Morgan Knowles (born 5 November 1996) is a 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 plays as a or for St Helens in the

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 ...

. He has played for both

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

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 ...

at international level.

Background

Knowles was born in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England, and attended Ulverston Victoria High School. He played junior rugby league for Barrow Island before signing for St Helens at the age of 15.

Career

Knowles made his first team debut for Saints in May 2015, appearing as a substitute in 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 ...

game against

York City Knights The York Knights are the men's professional rugby league team of York RLFC, based in York, England. The club play their home games at York Community Stadium and currently compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of Briti ...

. He established a regular place in the first team during the following year, and was rewarded with a new three-year contract at the club. He played in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final defeat by

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 ...

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 ...

. Knowles played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final victory over

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, ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. Knowles played in St Helens 2020 Super League Grand Final victory over Wigan at the Kingston Communications Stadium in Hull. On 17 July 2021, he played for St. Helens in their 26-12 2021 Challenge Cup Final victory over Castleford. On 9 October 2021, he played in St. Helens 2021 Super League Grand Final victory over

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...

. In the 2022 semi-final, Knowles was sent to the sin bin for a chicken wing tackle during St Helens 19-12 victory over

which sent the club into their fourth consecutive grand final. Knowles was later suspended for two matches. St Helens appealed the decision which the RFL rejected. Knowles and St Helens then put in a second appeal which was successful meaning he was free to play in the 2022 Super League Grand Final. On 24 September 2022, Knowles played for St Helens in their 2022 Super League Grand Final victory over

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. On 18 February 2023, Knowles played in St Helens 13-12 upset victory over Penrith in the 2023 World Club Challenge. On 12 April 2023, Knowles was suspended for five matches and issued a £500 fine after he was placed on report for an illegal tackle during St Helens 14-6 loss to Wigan in round 8 of the competition. On 22 May 2023, Knowles was suspended for two games following being red carded during the clubs Challenge Cup victory over Halifax. Knowles was sent off in the final minute of the game for a high tackle on Halifax hooker Tom Inman. Knowles played 21 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished third on the table. Knowles played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which stopped them reaching a fifth successive grand final. Knowles played 16 matches for St Helens in the 2024 Super League season which saw the club finish sixth on the table. Knowles played in St Helens golden point extra-time playoff loss against Warrington. On 28 February 2025, it was announced that Knowles would be leaving St Helens at the end of the 2025 season, to join the

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

in the

NRL 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 ...

for the 2026 season.

Representative

On 25 June 2021 he made a try scoring début for

in their 24-26 defeat to the Combined Nations All Stars, staged at the Halliwell Jones Stadium,

, as part of England’s

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received � ...

preparation.

References

External links

St Helens profileSL profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at rlwc2017.comSaints Heritage Society profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Morgan 1996 births Living people 21st-century English sportsmen England national rugby league team players English rugby league players English people of Welsh descent People educated at Ulverston Victoria High School Rugby league players from Barrow-in-Furness Rugby league hookers St Helens R.F.C. players Wales national rugby league team players