Ian "Basil" Millward (born 22 August 1960) is an Australian
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 ...
coach, occasional pundit and former player. Millward is now the assistant coach of
St George Illawarra in the
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 ...
(NRL).
Millward is the former head coach of
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 ...
,
St. Helens,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. He was in charge at
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 ...
from May 2005, his appointment coming just two weeks after an acrimonious departure from the club's fiercest rivals, St Helens. He was sacked by Wigan on 11 April 2006 for their poor start to 2006's
Super League XI season – having won just one of eight league games. In October 2006 he returned to Australia. Millward lasted one and a half seasons at
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 ...
before leaving half-way through the 2013 season.
Biography
Millward was born in
Wollongong
Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
,
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, and played rugby league for
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On 13 December 1980, they were the ...
lower grades in his youth, after impressing for the state's schoolboys team. His hopes of a successful playing career were ended when he was forced to retire in 1983 after suffering a serious neck injury.
He turned to coaching, taking up a position with Illawarra Western Suburbs. He also had spells with
Wollongong University. In 1997, he was coach of the Steelers reserve grade team, as well as an assistant coach with the first grade
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On 13 December 1980, they were the ...
side. His first senior appointment came in 1998 when he took charge of struggling English side
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 ...
, who had then come close to relegation to the game's third tier. He soon transformed Leigh from relegation candidates to promotion contenders, catching the eye of a number of
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
clubs in the process. He moved to St Helens in March 2000
after the sacking of
Ellery Hanley.
Under Millward, St Helens reached the
2000 Super League Grand Final and defeated
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 ...
, retaining their title. He took St Helens to the
2002 Super League Grand Final which they won against the
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 ...
. They also won the Rugby League
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 ...
in 2001 and 2004 and the
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 ...
in 2001. In 2001 Millward was named Super League Coach of the Year.
His time there was not without controversy, however. His decision to field an under-strength side due, he said, to injuries in a
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
match against
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
, just a week before the
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 ...
Final backfired badly. The move incurred the wrath of the game's authorities and St Helens were beaten in the final by Wigan, when all the injured players returned.
He repeated the trick in another match against Bradford over Easter 2004, claiming a heavy fixture burden had taken its toll. St Helens were well beaten in the game at
Odsal Stadium
Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...
and the fall-out overshadowed the rest of the club's season. It later emerged that two St Helens players,
Sean Long and
Martin Gleeson, had bet on their side to lose before the team was announced. Both were later banned and the Rugby Football League (RFL) tightened up rules by insisting squads had to be named 72 hours in advance.
Millward's St Helens career also ended controversially after he was suspended pending a disciplinary hearing in May 2005. He was sacked for gross misconduct a week later, his offences including three incidences of foul and abusive language: to a club employee;
Warrington's press officer; and a fourth official at a match against Bradford. St Helens also claimed that Millward lied to an RFL disciplinary hearing and distorted the truth about the club's sale of Gleeson to Warrington in 2004.
Within a fortnight, Millward was at
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 ...
as head coach above
Denis Betts. He had a difficult start with Wigan, losing a Super League match 70–0 to
Leeds Rhinos
The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...
and, more humiliatingly, a
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 ...
tie at St Helens 75–0. Wigan ended the season seventh in the Super League, missing out on the play-offs for the first time in the competition and club's history.
After a disastrous start to the 2006 Super League, Millward was relieved of his duties as head coach of Wigan on 11 April 2006. During this time, a combination of poor performances and injuries to key players had seen Wigan slump to bottom of the engage Super League. Wigan had won just one of eight league games. The club issued this statement:
''"Following a meeting of the board of directors the Wigan club can confirm that head coach Ian Millward has been dismissed with immediate effect. Ian will be leaving the club and team affairs will be managed in the short term by the assistant coaches Stuart Wilkinson and
Andrew Farrar."'' He was replaced the following week by then
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 ...
coach,
Brian Noble.
Millward enjoyed some time away from rugby league after being sacked by Wigan but later in 2006 he returned to the club where he started his English coaching career to become coaching co-ordinator at
National League One side
Leigh Centurions
The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. Leigh play homes games at Leigh Sports Village and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league.
...
. Millward also worked as a co-presenter on rugby league matches shown on
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
or
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
.
In 2007 Millward was appointed the assistant coach at
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 ...
side
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sinc ...
.
After
Graham Murray
Graham Ernest Murray (6 January 1955 – 28 July 2013) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
A New South Wales State of Origin head coach, Murray ...
resigned in May 2008, Millward took over as a head coach for the remainder of the season.
Millward was appointed as assistant coach to
David Furner
David Furner (born 6 February 1971) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who was the head coach of the Leeds Rhinos, and a former player. He is an assistant coach for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL, and the former he ...
at the
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...
on a two-year contract from 2009.
On 30 June 2009 it was announced that Millward would be re-joining Championship side
Leigh Centurions
The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. Leigh play homes games at Leigh Sports Village and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league.
...
in England from 2010. Millward signed a three-year contract after Canberra agreed to release Millward from his contract.
He took over from
Terry Matterson as the coach of
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 ...
starting for the 2012 season he has signed a 3-year deal to stay with the club. Millward was released by Castleford Tigers by mutual consent on 9 April 2013 after a very poor run of just one win in 18 games and with the team at the bottom of the Super League table at the time.
In 2014, Millward returned to Australia to coach the Illawarra Cutters NSW Cup team, replacing former Steelers centre
Paul McGregor as coach. In 2015 he became assistant coach of the St George illawarra dragons to assist new coach Paul McGregor
Millward has worked as a TV pundit for the
Super League Show broadcast on the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and also has featured as a summariser at televised games.
External links
*
Ian Millward Wigan Coaching Career Page on the Wigan RL Fansite''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millward, Ian
1960 births
Living people
Australian rugby league coaches
Australian rugby league players
Castleford Tigers coaches
Leigh Leopards coaches
North Queensland Cowboys coaches
St Helens R.F.C. coaches
Wigan Warriors coaches
Rugby league players from Wollongong
20th-century Australian sportsmen