Bryan Murrell (born 3 April ) 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 1970s and 1980s. He played at club level for Leeds Juniors ARLFC,

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

and

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

, as a and , i.e. number 1, 2 or 5, 3 or 4, or 6.

Background

Bryan Murrell's birth was registered in

district,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England, and he was a pupil at Stainbeck High School.

Playing career

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Bryan Murrell played in

' 16-7 victory over

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form t ...

in the 1976–77

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 ...

Final during the 1976–77 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on Saturday 7 May 1977, in front of a crowd of 80,871.

Club career

Bryan Murrell made his début for

against

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west o ...

Headingley Rugby Stadium Headingley Rugby Stadium shares the same site as Headingley Cricket Ground and is home to Leeds Rhinos. Headingley is the 5th largest rugby league stadium in England. History 1889-1980s: Construction and development Leeds St Johns, who ...

on Tuesday 2 October 1973, he played at , and before eventually replacing Dave Marshall as Leeds' regular , Murrell scored a vital

touch-line The touch-line is the line on either side of the playing area of a game of rugby league, rugby union and association football. In many other sports it is called a side-line. The continuation of the touch-line beyond the goal line ending at the ...

conversion in the 8-2 victory over

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 the 1976–77 Challenge Cup quarter-final match at Derwent Park,

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

, on Sunday 13 March 1977, he fell-out-of-favour with Leeds' management during the 1976–77 season, and was later transferred to

in 1979.

Genealogical information

Bryan Murrell is the father of the rugby league footballer; Scott Murrell.

References

External links

1955 births Living people English rugby league players Hunslet R.L.F.C. players Leeds Rhinos players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Leeds Rugby league wingers {{England-rugbyleague-bio-stub