Sean O'Loughlin

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Sean O'Loughlin
fullname = Sean O'Loughlin
nickname = Lockey, Lockers, Sean Awfulin, Curly Sue, Skelator


image_size = 250px
caption =
country =
position = Loose-Forward
currentclub = leagueicon|Wigan|size=16 Wigan Warriors
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|11|24
placeofbirth = Wigan, Greater Manchester
countryofbirth = England
height = 6 ft 1 in (1.87 m)
weight = 14 st 10 lbs (93 kg)
club1 = leagueicon|Wigan|size=16 Wigan Warriors
year1start = 2002
year1end =
appearances1 = 135
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 = 138
teamA = Flagicon|Great Britain Great Britain
yearAstart = 2004
yearAend =
appearancesA = 8
triesA =
goalsA =
fieldgoalsA =
pointsA = 8
updated =
source =
new = yes

Sean O'Loughlin is an English rugby league player. He is a loose forward and also the current captain of Wigan Warriors.

He comes from a well connected rugby league family, His dad is the ex-Great Britain player Keiron O'Loughlin and his brother in law was the former Wigan captain Andy Farrell. His dad was a member of the Widnes side that beat Wigan in the 1984 Challenge Cup final.

Wigan Warriors career

He signed for Wigan from amateur club Wigan St. Pats and featured in the academy U19s during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Sean made his first appearance for the Warriors first team in the 2002 Super League season.

Sean played loose forward for most of 2004 with Andrew Farrell moving to prop forward as cover for injuries, during the season he impressed many people earning himself a new contract and a call up to the Great Britain for the 2004 Tri-Nations.

2005 was not a good year for Sean despite making an impressive start to the season on March 2005 he suffered a serious knee injury that kept him out for the rest of the season. Sean return to the first team in 2006 and was announced as captain by coach Ian Millward, Sean received some criticism from fans for his lack of leadership on the field which was highlighted by Wigan’s poor form at the start of the season. The poor start to the season left Wigan bottom of the Super League and led to the sacking of Ian Millward who was replaced by Brian Noble.

O'Loughlin showed a dramatic improvement under Noble, many people credited Sean for his defensive work and at the end of the season he was Wigan’s top tackler. His performance in 2006 earned him a recall into the Great Britain squad for the mid season international with New Zealand and the end of season Tri-Nations in Australia.

With Sean's contract expiring at the end of 2006 he was linked with a move to new Australian NRL side Gold Coast for most of the season but in November 2006 he signed a new two deal with Wigan keeping him at the club until 2008.

International career

He has already gained international experience as part of the 2001 Great Britain Academy of Australia.

In 2002 he was named as captain of the England A squad that faced New Zealand in November and later toured Fiji and Tonga. He made 3 appearances on the tour and was sent off and sin-binned in the same match against Fiji.

He was named as captain of the 2003 England A squad to face Australia and in the European Nations Cup. Sean also gained his first senior representative honour when he represented Lancashire in the 2003 Origin match.

Sean was called into the full Great Britain squad for the first time for the 2004 Tri-Nations Series. He made his debut off the bench against Australia and his first full appearance in the following match against New Zealand.

In 2006 Sean was recalled to play in the mid season international against New Zealand at Knowsley Road which Great Britain won. He was also selected in the squad for the 2006 Tri-Nations in Australia, he played in Great Britains opening defeat to New Zealand but played an important role in Great Britains victory over Australia. He missed Great Britains 34-4 defeat to New Zealand with a muscle strain.

He has been forced to rule himself out contention for the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup through injury.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7604682.stm|title=Deacon pulls out of England squad|publisher=BBC|date=2008-09-16|accessdate=2008-10-03]

References

External links

* [http://www.wiganwarriors.com/SquadMember.asp?teamid=1&id=71 Official Profile]