Stefan Ratchford

Stefan Guy Ratchford (born 19 July 1988) is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback for the Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Super League and the England Knights and England international at international level.

Stef Ratchford
Personal information
Full nameStefan Guy Ratchford[1]
Born (1988-07-19) 19 July 1988
Wigan, Greater Manchester, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Weight13 st 8 lb (86 kg)[2]
Playing information
PositionFullback, Stand-off, Centre, Scrum-half
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007–11 Salford City Reds 78 25 23 0 146
2012– Warrington Wolves 253 83 351 2 1036
Total 331 108 374 2 1182
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–12 England Knights 2 3 4 20
2016– England 6 2 0 0 8
As of 30 January 2021
Source: [3][4]

He previously played for the Salford City Reds between 2007 and 2011 in the Super League and National League One. Throughout his career Ratchford has played as a fullback, wing, centre, stand-off, scrum-half, hooker and loose forward.[3][4]

Background

Stefan Ratchford was born in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.

He started playing rugby league at the age of six, initially playing junior rugby for Wigan St Cuthberts before later switching to Wigan St Patricks.[5]

Playing career

Ratchford signed with Salford City Reds in 2005, and made his first team début for the club in 2007 in a fourth round Challenge Cup match against Gateshead Thunder.[6]

In 2008, following the club's relegation to National League One, Ratchford established himself as a regular first team player. He formed an effective halfback partnership alongside Richie Myler,[5] helping the team win the Northern Rail Cup, and the Division One Grand Final.

He played in the 2012 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium.[7][8][9][10]

He played in the 2012 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.[11][8]

He played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.[12][13][14][15][16]

Ratchford signed a new deal in 2014 keeping him at the Warrington Wolves until 2018.[17]

He played in the 2016 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.[18]

He played in the 2018 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Catalans Dragons at Wembley Stadium.[19] During Warrington Wolves' defeat by Wigan Warriors in the 2018 Super League Grand Final Ratchford was voted winner of the Harry Sunderland Trophy making him only the fourth recipient of the award to have played for the losing side.[20]

He played in the 2018 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.[21]

He played in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final victory over St. Helens at Wembley Stadium.[22]

International career

Ratchford was named in the England squad for 2009 Four Nations,[23] but did not appear in any games during the tournament. At the end of the 2011 season, Ratchford rejected a new contract offer from Salford and joined Warrington Wolves.[6] He also made two appearances for the England Knights in 2011 and 2012.

In October 2017 he was selected in the England squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.[24]

Honours
2012 2019
2016

Personal life

In 2015, Ratchford set up a business with former Salford City Reds team mate Matty Smith called Future Stars, which runs coaching sessions for junior rugby league players.[25]

References
  1. "Stefan Ratchford". Companies House. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  2. "Stefan Ratchford". rugby-league.com. Rugby Football League. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  3. "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. "Ratchford playing for his Salford future". Manchester Evening News. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  6. "Warrington Wolves complete Stefan Ratchford signing". BBC Sport. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  7. "Warrington's battered Brett Hodgson recovers to see off Leeds in final". Guardian UK. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  8. "Leeds' Kevin Sinfield stars in Grand Final triumph against Warrington". Guardian. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  9. "Leeds Rhinos 18–35 Warrington Wolves". BBC Sport. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  10. "Warrington Wolves Are Challenge Cup Winners 2012!". Warrington Wolves Official Site. 25 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  11. "Grand Final: Warrington 18-26 Leeds". BBC Sport. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  12. "Super League Grand Final". Super League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  13. Newsum, Matt (5 October 2013). "Super League Grand Final: Wigan Warriors beat Warrington". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  14. "Super League Grand Final: Warrington v Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  15. "Warrington Wolves 16 Wigan Warriors 30". Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  16. "Wigan see off Warrington in X-rated Grand Final to complete double". Guardian. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  17. "Stefan Ratchford has 'unfinished business' at Warrington Wolves". Warrington Guardian.
  18. "Warrington 6-12 Wigan: Super League Grand Final – as it happened!". Guardian. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  19. "Catalans Dragons beat Warrington in Challenge Cup final to make history". Guardian. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  20. "Mixed fortunes for Ratchford". Rugby Leaguer & League Express (3, 143). 15 October 2018. p. 15.
  21. "Super League Grand Final 2018: Wigan 12-4 Warrington – as it happened". Guardian. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  22. "St Helens 4-18 Warrington RESULT: Challenge Cup Final as it happened from Wembley". Mirror. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  23. mirror Administrator (17 September 2009). "Salford's Stefan Ratchford the surprise name in England squad". mirror.
  24. "England rugby league World Cup squad revealed - and James Roby is back in the fold". Mirror. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  25. Wilkinson, Phil (28 April 2016). "Smith: We mean business". Wigan Today. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
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