Stevie Ward
 | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 17 November 1993 Leeds, West Yorkshire, England | |||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (186 cm)[1] | |||||
| Weight | 15 st 8 lb (99 kg)[1] | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Second-row, Loose forward | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2012– | Leeds Rhinos | 86 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| As of 2 December 2016 | ||||||
| Source: RLP | ||||||
Stevie Ward (born 17 November 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer for Super League club Leeds Rhinos. He primarily plays at loose forward.
Playing career
Ward played his junior rugby at local amateur teams Morley Rugby Club, Churwell and Hunslet Warriors, when playing for these clubs people compared him to Leeds Rhinos captain Kevin Sinfield. In 2010 he had an impressive season with the Rhinos U18's team delivering some great performances, he made the step up into the U20's the following season whilst also having the opportunity to train with the first team. He played in the friendly against Featherstone Rovers in 2011 and his performances for the U20's earned him a place in the Rhinos first team squad in 2012.
Leeds Rhinos
2012 - 2012 Season
Ward made his first team debut in Round 8 in the 46-6 loss to St Helens. He featured in the next two rounds before being demoted back to the U20's. These three games did Stevie some good as coach Brian McDermott then selected Ward for the Round 17 clash against Warrington Wolves, Ward then featured in every game up to Round 27 against Huddersfield Giants. Ward's only try in the regular season came in Round 24 against Widnes Vikings. He signed a 5 Year Deal with the Rhinos midway through the year.
Stevie was also selected to play in the Challenge Cup semi-final against holders Wigan Warriors, the Rhinos won the game 39-28 which put them through to the final. Ward was then selected to play in the Challenge Cup final against Warrington Wolves which the Rhinos lost 35-18.
Ward played in all 4 games of the playoff series after a 5th-placed finish in the regular rounds. He started on the bench against Wakefield Wildcats in the 42-20 win. Ward featured in the 27-20 win at Catalans Dragons and scored his 2nd try for the Rhinos to guide them to a semi-final place. He played in the 13-12 win against Wigan Warriors which meant the Rhinos would once again be involved in the Super League Grand Final. Ward did feature off the bench in the 2012 Super League Grand Final and contributed to his sides 26-18 win at Old Trafford with a good defensive performance.
2013 - 2013 Season
Ward was injured for pre-season and missed the first two friendlies however he made an appearance against Hunslet Hawks.
Stevie featured against Salford City Reds in Round 3 and scored the first try of the game. He then started in the second row in the 2013 World Club Challenge in the 18-14 loss to NRL champions Melbourne Storm. Ward then featured in Round 5 (St Helens RLFC) to Round 13 (Hull KR). He also featured in the Challenge Cup against Castleford Tigers. Ward was injured for Round 14-27.
2014
Ward featured heavily again in 2014 being part of the squad that won the Challenge Cup for the first time since 1999 beating Castleford Tigers.
2015
Ward again featured in the team that won the Challenge Cup for the second consecutive year beating Hull KR by a record 50-0. Ward also played in the last game of the regular season against Huddersfield Giants where the Rhinos won in stoppage time to seal the League Leaders Shield however Ward was injured in this match and missed the Grand Final.
| Season | Appearances | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Leeds Rhinos | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2013 Leeds Rhinos | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2014 Leeds Rhinos | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2015 Leeds Rhinos | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Total | 82 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
International career
In 2009, Ward was part of the England youth squad who took part in the European Nations Cup in Serbia alongside France, Wales, Serbia, Scotland, Russia and a European Celts side.
He also represented England Academy in 2010 and was a try scorer in their narrow defeat by France. Ward was named in the England Academy side at the end of the 2011, representing them in their game against the Australian Institute of Sport alongside fellow Rhinos James Duckworth and Jordan Baldwinson, but the youngsters just lost out to their Australian counterparts, losing 22-20.
In October 2016, Ward was called up to the senior team for the first team courtesy of an injury replacement for club teammate Brett Ferres.[2] Ward was called up into the final 24-man England team for the 2016 Four Nations.
Honours
Super League: 2012,
Challenge Cup: (2) 2014, 2015
League Leaders Shield: 2015
References
- 1 2 "Stevie Ward Leeds Rhinos". www.superleague.co.uk. Rugby Football League. 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ↑ "Stevie Ward called into England squad for injured Brett Ferres". skySports. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.