Derek Noonan (1 February 1947 – 1 May 2009) was an English

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and 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 and 1980s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for St Helens RUFC, as a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

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

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 ...

, and at club level for

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 ...

, St Helens and Fulham RLFC, as a .

Background

Derek Noonan's birth was registered in St. Helens,

, England, and he died aged 62 in St. Helens,

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

Playing career

Warrington

Noonan played at in

's 24–9 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

1974 Challenge Cup Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom ...

Final during the 1973–74 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 on Saturday 11 May 1974, in front of a crowd of 77,400, played at in the 7–14 defeat by

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 the

1975 Challenge Cup It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Final during the 1974–75 season at

, London on Saturday 10 May 1975, in front of a crowd of 85,998. Noonan played at (replaced by substitute

Billy Pickup Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) * Billy (surname), a surname (and list of people with the surname) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy ( ...

) and scored two tries in

's 27–16 victory over

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

in the 1973–74 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

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 ...

on Saturday 9 February 1974. Noonan played at in

's 4–0 victory over

in the 1973–74 Captain Morgan Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at The Willows,

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

on Saturday 26 January 1974, in front of a crowd of 5,259. Noonan played in

's 0–0 draw with by

in the

1974 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom ...

Final during the 1974–75 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 Tuesday 17 December 1974, and played (replaced by substitute

Wilf Briggs Wilf is a masculine given name, most commonly a diminutive form of Wilfred or Wilfrid. It is also a nickname and a surname. People Given name * Wilfred Arthur (1919–2000), Australian World War II fighter ace * Wilf Barber (1901–1968), Engl ...

) in the 5–10 defeat by

in the

Final replay during the 1974–75 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year l ...

on Tuesday 28 January 1975.

St Helens

Noonan played at in St. Helens' 20–5 victory over

in the 1976 Challenge Cup Final during the 1975–76 season at

, London on Saturday 8 May 1976, in front of a crowd of 89,982. Noonan played at in St. Helens' 2–25 defeat by the

1975 NSWRFL season The 1975 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 68th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from across Sydn ...

premiers,

Eastern Suburbs 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 ...

in the unofficial

1976 World Club Challenge The 1976 World Club Challenge was an unofficial trial of what would later become the World Club Challenge concept, with the 1975 NSWRFL season's premiers, Eastern Suburbs hosting the 1975–76 Northern Rugby Football League season's Premiershi ...

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

on Tuesday 29 June 1976. He played at in St. Helens' 11–26 defeat by

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 1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1977–78 season at Hilton Park,

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 ...

on Tuesday 13 December 1977.

Representative honours

Derek Noonan 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 Warrington in 1975 against Wales, in the

1975 Rugby League World Cup The 1975 Rugby League World Cup (officially known as the 1975 Rugby League World Championship) was the seventh Rugby League World Cup, World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams and ran from 2 March to 12 November. Australia were the w ...

against France, and Wales. He also played in a non-Test match against Papua New Guinea. Derek Noonan won five caps for

while at Warrington.

References

External links

Profile at saints.org.uk
*(archived by web.archive.org
Fans of the club from the first Fulham season will be sad to hear of the death of Derek Noonan at the age of 62 from cancer
*(archived by web.archive.org

*(archived by web.archive.org
Noonan Passes AwayTributes to ex-Saint Derek Noonan
*(archived by web.archive.org
Warrington’s World Cup heroes – Derek Noonan
*(archived by web.archive.org

Mistakenly stated to be an ex-Widnes player of 1979. *(archived by web.archive.org
Warrington Wolves was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former player Derek Noonan
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noonan, Derek 1947 births 2009 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league players English rugby union players Lancashire rugby league team players Liverpool St Helens F.C. players London Broncos players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside Rugby union players from St Helens, Merseyside St Helens R.F.C. players Warrington Wolves players Rugby union wings 20th-century English sportsmen