Danny Brough

Danny Brough (born 15 January 1983) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays for Bradford Bulls in the Betfred Super League, as a left-footed goal-kicking stand-off, scrum-half or hooker. Brough played at international level for England[4] and Scotland, qualifying through his grandfather, and won a Scottish record 25 caps.

Danny Brough
Personal information
Full nameDaniel Brough
Born (1983-01-15) 15 January 1983
Thornhill, West Yorkshire, England
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Weight12 st 8 lb (80 kg)[1]
Playing information
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
2007 Castleford Tigers 35 12 154 4 360
2008–10 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 57 19 203 5 468
2010–18 Huddersfield Giants 247 51 793 25 1815
2019–20 Wakefield Trinity 24 2 73 5 159
2021– Bradford Bulls 0 0 0 0 0
Total 496 111 1616 52 3709
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–17 Scotland 24 4 58 2 134
2012 England 1 0 2 0 4
As of 2 November 2019
Source: [2][3][4][5]

He has previously played for the Dewsbury Rams in the second tier and the York City Knights in National League Two. Brough played for Hull F.C. in the Super League and the 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.[2][3]

Background

Brough was born in Thornhill, West Yorkshire, England.

Playing career

Dewsbury Rams

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

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] 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

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 at the club, Brough struggled to break into the team in 2006 and missed out on their Grand Final defeat by St. Helens. Again after just two seasons, Brough handed in a transfer request and was sold to Championship side Castleford Tigers.

Castleford Tigers

Brough took a pay cut to take the step down out of Super League to join Castleford in 2007 but was part if the team that won promotion into Super League.

Brough kicking at goal for Wakefield

Wakefield Trinity

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.

Brough playing for Huddersfield

Huddersfield Giants

On 24 March 2010 Brough moved to Huddersfield Giants, and was named club captain during 2012 following the mid-season departure of Kevin Brown.[10][11]

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.[12]

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

Bradford Bulls

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.[13]

International career

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.[14] However, Brough was not selected for England, and did not feature at international level for two years.[4]

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.[15]

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.[16]

In October 2014, Brough led Scotland in the 2014 European Cup.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19]

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.[20]

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.[21]

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.

References

  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 rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "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. 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 19 May 2015.
  10. http://www.loverugbyleague.com/news_10144-brough-named-as-huddersfield-captain.html
  11. "Brough completes move to Giants". BBC News. 24 March 2010.
  12. "The Albert Goldthorpe Awards". totalrl.com. League Publications. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  13. "Bulls to sign experienced half back Brough on two-year deal". Telegraph & Argus. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  14. http://metro.co.uk/2009/02/06/brough-targets-england-spot-434709/
  15. http://www.sportinglife.com/rugby-league/live/match-reaction/37182/brough-will-play-for-scotland
  16. 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.
  17. "Huddersfield captain Danny Brough believes Scotland need to play at a higher level". The Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  18. "Brough crowned Player of the Tournament". rlef.eu.com. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  19. "Brough crowned Prince of Scots". scotlandrl. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  20. "Danny Brough to lead Scotland in European Championships". EUROSPORT. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  21. "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.
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