Neil Kelly (born 10 May 1962) is a former English

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 and former professional player who was the head coach of

Dewsbury Rams The Dewsbury Rams are a professional rugby league club based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England that compete in RFL League 1, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. History 1875–1887: Dewsbury Athl ...

He played club level rugby league for

(two spells),

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 ...

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

and

Hunslet Hawks Hunslet R.L.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. They play home games at South Leeds Stadium and compete in Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club was formed as a Pho ...

as a or , and coached representative level rugby league (RL) 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 ...

, and at club level for

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the RFL Championship, Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at DCBL Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twe ...

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. ...

, and coached representative level rugby union (RU) for

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

(assistant), and at club level for

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won ...

(defence), and

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Knights Rugby Football Club ''(formerly, Doncaster RFC)'' are a professional rugby union club representing the city of Doncaster, England. The club play in the 2nd division of English rugby, the RFU Championship. Being the most prom ...

(assistant).

Coaching career

Leigh Centurions

On his return to England and Rugby League Neil spent two years as the head coach and then director of football at Leigh Centurions Rugby League Club, competing in the Co-Operative Rugby League Championship.

Ulster

Kelly spent two and a half years working as the defence coach for Ulster Rugby Union Club.

Widnes Vikings

Whilst at Widnes, the club won the Grand Final.

Dewsbury Rams

No promotion for Dewsbury after Grand Final win.

Cornwall RLFC

On 8 Dec 2021 it was announced that Neil had been appointed as head coach of new club

Cornwall RLFC Cornwall RLFC was a British professional sports, professional rugby league team based in Penryn, Cornwall, Penryn, Cornwall, England. The club competed in the third-tier RFL League One from 2022 to 2025, when the club withdrew from the league an ...

. On 24 October 2022 it was announced that Neil's assistant Mike Abbott had taken over as head coach by mutual consent.

Genealogical information

Neil Kelly is one of three brothers to play professional Rugby League, Andrew "Andy" Kelly who played for

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 ...

and

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 ...

(Australia), and Richard Kelly who played for

and

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

References

External links

2011 Knights Coach Kelly aids RU World Cup Finals Team2011 Kelly Coaches Namibian RU World Cup Team2010 Kelly & Goulding Rally to Stricken Percivals Cause2009 Roles Change at Leigh Centurions2008 Kelly Joins Leigh2005 Ulster Retain Coach Neil Kelly2004 Super League Coach of the Year Joins Ulster RU2004 Ulster Delighted to Secure Neil Kelly2002 Welsh Coach Kelly Reappointed For New Zealand Challenge2001 Kelly's Brave Wales Run England Close2001 Neil Kelly Appointed as Wales Rugby Boss2001 Kelly Steers Widnes to Grand Final GloryKnights bring in KellyNeil Kelly videoNeil Kelly Audio InterviewNeil Kelly AudioNeil Kelly on the Namibian job
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Neil 1962 births Living people Cornwall RLFC coaches Dewsbury Rams coaches Dewsbury Rams players English male kickboxers English rugby league coaches English rugby league players English rugby union coaches Featherstone Rovers players Houston SaberCats coaches Hunslet R.L.F.C. players Leigh Leopards coaches Rugby league players from Wakefield Rugby league hookers Rugby league locks Ulster Rugby non-playing staff Wakefield Trinity players Wales national rugby league team coaches Widnes Vikings coaches 20th-century English sportsmen