Rob Purdham (born 14 April 1980) is an English former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An England international representative , he previously played for

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle, Cumbria, C ...

and

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

/ Harlequins. Purdham also operated as a or . Purdham is a former

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

of the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

national team.

Background

Rob Purdham was born in

Egremont, Cumbria Egremont is a market town, civil parish and two electoral wards in Cumbria, England, and historically part of Cumberland. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, south of Whitehaven and on the River Ehen. The town, whi ...

Early career

Purdham started his career in his hometown with amateur side Egremont Rangers. In February 1998, he played and scored a try in the club's 18–0 fourth round

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves a ...

victory over the professionals of

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 a ...

. In 1999, he signed professional terms with

in the Northern Ford Premiership. During his three years at the club, he went on to make 55 appearances.

London Broncos

London Broncos (2002–2005)

Purdham joined

in December 2001, following his selection for the England under-21 tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, and an impressive start to the season with Whitehaven. He made his début for the Broncos in a

game against

Batley Bulldogs Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part ...

Harlequins RL (2006–2011)

On 20 May 2006, Rob set a new Quins club record by scoring 34 points (2 tries, 13 goals) in Harlequins RL's 82–8 victory over

Barrow Raiders The Barrow Raiders are a semi-professional rugby league team in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The club was formed in 1875 as Barrow Football Club. For the 1995–96 and 1996 seasons the club was known as Barrow Braves, becoming the Bar ...

in the

. The 13 goals in itself surpassed the previous record of 12 held by

Paul Sykes Paul Sykes may refer to: * Paul Sykes (boxer) (1946–2007), English heavyweight boxer * Paul Sykes (businessman) (born 1943), English Eurosceptic businessman and political donor * Paul Sykes (rugby league) (born 1981), English rugby league footbal ...

. In 2007, he was appointed the club's captain, replacing Mark McLinden. In July 2011, Purdham announced he would be leaving Harlequins at the end of the season, and returning home to the family farm in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

, England. He made a total of 197 appearances for the club, five games less than the club's record appearance holder Steele Retchless. Although he initially showed interest in re-signing with former club Whitehaven, he announced his retirement from playing altogether following medical advice. He played a total of 264 games during his professional career (252 appearances at club level, and 12 representative appearances).

Representative career

Purdham made his representative début in 2001 for England's under-21 team during their tour of South Africa, scoring two tries in a 112–6 victory over the hosts. In 2003, Purdham represented England A, appearing twice during the

2003 European Nations Cup The European Nations Cup returned in 2003, being the first tournament since England last won it in 1996. The last European Nations Cup held, in 1996, followed traditional structures presented from previous tournaments, involving just three nations ...

coach Paul Cullen named Purdham as captain in his 20-man training squad for the 2006 Federation Shield tournament. Purdham lifted the trophy with a 32–14 victory over

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. In September 2008 he was named in the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man

squad, making two appearances in the tournament. Purdham also played twice for

Career highlights

*''Junior Clubs:'' Egremont Rangers,

*''First Grade Stats:'' 246 career games scoring 46 tries *''International Début:'' 22 October 2006 against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Personal life

Purdham's brother, Garry, who was also a professional

footballer for

, died on 2 June 2010, at Gosforth, Cumbria, during a

shooting spree A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations wi ...

in which a further 12 people were killed. Purdham was given compassionate leave by his club to travel back to Cumbria and has subsequently said that the positive response of the rugby league community has convinced him he was right not to give up his playing career following the tragedy.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Harlequins RL Profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
Purdo for England
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purdham, Robert 1980 births Living people Cumbria rugby league team players England national rugby league team captains England national rugby league team players English rugby league players London Broncos captains London Broncos players Rugby league players from Egremont, Cumbria Rugby league locks Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players