Chris Joynt (born 7 December 1971) is a 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 1990s and 2000s. A

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 ...

international representative and , he played his club football with St Helens, with whom he won numerous titles, as well as

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 ...

and a stint in Australia with the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

. He lifted many trophies throughout a glittering

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 ...

career, including consecutive Super League championships in 1999 and 2000.

Background

Joynt was born in

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 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

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 ...

Playing career

1990s

Joynt began his career at

before being sold to St Helens in 1992 in exchange for Sean Devine, Paul Jones and a fee of £50,000. Joynt 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 ...

. He was selected to play for

in the 1995 World Cup Final on the reserve bench but

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

won the match and retained the Cup.In 1991 Joynt played the English off-season in Australia for NSW group 20 club, Yenda Blue Heelers

County Cup Final appearances

Chris Joynt played left- in St. Helens 4–5 defeat by

in the

1992–93 Lancashire Cup The 1992–93 Lancashire Cup was the 80th and last occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition was held. Wigan won the trophy by beating St Helens by the score of 5-4 in the final. Background The failure of London Crusaders to enter, ...

Final during the 1992–93 season at

, St. Helens on Sunday 18 October 1992.

Regal Trophy Final appearances

Chris Joynt played left- in St. Helens' 16–25 defeat by

in the 1995–96 Regal Trophy Final during the 1995–96 at Alfred McAlpine Stadium,

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 13 January 1996. Joynt played for St. Helens at in their

1996 Challenge Cup The 1996 Challenge Cup was the 95th staging of the Challenge Cup tournament. Known as the Silk Cut Challenge Cup due to sponsorship from Silk Cut, it was the first Challenge Cup of the summer era. The tournament featured 40 teams playing 42 g ...

Final victory over

Bradford Bulls 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 ...

. He took over as captain of the club in 1997, and held the position until 2003. In the 1997 post season, Joynt was selected to play for

at in all three matches of the

Super League Test series The Super League Test series was a rugby three- test match series between the Great Britain Lions and Super League's Australian national team held during November 1997 in England. Named the British Gas Test series due to sponsorship from Centrica' ...

against

. Joynt played for St. Helens at in their

1999 Super League Grand Final The 1999 Super League Grand Final was the Second official Grand Final conclusive and championship-deciding game of the Super League IV season. The match was played between St. Helens and Bradford Bulls on Saturday 9 October 1999, at Old Traffor ...

victory over

2000s

Having won the 1999 Championship, St. Helens contested in the

2000 World Club Challenge The 2000 World Club Challenge was contested by 1999 NRL season premiers, the Melbourne Storm and 1999's Super League IV champions, St. Helens. The match was played on 22 January at JJB Stadium, Wigan before a crowd of 13,394. The Melbourne St ...

against

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

Premiers the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

, with Joynt playing at in the loss. Joynt is probably best remembered as the scorer of the Wide to West try in the Super League Final Eliminator in 2000, which won the match for St. Helens. He played at and scored two tries in the subsequent 2000 Super League Grand Final victory over the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

, and being awarded the

Harry Sunderland Trophy The Harry Sunderland Trophy was awarded annually to the man of the match in the Super League Grand Final and its predecessors, the RFL First Division Final and the Premiership Final, between 1965 and 2023. Named after Harry Sunderland, who w ...

. Joynt went on to represent

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

at the

2000 Rugby League World Cup The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was the twelfth Rugby League World Cup, World Cup for men’s national rugby league teams, held between 28 October and 25 November and hosted between the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland and France. ...

. As Super League V champions, St. Helens played against 2000 NRL Premiers, the

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 ...

in the 2001 World Club Challenge. Joynt was the

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 ...

, played as a and scored a try in St. Helens' victory. In 2002, Joynt was at the centre of controversy when he seemingly performed a 'voluntary tackle' with seconds remaining in the 2002 Super League Grand Final. St. Helens had just kicked a drop-goal to take a one-point lead in the match, and the penalty from the voluntary tackle would have given the

a chance to kick at goal and win the match. However, the referee dismissed wild protests from the Bradford Bulls players and the final hooter went, with St. Helens winning 19–18. Having won Super League VI, St. Helens contested the

2003 World Club Challenge The 2003 World Club Challenge match was contested on Sunday, 16 February by National Rugby League season 2002 premiers, the Sydney Roosters and Super League VII premiers, St Helens R.F.C., St. Helens. 19,807 spectators turned out at Bolton's Reebo ...

against 2002 NRL Premiers, the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

. Joynt captained St. Helens as a in their 0-38 defeat. Joynt relinquished captaincy of St. Helens to

Paul Sculthorpe Paul Sculthorpe MBE (born 22 September 1977) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or forward in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for England and Great Britain at international level, as well as representing ...

at the end of 2003's

Super League VIII Tetley's Super League VIII was the official name for the year 2003's Super League championship season, the 109th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the eighth championship run by Super League. The season culminat ...

, and retired from rugby league following the 2004's

Super League IX Tetley's Super League IX was the name of the 2004 Super League championship season due to sponsorship by Tetley's Bitter. This was the 110th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the ninth championship decided by Supe ...

. Joynt was a

international with 27 caps. Joynt also represented

in the Origin Series.

References

External links

2001 Ashes profile

Profile at saints.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joynt, Chris 1971 births Living people England national rugby league team players English people of Irish descent English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Ireland national rugby league team players Irish rugby league players Lancashire rugby league team players Newcastle Knights players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Wigan Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows St Helens R.F.C. captains St Helens R.F.C. players