Les Holliday

Leslie "Les" W. Holliday (born 8 August 1962) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and Cumbria, and at club level for Swinton (captain), Halifax, Widnes and Dewsbury, as a second-row or loose forward,^[1] and coached at club level for Swinton.^[2]

Les Holliday

Personal information
Full name	Leslie W. Holliday
Born	(1962-08-08) 8 August 1962 (age 62) Whitehaven, England
Playing information
Position	Second-row, Loose forward
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1982–88 Swinton 182 39 28 1988–90 Halifax 59 6 7 4 42 1990–93 Widnes 84 9 6 3 51 1993–95 Dewsbury 27 2 0 0 8 1995–97 Swinton Total 352 56 41 7 101 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1986 Cumbria 1 1 0 0 4 1991–92 Great Britain 3 1 0 0 4
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1997–99 Swinton
Source: [1][2][3]

Background

Les Holliday was born in Whitehaven, Cumberland, England, he was a pupil at Cromwell Road School in Pendlebury.

Playing career

Swinton

Holliday started his career as an amateur with Folly Lane before signing for Swinton in June 1982.^[4] He helped the club win the 1984–85 Second Division championship.^[5]

Les Holliday played loose forward and was captain in Swinton's 27–10 victory over Hunslet in the 1986–87 Divisional Premiership Final at Old Trafford, Manchester on Sunday 17 May 1987.

Halifax

Holliday was signed by Halifax in January 1988 for a fee of £65,000.^[6] He started at second-row for Halifax in the 12–32 defeat against Wigan in the 1988 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 30 April 1988, but left the game after 20 minutes due to a knee injury.^[7]

Holliday played loose forward, and scored four goals in Halifax's 12–24 defeat by Wigan in the 1989–90 Regal Trophy Final during the 1989–90 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 13 January 1990.^[8]

Widnes

In March 1990, Holliday was signed by Widnes for a club record fee of £100,000.^[9] He won the 1989–90 Premiership with Widnes at the end of the 1989–90 season, scoring a try in a 28–6 win against Bradford Northern.^[10]

Les Holliday played loose forward in Widnes' 24–18 victory over Salford in the 1990 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1990–91 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 29 September 1990.

He played loose forward, and scored a try, and a drop goal in Widnes' 24–0 victory over Leeds in the 1991–92 Regal Trophy Final during the 1991–92 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 11 January 1992.

In June 1993, he was sold to Dewsbury for a transfer fee of £27,500.^[11]

Representative honours

Les Holliday won caps for Great Britain while at Widnes in 1991 against France, and in 1992 against France (2 matches).^[1] He was selected for the 1992 Lions tour, but made only three non-Test appearances before returning home early due to injury.^[12]

Holliday also represented Cumbria against Australia during the 1986 Kangaroos tour.^[13]

Personal life

Les Holliday is the son of the rugby league footballer; Bill Holliday, and the brother of the rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s for Swinton and Leigh; Mike Holliday.

References

1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
2. "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
3. "Player Summary: Les Holliday". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
4. Fletcher, Raymond; Howes, David, eds. (1983). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1983-84. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 385. ISBN 978-0-356-09729-9.
5. "Celebrate 25th anniversary of Swinton's championship". Manchester Evening News. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
6. McNamara, Jack (11 January 1988). "Pinner and Pyke in a 'swap' deal". Manchester Evening News. p. 43 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. Fitzpatrick, Paul (2 May 1988). "Wembley proves Wigan peerless". The Guardian. London. p. 18. ProQuest 186926606.
8. "13th January 1990: Wigan 24 Halifax 12 (Regal Trophy Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
9. "No easy path for depleted Wigan". The Times. London. 24 March 1990. p. 50.
10. Macklin, Keith (14 May 1990). "Flawless Tait steers 12-man Widnes to record third title". The Times. p. 38.
11. Fletcher, Raymond; Howes, David, eds. (1994). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1994-95. London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-7472-7851-1.
12. Harris, Tony (21 June 1992). "Reilly needs percentage gain". The Observer. London. ProQuest 477473164.
13. "Kangaroos Tour 1986 Series". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 February 2024.

External links

• Statistics at rugby.widnes.tv