John Joyner (born 15 March 1955) is an English former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

ed in the 1990s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and at club level for

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

, as a , or , and coached at club level for

Background

Joyner was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, England.

Playing career

Club career

Joyner made his debut for

in September 1972 against Bramley. On 16 September 1973, Joyner scored 5 tries in a

Player's No.6 Trophy The Regal Trophy was an annual knock-out competition for British rugby league, rugby league football clubs. Organised by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the competition was open to all professional clubs in the British rugby league system, but a ...

match against

Millom Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southernmost Cumberland, Cumbria, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Furness ( by road) and ...

, a joint club record shared with several other Castleford players. Joyner played right- in

's 12-4 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the 1976 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1976–77 season at Hilton Park,

on Tuesday 14 December 1976. Joyner played right- and scored a try in

's 25-15 victory over

Blackpool Borough Blackpool Borough was a rugby league club based in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, that played in the Rugby Football League from 1954 until 1993. The club moved to Wigan in 1987 and was renamed Springfield Borough; to Chorley in 1988 and wa ...

in the 1976–77 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1976–77 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, City of Salford, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named ...

on Saturday 22 January 1977. Joyner played right- in

's 17-7 victory over

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

in the 1977–78 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1977–78 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

on Saturday 15 October 1977, played , and scored a try in the 10-5 victory over

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

in the 1981–82 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1981–82 season at

on Saturday 3 October 1981, played in the 2-13 defeat by Hull F.C. in the

1983–84 Yorkshire Cup The 1983–84 Yorkshire Cup was the seventy-sixth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. This season there were no junior/amateur clubs taking part, no new entrants and no "leavers" and so the total of entries remained th ...

Final during the 1983–84 season at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

on Saturday 15 October 1983, played in the 31-24 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1986–87 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1986–87 season at

on Saturday 11 October 1986, played in the 12-12 draw with

in the 1987–88 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1987–88 season at

on Saturday 17 October 1987, played in the 2-11 defeat by

in the 1987–88 Yorkshire Cup Final replay during the 1987–88 season at

on Saturday 31 October 1987, and played , and scored a try in the 12-33 defeat by

in the

1988–89 Yorkshire Cup The 1988–89 Yorkshire Cup was the eighty-first occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup rugby league competition was held. Leeds won the trophy by beating the previous season's runner-up, Castleford, with a score of 33-12. The match was played at ...

Final during the 1988–89 season at

on Sunday 16 October 1988. Joyner played and was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

's 15-14 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

in the 1985–86 Challenge Cup Final during the 1985–86 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 3 May 1986. Joyner's

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

took place in 1992. In his 20 seasons as a player, he made a club record 613 appearances for the club, scoring 185 tries.

Representative honours

Joyner won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

while at Castleford in 1980 against Wales, and France, in 1981 against France, and Wales, and won

s for

while at Castleford in 1978 against Australia (2 matches), in 1979 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (3 matches), in 1980 against New Zealand (3 matches), in 1983 against France (2 matches), and in 1984 against France, and New Zealand (sub) (3 matches). In addition to the above Test Matches, John Joyner played right- in

's 7-8 defeat by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the friendly at

Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo is a multi-use stadium in Venice, Italy. It is the largest sports facility in Venice and the home ground of Venezia F.C. The stadium was first opened in 1913 and takes its name from World War I pilot (1896–1928). It is ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

on Saturday 31 July 1982. Joyner won

s for

while at

playing and scoring a try in the 12-12 draw with Cumberland at

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

's stadium on 15 February 1977, playing and scoring a try in the 37-9 victory over Lancashire at

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

's stadium on 20 September 1978, playing in the 7-23 defeat by Lancashire at

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

' stadium on 27 September 1978, playing in the 16-19 defeat by Lancashire at

's stadium on 12 September 1979, and in the 16-17 defeat by Cumberland at

' stadium on 17 September 1980.

Coaching career

After ending his playing career, Joyner became assistant coach to

Darryl Van de Velde Darryl van de Velde (3 October 1951 – 27 February 2024) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer, coach and administrator. He played club football in Queensland for Souths and represented his state on one occasion in 1977. Van ...

, and was promoted to head coach following Van de Velde's departure at the end of the 1992–93 season. He was the

's 33–2 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the

1993–94 Regal Trophy The 1993–94 Regal Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the 23rd season that the competition was held, and was the fifth staging of the competition since it was re-named the Regal Trophy. Castleford won the final, beatin ...

Final during the 1993-94 season at

on Saturday 22 January 1994. He left the club in April 1997, ending a 25-year association with the club.

Honours

* Open Rugby World XIII: October 1979, September 1981 *

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

: Winners

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

Hall Of Fame

References

External links

Photograph "Second Test Match" at rlhp.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyner, John 1955 births Living people Castleford Tigers captains Castleford Tigers coaches Castleford Tigers players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Rugby league players from Leeds Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league locks Yorkshire rugby league team players Great Britain under-24 national rugby league team players 20th-century English sportsmen