Neil Cowie
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Neil Fraser Cowie (born 16 January 1967) is an English 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. He played at representative level for
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 ...
and
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 at club level for
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 ...
and
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 a .


Background

Neil Cowie was born in
Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. In 2011, it had a popul ...
,
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...
,
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 ...
on 16 January 1967.


Playing career


Club career

Cowie signed for
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 1986 and went on to make 16 appearances in his first season. Over the next four seasons he became a regular in the Rochdale Hornets front row, occasionally playing as a . His blockbusting performances caught the attention 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 ...
and he signed for them at the end of the 1990–91 season. The transfer fee was set by a tribunal, with Wigan paying an initial £65,000 to Rochdale, plus an additional £15,000 when Cowie made his international debut. During the 1991–92 season, Cowie played for defending champions Wigan as a substitute in their
1991 World Club Challenge The 1991 World Club Challenge (marketed as the Foster's Lager, Foster's World Club Challenge due to sponsorship from the brewer) was contested by 1990–91 Rugby Football League season, 1990–91 RFL Championship winners, Wigan Warriors, Wigan and ...
victory against the visiting
Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...
. During the 1992–93 season, Cowie was a substitute (replacing
Steve Hampson Stephen Hampson (born 14 August 1961) is a former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer from Airdrie, Scotland, who played as a in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached rugby league in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played ...
) in Wigan's 5–4 victory over St Helens in the 1992 Lancashire Cup Final at
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 ...
, St Helens on 18 October 1992. He also played in Wigan's 15–8 victory over
Bradford Northern 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 ...
in the 1992–93 Regal Trophy Final at
Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...
,
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 23 January 1993, During the 1993–94 season, Cowie played in the 2–33 defeat by
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 ...
in the 1993–94 Regal Trophy Final at
Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...
,
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 22 January 1994. Cowie travelled with defending champions
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 ...
to Brisbane, playing as a in their 1994 World Club Challenge victory over Australian 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 ...
. During the 1994–95 season, Cowie played in the 40–10 victory over
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 ...
in the 1994–95 Regal Trophy Final 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 28 January 1995. During the 1995–96 season, Cowie played in the 25–16 victory over St Helens in the 1995–96 Regal Trophy Final at Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield on 13 January 1996. Cowie played for Wigan Warriors from the bench in their
1998 Super League Grand Final The 1998 JJB Super League Grand Final was the first staging of the Super League Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding game of 1998's Super League III, and the first Grand Final of the Super League era. It was held on Saturday ...
victory over
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 ...
. In June 2000, Cowie converted a drop goal, the only one-pointer he scored in his career, in a 30–18 victory over 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 ...
. He played for Wigan at prop forward in their 2000 Super League Grand Final loss against St Helens. Cowie played for Wigan Warriors from the bench in their
2001 Super League Grand Final The 2001 Super League Grand Final was the Fourth official Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding match of Super League VI. The match was held on Saturday 13 October 2001 at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by Bradfor ...
defeat by the Bradford Bulls. This turned out to be his last appearance for the club, as he announced his retirement shortly after the match.


Representative career

Cowie was selected to go on the
1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand The 1992 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team, nicknamed the 'Lions', of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand which took place between May and July 1992. The tour was the last of such length un ...
. Cowie 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
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 ...
while at Wigan in 1995 against England, and France, and in 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 ...
against Western Samoa, in 1996 against England, in 1998 against England, and in 1999 against Ireland, and Scotland, and 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
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 ...
while at Wigan in 1993 against France, and in 1998 against New Zealand (2 matches). Cowie was also selected for 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. ...
, but withdrew from the squad due to injury.


References


External links


Statistics at wigan.rlfans.comGrand Finalists set for tight matchBradford bulldoze WiganBradford bulldoze WarriorsCowie set for Sunday showdownCowie mulls retirement, Halligan bows outWoodsy on … Wigan Warriors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowie, Neil 1967 births Living people English people of Welsh descent English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Sportspeople from Todmorden Rugby league players from West Yorkshire Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league props Wales national rugby league team captains Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Wigan Warriors players 20th-century English sportsmen