- Mike Harrison (rugby union)
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Mike Harrison Full name Michael Edward Harrison Date of birth 19 April 1956 Place of birth Barnsley, South Yorkshire Height 5ft 10 Nickname Burglar Bill School QEGS, Wakefield Occupation(s) Banking Rugby union career Playing career Position Wing Amateur clubs Years Club / team Wakefield
Wakefield CougarsNational team(s) Years Club / team Caps (points) 1985–1988 England 15 Mike Harrison (born Michael Edward Harrison, 19 April 1956 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire) is a former first-class rugby union footballer, playing on the wing for Wakefield and England.[1]
He was educated at QEGS Wakefield and played for Yorkshire schools at under 16 and 19 levels and North East Schools against Australian schools.
He also won a schools athletics vest for Yorkshire as a sprinter and triple jumper and competed in the national schools championships.
He was involved in a serious car accident in 1975 and eye injuries prevented him playing rugby for more than two years.[2]
In 1978 he joined Wakefield RFC as a scrum half in the third team before moving to centre and finally right wing for the first team where he played in over 300 games.
He has played 53 times for Yorkshire between 1981 [3] and 1996. He also represented the North of England against Fiji (1982) and Australia (1984).
Harrison made his England debut during the 1985 tour to New Zealand at the relatively advanced age of 29. England lost both tests, but Harrison scored a breakaway try in each to earn himself the nickname "Burglar Bill". Subsequently a local brewery named a drink "Burglar Bill" after him.[4]
By 1987, Harrison had become a regular fixture in the side, playing in 14 of the next 15 England matches, including all four games of the 1987 Five Nations, one of which was as captain. His appointment came about when current skipper and scrum-half Richard Hill was suspended for allegedly inciting a violent clash with Wales. Mike's first game in charge resulted in victory over Scotland and he marked the occasion with a try.
He kept the captaincy for the inaugural World Cup in New Zealand in 1987 where he led by example and enjoyed good try-scoring form. In the opening match against Australia, Harrison scored another breakaway try to give his side a surprise lead. England remained in contention at 6-6 but could not respond to losing full-back Marcus Rose to concussion and a highly controversial try scored by David Campese. England lost 19-6, but came back to crush Japan, Harrison himself grabbing a hat-trick in thirteen minutes as England racked up ten tries. He scored his fifth try of the tournament against the USA, but England lost to Wales in the quarter-finals, thought by some to have been the worst match of the tournament.
Harrison played the first two games of the 1988 Five Nations but was then dropped and never again called upon to represent his country.[5]
Mike Harrison currently works in banking and occasionally works as an expert summariser on the radio. Harrison is married to Marion with three children; Fiona, Anne and Simon.
Mike Harrison's International Record
1985 v New Zealand (Christchurch) L 18-13
1985 v New Zealand (Wellington) L 42-15
1986 v Scotland (Murrayfield) L 33-6 (FN)
1986 v Ireland (Twickenham) W 25-20 (FN)
1986 v France (Paris) L 29-10 (FN)
1987 v Ireland (Dublin) L 17-0 (FN)
1987 v France (Twickenham) L 19-15 (FN)
1987 v Wales (Cardiff) L 19-12 (FN)
1987 v Scotland (Twickenham) W 21-12 (FN) (Captain)
1987 v Australia (Sydney) L 19-6 (W. Cup) (Captain)
1987 v Japan (Sydney) W 60-7 (W. Cup) (Captain)
1987 v USA (Sydney) W 34-6 (W. Cup) (Captain)
1987 v Wales (Brisbane) L 16-3 (W. Cup) (Captain)
1988 v France](Paris) L 10-9 (FN) (Captain)
1988 v Wales (Twickenham) L 11-3 (FN) (Captain)Career Record: P15, W4, L11 Test Points: 32 Tries: 8
References
- ^ http://www.scrum.com/england/rugby/player/9870.html
- ^ Bradford Star 9-5-1985
- ^ Barnsley Chronicle 6-11-1981
- ^ *Wakefield Rugby Football Club—1901-2001 A Centenary History. Written and compiled by David Ingall in 2001
- ^ http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=3799
Sources
- Wakefield Rugby Football Club—1901-2001 A Centenary History. Written and compiled by David Ingall in 2001
- England v Ireland official match programme 1-3-1986
- Sporting Heroes.net
- Scrum.com profile
Sporting positions Preceded by
Richard HillEnglish National Rugby Union Captain
Apr 1987-Feb 1988Succeeded by
Nigel MelvilleEngland squad – 1987 Rugby World Cup Forwards Bainbridge · Chilcott · Dawe · Dooley · D. Egerton · Moore · Pearce · Probyn · Redman · Rees · Rendall · Richards · WinterbottomBacks Coach GreenEnglish national rugby union team captains To 1900 1871-1873: Frederick Stokes • 1874: Alfred St. George Hamersley • 1875: Henry Arnold Lawrence • 1875-1876: Francis Luscombe • 1877-Mar 1878: Edward Kewley • Mar 1878: Murray Wyatt Marshall • 1879: Frank Reginald Adams • 1880-1881: Lennard Stokes • Feb 1882: Charles Gurdon • Mar 1882: A. N. Hornby • Dec 1882-1885: Edward Temple Gurdon • Jan-Feb 1886: Charles John Bruce Marriott • Mar 1886: Edward Temple Gurdon • 1887: Alan Rotherham • 1889: Fred Bonsor • Feb 1890: Andrew Stoddart • Mar 1890: John Lawrence Hickson • Mar 1890: Andrew Stoddart • 1891-Jan 1892: Frederic Alderson • Feb 1892: Sammy Woods • Mar 1892: Frederic Alderson • Jan 1893: Andrew Stoddart • Feb 1893: Sammy Woods • Mar 1893: Andrew Stoddart • Jan-Feb 1894: Richard Lockwood • Mar 1894: Ernest Taylor • 1895: Sammy Woods • 1896: Ernest Taylor • Mar 1896: Frank Mitchell • 1897: Ernest Taylor • 1898: J. F. Byrne • 1899: Arthur Rotherham •
To the First World War Jan 1900: Richard Cattell • 1900: John Daniell • Jan 1901: John Taylor • Feb-Mar 1901: William Bunting • Jan 1902: Harry Alexander • Feb-Mar 1902: John Daniell • Jan-Feb 1903: Bernard Oughtred • Mar 1903: Toggie Kendall • Jan 1904: Frank Moxon Stout • Feb-Mar 1904: John Daniell • Jan-Mar 1905: Frank Moxon Stout • Dec 1905 - Dec 1906: Vincent Cartwright • Jan 1907: Basil Alexander Hill • Feb 1907: John Green • Mar 1907: Ernest Roberts • Jan 1908: Thomas Kelly • Jan 1908: John Birkett • Feb 1908: Curly Hammond • Mar 1908: Lancelot Slocock • Jan 1909: George Lyon • Jan-Mar 1909: Robert Dibble • Jan-Feb 1910: Adrian Stoop • Mar 1910: Edgar Mobbs • Mar 1910-Feb 1911: John Birkett • Mar 1911: Anthony Gotley • Jan-Mar 1912: Robert Dibble • Apr 1912-Mar 1913: Norman Wodehouse • 1914: Ronald Poulton •
To the Second World War 1920: J. E. Greenwood • 1921: Dave Davies • Jan 1922: Bruno Brown • Feb 1922-1923: Dave Davies • 1924-1926: Wavell Wakefield • 1927: Leonard Corbett • 1928-Feb 1929: Ronald Cove-Smith • Mar 1929-Feb 1930: Joe Periton • Feb 1930-Jan 1931: Sam Tucker • Feb 1931: Peter Howard • Mar 1931-Jan 1933: Carl Aarvold • Feb-Mar 1933: Tony Novis • 1934: Bernard Gadney • Jan-Feb 1935: Douglas Kendrew • Mar 1935-Mar 1936: Bernard Gadney • 1937: Tuppy Owen-Smith • Jan-Feb 1938: Peter Cranmer • Mar 1938-Mar 1939: Henry Toft •
To the Professional Era Jan-Feb 1947: Joe Mycock • Mar-Apr 1947: Jack Heaton • Jan 1948: Edward Scott • Jan 1948: Tommy Kemp • Feb-Mar 1948: Edward Scott • Mar 1948: Bob Weighill • Jan-Feb 1949: Nim Hall • Feb 1949-Mar 1950: Ivor Preece • Jan 1951: Vic Roberts • Feb-Mar 1951: John Kendall-Carpenter • Jan 1952-Mar 1953: Nim Hall • 1954: Bob Stirling • Jan-Feb 1955: Nim Hall • Feb-Mar 1955: Peter Dalton Young • Jan 1956-Mar 1958: Eric Evans • 1959: Jeffrey Butterfield • 1960-1962: Dickie Jeeps • Jan-Mar 1963: Richard Sharp • May-Jun 1963: Mike Weston • Jan-Feb 1964: John Willcox • Feb-Mar 1964: Ron Jacobs • 1965: David Perry • 1966: Budge Rogers • Jan 1967: Richard Sharp • Feb-Nov 1967: Philip Judd • Jan-Feb 1968: Colin McFadyean • Feb-Mar 1968: Mike Weston • Feb 1969: Dick Greenwood • Feb-Apr 1969: Budge Rogers • Dec 1969-Mar 1970: Bob Hiller • Apr 1970: Bob Taylor • Jan 1971: Tony Bucknall • Feb 1971: John Spencer • Feb 1971: Bob Hiller • Mar-Apr 1971: John Spencer • Jan-Feb 1972: Bob Hiller • Feb-Mar 1972: Peter Dixon • Jun 1972-Mar 1974: John Pullin • Jan-Feb 1975: Fran Cotton • Mar-May 1975: Tony Neary • May 1975: John Pullin • Jan-Mar 1976: Tony Neary • 1977: Roger Uttley • 1978: Bill Beaumont • Feb 1979: Roger Uttley • Feb 1979-Jan 1982: Bill Beaumont • Feb 1982-Feb 1983: Steve Smith • Mar 1983: John Scott • Nov 1983-Mar 1984: Peter John Wheeler • Jun 1984: John Scott • Nov 1984: Nigel Melville • 1985: Paul Dodge • 1986: Nigel Melville • Feb-Mar 1987: Richard Hill • Apr 1987-Feb 1988: Mike Harrison • Mar 1988: Nigel Melville • Apr-Jun 1988: John Orwin • Jun 1988: Richard Harding • Nov 1988-Mar 1989: Will Carling • May 1989: Rob Andrew • Nov 1989-May 1995: Will Carling • May 1995: Rob Andrew • Jun 1995: Will Carling
To the Present Day Nov 1995-Mar 1996: Will Carling • Nov 1996: Phil de Glanville • Dec 1996: Jason Leonard • Feb-Jul 1997: Phil de Glanville • Nov 1997-Apr 1998: Lawrence Dallaglio • Jun 1998: Tony Diprose • Jun-Jul 1998: Matt Dawson • Nov 1998: Martin Johnson • Nov 1998-Apr 1999: Lawrence Dallaglio • Jun-Oct 1999: Martin Johnson • Feb-Apr 2000: Matt Dawson • Jun 2000-Apr 2001: Martin Johnson • Jun 2001: Kyran Bracken • Oct 2001: Matt Dawson • Nov 2001: Neil Back • Nov 2001-Mar 2002: Martin Johnson • Mar-Apr 2002: Neil Back • Jun 2002: Phil Vickery • Nov 2002-Feb 2003: Martin Johnson • Mar 2003: Jonny Wilkinson • Mar-Jun 2003: Martin Johnson • Aug 2003: Jason Leonard • Aug 2003: Dorian West • Sep-Oct 2003: Martin Johnson • Nov 2003: Phil Vickery • Nov 2003: Martin Johnson • Feb-Jun 2004: Lawrence Dallaglio • Nov 2004-Feb 2005: Jason Robinson • Mar 2005-Mar 2006: Martin Corry • Jun 2006: Patrick Sanderson • Nov 2006: Martin Corry • Feb 2007: Phil Vickery • Mar 2007: Mike Catt • May 2007: Jason Robinson • Jun 2007: Jonny Wilkinson • Aug 2007: Phil Vickery • Aug 2007: Mike Catt • Aug-Sep 2007: Phil Vickery • Sep 2007: Martin Corry • Oct 2007-Feb 2008: Phil Vickery • Feb 2008: Steve Borthwick • Feb-Mar 2008: Phil Vickery • Jun 2008-Mar 2010: Steve Borthwick • Mar 2010-Nov 2010: Lewis Moody • Nov 2010: Nick Easter • Nov 2010: Lewis Moody • Feb 2011: Mike Tindall • Aug 2011: Lewis Moody • Aug 2011-Sep 2011: Mike Tindall • Sep 2011: Lewis MoodyNote 1 • Sep 2011: Simon ShawNote 1 • Oct 2011: Lewis Moody
Notes Note 1: Lewis Moody was substituted in the England vs Georgia match on 18 September 2011, and Simon Shaw was confirmed as captain for the remainder of the match.
Categories:- English rugby union players
- England international rugby union players
- Rugby union wings
- Old Savilians
- Living people
- Wakefield RFC
- Yorkshire County RFU players
- 1956 births
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