qualify to play in the 2016 Four Nations alongside International heavyweights Australia, England and New Zealand. He played at his best throughout the tournament, earning him the 'Player of the Tournament' award.[22] His performances and leadership inspired the team to qualify for 2016's major international rugby league competition and win the European Cup for the first ever time. Later in the year, his performances made him the clear winner for the 'Prince of Scots' award as the best player to play in the Bravehearts' jersey that year.[23]

Again in October and November 2015, Brough decided to play for Scotland instead of taking a long off-season break and was therefore named as the captain of the Bravehearts in their 2015 European Cup campaign.[24]

Five months before the 2016 Four Nations, Scotland announced Brough would captain the Bravehearts in their first tournament (other than the World Cup) against the 'big 3' international teams.[25]

In 2017 Brough captained Scotland's squad in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. He played in the matches against Tonga and New Zealand, but was then released from the squad and sent home before their final group match, after being deemed too drunk to board a flight in Christchurch.

England

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Brough was eventually called into the England squad for an International Origin match in 2012. He was subsequently omitted once again from the England squad, and, amid heavy speculation, in 2013 announced that he would once again be committing to Scotland, having not featured for England once.[26]

Records and statistics

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With a combined total of 3,987 points at club and representative level, Brough is the fifth highest points scorer in British rugby league history (behind Neil Fox, Jim Sullivan, Kevin Sinfield and Gus Risman).[27][28]

Team Appearances Tries Goals Drop goals Points
Dewsbury Rams 37 4 33 5 87
York City Knights 53 20 265 6 616
Hull 43 3 95 2 204
Castleford Tigers 35 12 153 4 358
Wakefield Trinity 83 21 280 10 654
Huddersfield Giants 247 51 793 25 1,815
Bradford Bulls 13 2 48 5 109
Club total 511 113 1,667 57 3,843
Scotland 24 4 58 2 134
England (v Exiles) 1 0 2 0 4
National League under-21s 1 0 3 0 6
Representative total 26 4 63 2 144
Career total 537 117 1,730 59 3,987

Honours

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Hull

Huddersfield

Individual

Notes

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  1. ^ Both these records stood until 2018 when broken by Connor Robinson (186 goals and 420 points)[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Huddersfield Giants 1st Team Danny Brough". Huddersfield Giants web site. Huddersfield Giants. 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Statistics at Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. ^ Huddersfield Giants Profile
  6. ^ de la Rivière, Richard (27 December 2010). "Danny Brough (1)". WordPress. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  7. ^ a b de la Rivière, Richard (27 December 2010). "Danny Brough (2)". WordPress. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Brough leaves – Thaler loan deal". Dewsbury Reporter. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Brough's flight from Knights". York Press. 18 October 2004. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Knights crowned champions after Whitehaven win: Sunday 23rd September - League 1". yorkcityknights.com. 24 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Brough extends contract at Hull". BBC Sport. 18 November 2005. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Brough seals move to Castleford". BBC Sport. 16 June 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  13. ^ Wilson, Andy (24 March 2010). "Huddersfield hungry for honours after signing Danny Brough". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Brough named as Huddersfield captain". Archived from the original on 22 September 2013.
  15. ^ "Brough completes move to Giants". BBC News. 24 March 2010.
  16. ^ "The Albert Goldthorpe Awards". totalrl.com. League Publications. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  17. ^ "Bulls to sign experienced half back Brough on two-year deal". Telegraph & Argus. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Danny Brough retires". The Rugby Football League. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Brough targets England spot". 6 February 2009.
  20. ^ Burgess brothers join Brough to receive top accolades on proud night for Dewsbury’s league trio, by Dave Craven, yorkshirepost.co.uk, dated 28 November 2013.
  21. ^ "Huddersfield captain Danny Brough believes Scotland need to play at a higher level". The Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  22. ^ "Brough crowned Player of the Tournament". rlef.eu.com. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  23. ^ "Brough crowned Prince of Scots". scotlandrl. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  24. ^ "Danny Brough to lead Scotland in European Championships". EUROSPORT. 30 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  25. ^ "DANNY TO LEAD SCOTLAND AGAINST WORLD CHAMPIONS". SCOTLAND RUGBY LEAGUE. 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  26. ^ "Sporting Life – Rugby League News | Live Scores, Super League, Challenge Cup". Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  27. ^ "Danny Brough reveals rugby union offer that came and went as he heads off into retirement". The Yorkshire Post. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  28. ^ "Player Summary: Danny Brough". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
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