Kelvin Skerrett (born 22 May 1966) 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 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 2000s. 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 ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and at club level for

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

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 ...

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

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 ...

and the Halifax Blue Sox, as or , and coached at club level for

Oulton Raiders Oulton Raiders are an amateur rugby league football club from Oulton in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club's open age team currently compete in the top division of the National Conference League. The club also operates many youth teams. The club ...

ARLFC, and Methley Royals ARLFC.

Background

Skerrett was born in

Middleton, Leeds Middleton is a largely residential suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England and Historic counties of England, historically a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is situated on a hill south of Leeds city centre and north north-we ...

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

Early career

Skerrett started his rugby league career with amateur club

before turning professional in August 1984, joining

. He debuted for the club in September 1984 in a 10–32 defeat against

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

. He went on to help Hunslet win the 1986–87 Second Division Championship. Skerrett joined

from Hunslet in September 1987. He played in Bradford Northern's 12–12 draw with

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 ...

in the

1987 Yorkshire Cup Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

Final during the 1987–88 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 ...

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 ...

on Saturday 17 October 1987, played in the 11–2 victory over Castleford in the replay 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 31 October 1987, and played in the 20–14 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

1989 Yorkshire Cup 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Final during the 1989–90 season at

on Sunday 5 November 1989. While at Bradford, he had a brief spell in Australia during the

1989 NSWRL season The 1989 NSWRL season was the 82nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League's J.J. Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup Premiership during the season, which culminated in ...

, playing for

alongside fellow Englishmen

Ellery Hanley Cuthwyn Ellery Hanley (born 27 March 1961) is an English former rugby league player and coach. Over a nineteen-year professional career (1978–1997), he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain, Western Suburbs and Leeds. He won 36 ca ...

and

Garry Schofield Garry Edward Schofield OBE (born 1 July 1965) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and is a member of the British Rugby League Hall of Fame. At the time of his retirement he was the most- ...

Wigan

Skerrett signed for

on a free transfer in July 1990, and made his debut a month later in the Charity Shield against

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, ...

. In September 1990, Skerrett was diagnosed with

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

after struggling with breathing difficulties during his first few games for the club. He helped the team win the 1990–91 League Championship, but missed out on the

1991 Challenge Cup It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union collapsed, leaving fifteen sovereign republics and the CIS in its place. In July 1991, India abandoned its policies of dirigism, license r ...

final due to suspension. During the

1991–92 Rugby Football League season The 1991–92 Rugby Football League season was the 97th season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Fourteen teams competed from August, 1991 until May, 1992 for the Stones Bitter Championship, Premiership Trophy and Silk Cut Chall ...

, he played for defending champions Wigan as a in their

1991 World Club Challenge The 1991 World Club Challenge (marketed as the Foster's Lager, Foster's World Club Challenge due to sponsorship from the brewer) was contested by 1990–91 Rugby Football League season, 1990–91 RFL Championship winners, Wigan Warriors, Wigan and ...

victory against the visiting

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

. He also made his first

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

appearance, playing in the 28–12 win against

in the

1991–92 Challenge Cup The 1992 Challenge Cup was the 91st staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. Known as the ''Silk Cut'' Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, the final was contested by Wigan and Castleford at Wembley. Wigan won t ...

final. Skerrett also played at for defending RFL champions Wigan in the

1992 World Club Challenge The 1992 World Club Challenge match was contested by the 1991–92 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan Warriors, Wigan and the 1992 NSWRL season's premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. The match took place on Friday night, 30 October in Engla ...

against the visiting

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

. Skerrett played left- in

's 5–4 victory over St. Helens in the

1992 Lancashire Cup Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno D ...

Final during the 1992–93 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

, St. Helens on Sunday 18 October 1992. He scored Wigan's first try in the

1993 Challenge Cup The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

final victory against

, helping the team win its sixth consecutive Challenge Cup trophy. Skerrett played left- in

's 2–33 defeat by

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, and played left- in the 40–10 victory over

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

in the

1994–95 Regal Trophy The 1994–95 Regal Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. This was the 24th season that the competition was held, and was the sixth staging of the competition since it was re-named the Regal Trophy. Wigan won the final, beating W ...

Final during the 1994–95 season at

Alfred McAlpine Stadium Kirklees Stadium, currently known as the John Smith's Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town Association Football Club ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

on Saturday 28 January 1995. He made his final appearance for Wigan in 1996, playing in the 44–14 win against St Helens at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

in the 1996 Premiership final. He played for

from 1990 to 1996, a successful period for that team, making 176 appearances (including 21 substitute appearances) and scoring 21 tries, and was named among BBC sports commentator

Ray French Raymond James French, MBE (born 23 December 1939) is an English former rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. French played at international level in both codes. He won four caps for England in rugby union ...

's best Wigan XIII. He left the club to join Halifax in 1997.

International career

Skerrett made his debut for

in 1989. He was chosen for the 1990 Lions tour, but missed the Test matches against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

due to an injury which required knee surgery. He returned for the New Zealand leg of the tour, and played in all three Tests against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, with Great Britain winning the series 2–1. Skerrett was also selected to go on the

1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand The 1992 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team, nicknamed the 'Lions', of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand which took place between May and July 1992. The tour was the last of such length un ...

. During the

1992–93 Rugby Football League season The 1992–93 Rugby Football League season was the 98th ever season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Sixteen teams competed from August, 1992 until May, 1993 for the Stones Bitter Championship, Premiership Trophy and Silk Cut C ...

he played from the bench in Great Britain's loss to Australia in the World Cup Final at Wembley. Skerrett also represented

at the

1995 Rugby League World Cup The 1995 Rugby League World Cup (also known as Halifax Centenary World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh World Cup for mens national rugby league teams. It was held between 7–28 October and hosted by England and Wales and was wo ...

. It was reported at the time that Skerrett qualified to play for Wales through the grandparent rule, but it was revealed many years later that this was incorrect and he should not have been eligible.

Post playing

After his playing career ended, Skerrett coached at

British Amateur Rugby League Association The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) is an association for social and recreational rugby league. It works jointly with the Rugby Football League through the RFL Community Board. History BARLA was created on 3 March 1973 at t ...

(BARLA)

ARLFC. He was later appointed Head Coach of new amateur rugby league club Methley Royals in 2009, to stand in for Tony Handforth, who had suffered a stroke. Handforth later returned to take back his job.

Honours

Club

Bradford Northern * Yorkshire Cup (2): 1987–88, 1989–90 Wigan *

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

(6): 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96 *

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 ...

(4): 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95 *

World Club Challenge The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australian National Rugby League and the British Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. Super League sides have won the c ...

(1):

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

* Lancashire Cup (1): 1992–93 * Premiership (3): 1993–94, 1994–95,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Regal Trophy The Regal Trophy was an annual knock-out competition for British 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 amateur teams ...

(1): 1994–95

References

External links

World Cup 1995 details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skerrett, Kelvin 1966 births Living people Bradford Bulls players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax Panthers players Hunslet R.L.F.C. players Rugby league players from Leeds Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Wales national rugby league team captains Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Western Suburbs Magpies players Wigan Warriors players 20th-century English sportsmen