Mark Calderwood

Mark Calderwood
Mark Calderwood.jpg
Personal information
NicknameCalders, Balsawood
Born25 October 1981 (1981-10-25) (age 28)
London, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight13 st 7 lbs (86 kg)
Playing information
PositionWing
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2001–2005Leeds Rhinos1278800352
2006–2008Wigan Warriors53190076
2009–Hull FC51004
Total18510800432
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2002–England9110044
As of 2 November, 2008
Source: Rugby League Project

Mark Calderwood (born 25 October 1981) is an English professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for Super League club Hull FC. He plays as a winger.

Contents

Leeds Rhinos Career

Born in London, Mark started his playing career at Stanningley ARLFC before signing for the Leeds Rhinos Academy in 2000. He scored over 40 tries in his first season at the Leeds Rhinos Academy which earned him a call up into the first team in 2001.

He made his debut against London from the bench in the first match of the season he scored his first try for Leeds in a Challenge Cup semi final against St Helens and went to score 12 tries in the rest of the 2001 season. He also won the Eddie Waring Memorial Award as the best try in the 2001 Challenge Cup.

In 2002 and 2003 he finished the leading try scorer at Leeds Rhinos and the leading try scorer for the Super League. He was a Grand Final winner with Leeds Rhinos in 2004 when Leeds beat Bradford Bulls 16-8 at Old Trafford.

2005 was another good season for Mark he finished leading Super League try scorer for the third time with 27 touchdowns in 28 appearances during 2005 and 35 tries in all competitions. During 2005 he received a runners-up medal in the Challenge Cup when Leeds lost 25-24 to Hull FC in the final and another runners-up medal in the Super League Grand Final when Leeds lost to Bradford 15-6. Despite he success with Leeds, Mark refused a contract extension with the Leeds and instead signed a 2 year contract with Wigan Warriors starting in 2006.

Wigan Warriors Career

He made his Wigan debut against Les Catalans Dragons but it took him 3 months to get his first try for Wigan which came against Castleford Tigers in May 2006. Wigan spent most of 2006 struggling against relegation from the Super League but despite this he managed to form a good playing connection with Wigan full back Chris Ashton. Mark did miss several months of the 2006 season with an injury and finished the season with 6 tries.

Mark scored a hat trick of tries in Wigan's epic 31-30 playoff win over Bradford on 21 September 2007 as the Warriors fought back from a 30-6 deficit but was forced off the field in the following game against Hull FC with a broken bone in the bottom of his leg which forced him to miss Wigan's final game of the 2007 season against Leeds Rhinos.[1] The next season turned out to be his final one for the club. His form was mixed throughout the campaign and was signalled out for poor performances especially in the 46-10 defeat to local rivals St Helens. Throughout his Wigan career he was criticised for not producing the form that gave him his name at Leeds, many fans thought that he had pace but was not giving everything into every match which began to have negative effect on his future at the club. Mark has signed for Hull for the 2009 season

Representative career

Mark has international and representative experience with England and Yorkshire. At the end of the 2001 season Mark was selected by John Kear for the England U21 tour to South Africa. He scored 4 tries in the first test, when England won 112-6 and a further 2 tries in the second test.

He retained his place in the England side in 2002 and was part of the squad that lost 34-12 to New Zealand. In 2002 the England A squad toured Fiji and Tonga and Mark played a part in both of England’s victories, beating Fiji 44-8 and Tonga 30-18.

Mark represented England in the 2006 Federation Shield, scoring two tries in the opening match against France. 2002 saw Mark make his debut for Yorkshire in the Origin game, when Yorkshire were defeated 22-18 and retained his place in 2003, scoring a sensational try at Odsal when Yorkshire defeated Lancashire 56-6. Mark also lifted the European Nations Cup with England, helping them reach the final with a hat trick against Russia in the qualifiers and then four against France in the final, with a man of the match performance.

He has withdrawn from the Scotland training squad[2] for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup after being called up by England.[3]

In September 2008 he was named in the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[4] and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man England squad.[5]

He has been named in the England team to face Wales at the Keepmoat Stadium prior to England's departure for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[6] but he like many other England stars produced many disappointing performances.

He is also eligible to represent Jamaica and the West Indies[7]

References

  1. ^ "Calderwood Injury Blow". Wigan Warriors Official Website. 2007-10-01. http://www.wiganwarriors.com/news_full.asp?newsid=3324. Retrieved 2007-11-11. 
  2. ^ "Henderson trio in Scots cup squad". BBC. 2008-08-29. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7587971.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-03. 
  3. ^ "Heckenberg out of the World Cup". Quins. 2008-09-29. http://www.quins.co.uk/newspage.ink?nid=39548&newstype=n&matchid=&Refid=&storytype=RL. Retrieved 2008-10-03. 
  4. ^ "Myler gets England call". England Rugby League. 2008-09-29. http://www.englandrl.co.uk/article.php?id=11890. Retrieved 2008-10-03. 
  5. ^ "Purdham earns World Cup call-up". BBC. 2008-10-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7656553.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-07. 
  6. ^ "Gleeson to lead new-look England". BBC. 2008-10-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7642490.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
  7. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/super_league/leeds/3542315.stm

External links


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