Ricky Bibey (22 September 1981 – 16 July 2022) was an English 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 as a or . He made his professional debut in 2001 for

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 ...

, and went on to play for

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. ...

, St Helens,

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

and

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 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 and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby le ...

before being forced to retire in 2012 due to injury. He also represented England A, making three appearances for the team in 2002.

Background

Bibey was born in

Leigh, Greater Manchester Leigh is a town in Greater Manchester, England, on low-lying land northwest of Chat Moss. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire, Leigh was originally the centre of a large ecclesiastical paris ...

, England. He played junior

at Leigh East, and in 1999, he was selected in the Young Lions squad that played a Test series against Australia Schoolboys.

Playing career

Bibey made his professional debut for

in May 2001 against

. However, he was then sent off in his second appearance for the club in a 30–31 defeat against Salford City Reds. Following the sacking of Wigan coach

Frank Endacott Frank Morris Endacott , also known by the nickname of "Happy Frank", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, and Coach (sport), coach. Background His son, Shane Endacott, Shane, also played rugby league. Playing career En ...

, he struggled to regain his place in the team, and made just four appearances during the 2001 season. In 2002, Bibey featured more regularly in the first team, playing 26 games for Wigan during the season, including a substitute appearance in the 21–12 win against St Helens in the 2002 Challenge Cup final. Shortly after the cup final, Bibey was involved in a car crash, but was not seriously injured. At the end of the season, he was selected in the England A squad which toured the Southern Hemisphere, and played in matches against

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

. In July 2003, Bibey joined his hometown club

on a one-month loan, which was later extended until the end of the season. Bibey is one of the few players to win a Challenge Cup as both a Wigan Warriors and a St. Helens player as part of Wigan Warriors' 2002 Challenge Cup-winning squad and then in St Helens' 2004 squad. Bibey was also a member of the Leigh Centurions side that won the Northern Rail Cup in 2006 but was injured when the Leigh Centurions won the same competition again in 2011. He was forced to retire in May 2012 as a result of an

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

injury. After hanging up his boots, Bibey coached junior sides at Oldham St Anne's ARLFC.

Death

On the morning of 16 July 2022, Bibey was found dead in a hotel room in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. He was aged 40. A seriously injured 43-year-old woman, thought to be his partner, was also found at the scene. The cause of death is attributable to the intake of cocaine which would have caused a heart attack. Bibey reportedly suffered the heart attack while beating his partner.

References

External links

*
Statistics at wigan.rlfans.comProfile at saints.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibey, Ricky 1981 births 2022 deaths 21st-century English sportsmen English rugby league players Rugby league players from Leigh, Greater Manchester Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Wigan Warriors players Leigh Leopards players St Helens R.F.C. players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Wakefield Trinity players