William Sharp (born 13 May 1986) is a Nigerian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a or on the for the

York City Knights The York Knights are the men's professional rugby league team of York RLFC (known as the York City Knights from 2002 to 2022) based in York, England. The Knights played their home games at Huntington Stadium before moving to Bootham Crescent. ...

in the Betfred Championship. He has previously played for Harlequins RL and

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...

, and

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "small ...

and Halifax in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Background

Sharp was born in Zaria, Nigeria.

Early career

He originally signed for

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

from South London Storm RLFC. He also played rugby union for Streatham-Croydon RFC. Will Sharp against Leeds

Quins RL (now London Broncos)

Sharp had a contract with Harlequins RL that saw the dynamic youngster join the first grade squad on a permanent basis. Will Sharp was named as the Harlequins Senior Academy Player of the Year in 2007.

Hull FC

On 11 August 2010 it was announced that Will has signed a 2-year contract with Super League side Hull F.C. Upon signing Sharp was quoted as saying "I didn't want the opportunity to pass and wonder what if and I really want to test myself at Hull. When a club like Hull comes along with the potential to be a top three team it is hard to ignore." Hull coach Richard Agar went on to say. "He is a talented, young and ambitious player. We're pleased he thinks Hull is the place to realise those ambitions. He has the ability to carry the ball well and has strength and speed which will be great assets for us next season and I don't think it will be long before he establishes himself as a crowd favourite at the KC Stadium." However, Agar dropped Sharp for the last game. Under new Hull coach Peter Gentle, Sharp has looked much more confident when taking the ball forward and his defence has improved. Having Tony Martin, an experienced Super League and NRL player as his inside centre will no doubt help with his defence.

Featherstone Rovers

In April 2013 Will signed for ambitious Championship club

. He signed a 6-month deal in an effort to earn a longer contract. The then Rovers' coach Daryl Powell compared him to

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

footballer Jason Robinson. Sharp appeared to make an immediate impact with the fans due to his fearless and committed style of play. This earned him the nickname 'Sugar Ray'.

Halifax

Sharp joined Halifax ahead of the 2016 season. He joined the club after being suggested by one time

' coach Peter Roe.

Representative

Sharp represented Cumbria in 2010. In 2012 Will Sharp made his international début for the Nigerian national 7s team at the African Regional qualifiers in Morocco.

References

External links

Halifax profile81416&includeref= dynamic Quins profile
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/hull/8903938.stm {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Will 1986 births Living people Cumbria rugby league team players Featherstone Rovers players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Hull F.C. players London Broncos players Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom Nigerian rugby league players Nigerian rugby union players People from Zaria Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers York City Knights players