James Coyle (rugby league)

Full Name: James Coyle

Profession: Rugby League Player

Team: Wigan Warriors

Position: Scrum Half

Height: 178cm

Weight: 95 kg

Date of birth: 28th December 1985

Place of birth: Wigan, Greater Manchester

Nationality: English

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Information

Young former Wigan St Pats half back and St John Fisher pupil James Coyle played in Wigan's Academy setup in 2002 and 2003. He was handed the inaugural Edwards-Johnson Memorial Trophy, as their Senior Academy Player of the Year for 2003. The Under-21's award was renamed in honour of former Wigan Academy pair Billy-Joe Edwards and Craig Johnson, who died earlier in 2003, and was presented by Shaun Edwards.

He was included in the first team squad for the first time in 2005 and made his debut off the bench against Hull. He crowned his full debut the next weekend against Whitehaven in the Challenge Cup with a man-of-the-match winning performance. Coach Denis Betts commented of his performance: "James is a really good player, as he showed when he started to carry the ball and create space in the second half. He started to become the player I believe he can be." James capped a promising 2005 by picking up the Wigan Supporters' Association Under 21s Player of the Season award. James was captained the 2003 England Academy U17s squad that historically beat the Australian Institute of Sport for the first time. James was also selected for the 2004 Academy Origin Series.

James' father Bernard Coyle and grandfather, also Bernard Coyle, both played scrum-half for Wigan in the 1970s and 1940s resepctively. His younger brother, Thomas Coyle, is also on the books at Wigan.

External links

* [http://www.wiganwarriors.com/imagelibrary/coyle_hs_70.jpgWigan Warriors Bio Page]