Stuart Wright (born 19 March 1950) 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 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. 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 ...

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 ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and at club level for

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

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

, as a .

Playing career

Wigan

Wright joined

in 1969 from

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 ...

-based junior club, Latchford Albion. Wright played in

's 6-11 defeat by

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 ...

in the 1969 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1969–70 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

on Tuesday 16 December 1969. Wright played (replaced by substitute Dave Gandy) in

's 15-8 victory over

in the 1971 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1971–72 season 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 Saturday 28 August 1971, and played , and scored a try in the 19-9 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, ...

in the

1973 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

Final during the 1973–74 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year l ...

on Saturday 13 October 1973.

Widnes

Wright transferred from Wigan to

in August 1976. Wright played , and scored a try in

' 12-3 victory over

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 ...

in the 1979 Challenge Cup Final during the 1978–79 season at

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 ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 5 May 1979, in front of a crowd of 94,218. Receiving the ball well within his own half of the field, Stuart cut through the first line of the Wakefield Trinity defence, before chipping the ball over the second line of defenders and outpacing them to regather the ball and score in the corner, a video of the try is available on YouTube
Stuart Wright's try at Wembley 1979
He also played in the 18-9 victory over

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 ...

in the

1981 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral K ...

Final during the 1980–81 season at

on Saturday 2 May 1981, in front of a crowd of 92,496, played , and scored a try in the 14-14 draw with Hull F.C. in the

1982 Challenge Cup __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 fo ...

Final during the 1981–82 season at

on Saturday 1 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 92,147, played , and scored a try in the 9-18 defeat by Hull F.C. in the

Final replay during the 1981–82 season 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 Wednesday 19 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 41,171, and played in the 19-6 victory over

in the

1984 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast ...

Final during the 1983–84 season at

on Saturday 5 May 1984, in front of a crowd of 80,116. Wright played , and scored a try in

' 16-11 victory over

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

in the 1976 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1976–77 season at

on Saturday 30 October 1976, played , and scored a try in the 15-13 victory over

in the 1978 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1978–79 season at

on Saturday 7 October 1978, and played in the 11-0 victory over

in the 1979 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1979–80 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, City of Salford, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named ...

on Saturday 8 December 1979. Wright played , and scored 2- tries in

' 13-7 victory over St Helens in the 1978 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1978–79 season at

, St. Helens on Tuesday 12 December 1978. The record for the most tries in a

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy The BBC2 Floodlit Trophy (also known as the BBC2 Television Trophy) was an annual knockout competition for British rugby league clubs. Organised by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the competition was open to all professional clubs with floodlig ...

Final is 2- tries, and is jointly held by; Roy Mathias, Peter Glynn, Gerald Dunn, and Stuart Wright. Wright played in

' 4-9 defeat by

in the 1977–78 Players No.6 Trophy final during the 1977–78 season at

, St. Helens on Saturday 28 January 1978, played , and scored a try in the 16-4 victory over

in the 1978–79 John Player Trophy final during the 1978–79 season at

, St. Helens on Saturday 28 April 1979, played in the 0-6 defeat by

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

1979–80 John Player Trophy This was the ninth season for the League Cup, known as the John Player Trophy for sponsorship reasons. Bradford Northern won the trophy, beating Widnes 6–0 in the final. The match was played at Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. The attendance ...

final during the 1979–80 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

on Saturday 5 January 1980, and played in the 10-18 defeat by

in the 1983–84 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1983–84 season at

on Saturday 14 January 1984.

International honours

Stuart Wright 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

while at Wigan in the

1975 Rugby League World Cup The 1975 Rugby League World Cup (officially known as the 1975 Rugby League World Championship) was the seventh Rugby League World Cup, World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams and ran from 2 March to 12 November. Australia were the w ...

against New Zealand, while at Widnes in 1977 against Wales, in 1978 against France, and Wales, in 1979 against Wales, and France, in 1980 against Wales, and won

s for

while at Widnes in 1977 against France, New Zealand, and Australia (2 matches), and in 1978 against Australia (3 matches). Along with James "Jim" Leytham, Stanley "Stan" Moorhouse, Peter Norburn, Keith Fielding,

Martin Offiah Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE ( (''original pronunciation''), (''commonly used'')); born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Offiah was inducted ...

and Sam Tomkins, having scored four tries, Stuart Wright jointly holds the record for the most tries scored in an

match, scoring four tries against

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 ...

, St. Helens on 28 May 1978.

Honours

* Open Rugby World XIII: February 1979

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.comStatistics at rugby.widnes.tvstuart wright try wembley 1979
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Stuart 1950 births Living people England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league players from Warrington Rugby league wingers Widnes Vikings players Wigan Warriors players 20th-century English sportsmen