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| Full name | Cuthwyn Ellery Hanley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1961-03-27)27 March 1961 (age 64) Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre, Stand-off, Loose forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Relatives | Umyla Hanley (son) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cuthwyn Ellery HanleyMBE (born 27 March 1961) is an English formerrugby league player and coach. Over a nineteen-year professional career (1978–1997), he played forBradford Northern,Wigan,Balmain,Western Suburbs andLeeds. He won 36 caps forGreat Britain, captaining the team from 1988 to 1992, and 2 forEngland. Nicknamed 'Mr Magic' and 'The Black Pearl', he played most often as astand-off orloose forward after starting out as acentre orwing.
Hanley won theMan of Steel Award a record three times, theLance Todd Trophy once, and theGolden Boot in 1988. He was awarded theMBE in January 1990 for services to the game. In 2005 he was inducted into theRugby Football League Hall of Fame.
After his playing career, he had spells as head coach of Great Britain,St Helens andDoncaster.
Born inLeeds,West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Hanley grew up inPotternewton, nearChapeltown.[4] His parents originated fromSaint Kitts.[5] He is the father ofUmyla Hanley, who currently plays inSuper League for theLeigh Leopards.[6]
In 1978, Hanley signed forBradford Northern from the junior club Corpus Christi.[7] On 26 November 1978, he made his professional début for Northern againstRochdale Hornets in a League Division One match. He helped his club to a 30–18 victory, by scoring a try on his début.[8] He established a regular place in the first team in1981–82, scoring 15 tries in his first full season.[9] In the following season, he reached the semi-final of the1983 Challenge Cup againstFeatherstone Rovers. Although Bradford ultimately lost the match, Hanley scored a memorable try which was selected as the try of the season in the BBC's Top Try competition.[10][11]
In1984–85, his last season with the club, Hanley became the first man to score more than 50 tries in a season sinceAlf Ellaby, and the first non-winger to reach this figure for 70 years.[7] He scored a remarkable 55 tries in only 37 appearances, an achievement made even more remarkable as he switched between the positions of wing, centre and stand-off.[8] For his achievements in the 1984–85 season, he was awarded theMan of Steel award, which is awarded to the player judged to have made the biggest impact in the season, as well as the First Division Player of the Year.
In total, Hanley made 126 appearances for the club, scoring 89 tries.[8]
In 1985 he signed for Wigan for a fee of £150,000, withSteve Donlan andPhil Ford moving to Bradford Northern in exchange for Hanley as part of the deal.[12] Hanley finished his first season for the club with 35 tries.
During his second season at Wigan he scored 63 tries playing at centre, stand-off and loose forward, an all-time record for a non-winger. In the 1987 season, Hanley was awarded theMan of Steel award, being voted the player who made the biggest impact during the season. His play that year helped Wigan to their first league title in 27 years. He played in Wigan's1987 World Club Challenge victory against the visitingManly-Warringah Sea Eagles.Hanley holds the record for the most tries in aRegal Trophy (or precursors) Final with 3tries.
In 1988, Hanley was in dispute with Wigan and was stripped of the captaincy. He was transfer listed at a then record £350,000. But when Wigan reached the semi-final of the 1988 Rugby LeagueChallenge Cup against Salford, coachGraham Lowe recalled Hanley to the team. Upon his return Hanley scored a magnificenttry in the final atWembley Stadium. Ironically it was set up byJoe Lydon – reminiscent of the two tries he scored against Wigan four years earlier.Ray French stated it was the second greatest ever seen in a final.[1]
In 1989, Hanley helped the club reach theChallenge Cup Final, where they won a 27–0 victory over St Helens in front of a crowd of approximately 78,000 people at Wembley, the first time inCup Final history at Wembley that a side had been held scoreless. He was awarded theLance Todd Trophy for the man of the match.[13] For his performances throughout the season he was also awarded the Man of Steel award for the second time as a Wigan player, and the third time in his overall career. 1989 was also the year in which Hanley was awarded the Adidas Golden Boot, which was awarded to the world's most outstanding player. Hanley remembers that "It was something I always strove for. I wanted to be the best player in the world… Looking back, to be the world's best player at that time was the biggest honour of my career."[14]
He led Wigan to another two League and Cup doubles. By 1991 though his relationship with the media reached an all-time low. Although both Wigan and Great Britain captain, he was not expected to carry out any media role.
In total he spent around five years with the club, making 202 appearances and scoring 189 tries. In his Wigan career, he won a World Club Championship, 4 Challenge Cup winners medals, 3 Championships, 1 Premiership, 4 John Player Trophy Winners medals and 4 Lancashire Cup winners medals. He was also voted Man of Steel twice as a Wigan player. Hanley was inducted into theWigan Hall of Fame in 2007.
Hanley, the Great Britain captain, was signed by Sydney clubBalmain Tigers to play the remaining rounds of the1988 NSWRFL season for them once his representative commitments were fulfilled.[15] In his first season with the club he helped them to the Grand Final in 1988 against Canterbury by defeating Penrith,Manly,Canberra as well asCronulla in the preliminary finals. The preliminary final against Cronulla was a closely fought battle, until Hanley went to set up the try that would seal the victory for Balmain as they edged out their opponents 9–2, the win sending the club to their first Grand Final since 1969.
The first half of the Grand Final was a tight contest asBalmain led 6–4 scoring due to a mistake from CanterburyfullbackJason Alchin. In the 26th minute, Hanley was wrapped up low byAndrew Farrar, and as he want to offload the ball, Terry Lamb hit Hanley with a high tackle[16] that went unnoticed by the referee. He hit the ground in an awkward position and was concussed. He played no further part in the match, and his side went on to lose the game 24–12. Lamb said he was only looking to wrap the ball up and there was no intention. Lamb commented in his 1992 book that Balmain had key players such asWayne Pearce,Ben Elias,Paul Sironen andGarry Jack that there was no chance to target one individual.
Speaking toInside Sport Magazine in August 2005, Hanley was asked:
What do you remember about that infamous tackle by Terry Lamb?
"I don't know if it was caused by Terry Lamb, or if it was just my head hitting the ground. I couldn't tell you because I have never looked at it since. Some people have said Terry got a good shot on me. I suspect, however, it was more a case of my head hitting the ground. I like to think it was accidental. Afterwards, I was concussed and didn't know where I was. I didn't regain all my faculties immediately so, from a safety point of view, I had to come off the football field. It was a shame, but it is a physical game and sometimes things like that happen."
Have you spoken to Lamb since then?
"No, I never have. I have never bumped into him. I have to say I respect him as a footballer. I don't know him as a person, but by all accounts he is a good guy. Let me be clear that I have no malice towards him, none at all, regardless of the incident being deliberate or accidental."[14]
TheNew South Wales Rugby League, despite the media pressure, backed up Lamb's version of events and deemed he had no case to answer.
In 1989, Hanley moved from Balmain toWestern Suburbs. He played a total of thirteen games, scoring four tries for a total of sixteen points in his one and only season for the club. 1989 was also the year in which Hanley was awarded the AdidasRugby League World Golden Boot Award, which was awarded to the world's most outstanding player.
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In September 1991 at the age of 30, he joined Leeds as a player andcoach for £250,000, and on his arrival at the club, was immediately appointed captain.
The1993–94 season saw Hanley play in the Challenge Cup Final for the first time with Leeds. In the previous game, the Challenge Cup semi-final, Leeds faced St Helens at Central Park. Hanley scored two tries to put the club back on the big stage for the first time in sixteen years. In the Final, the club's opponents were Hanley's former club Wigan. In front of an official attendance at Wembley of 78,348, Leeds were defeated 16–26 by Wigan.
In the1994–95 season, Hanley set a new world record for a forward, scoring 41 tries in a season. During that season, Hanley helped the club reach the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley for the second consecutive year. Ironically it was the same opponent that they faced a year earlier in the same competition final. In front of an attendance of 78,550 they were defeated, just as they had been a year earlier by their opponents, this time going down 30–10.
In 1996 and well past his prime, Hanley returned to the Australian club Balmain for his second spell with the club. Hanley stated that "I wanted to be respected by the Australians as well, because their game is so superior to ours."[14]
Hanley woncaps forEngland while at Bradford Northern in 1984 against Wales, while at Leeds in 1992 against Wales.
He made his Great Britain début as a substitute, whilst still a Bradford Northern player, in January 1984 againstFrance inAvignon. He was selected for the1984 Great Britain Lions tour to Australia and was one of the stars of the 1984 Ashes series, scoring a remarkable twelve tries playing mostly on the wing.
Hanley was then selected as captain for the1988 Great Britain Lions tour. The Lions defeatedPapua New Guinea but lostThe Ashes to Australia, losing the first two Tests inSydney andBrisbane. The Third Test was a triumph for Hanley and his Lions though as they defeated Australia for the first time in a Test match since1978, ending Australia's streak of 15 straight wins over Great Britain. The Lions then defeated New Zealand 12–10 inChristchurch for their only test in NZ to finish the tour on a high note. Hanley scored eight tries in total on the tour.
Internationally, 1990 was a disappointment. Hanley captained Great Britain against the1990 Kangaroos, and although they pulled off a shock 19–12 win over Australia in the first test at Wembley with Hanley playing a prominent role, the Kangaroos would come back to win the second and third tests to extend their Ashes series streak over the Lions which dated back to1973.
Hanley also toured Australia in1992 for the Ashes series, but despite being captain of the squad, on the field he made only one appearance and played less than fifteen minutes in a minor tour match against Newcastle. He played in Great Britain's defeat by Australia in the1992 Rugby League World Cup final at Wembley.
Hanley retired from international rugby in 1993.[17] In total, he was capped 36 times by Great Britain.
In 1994, followingMal Reilly's decision to step down as both Great Britain andHalifax coach to become coach of Australian club theNewcastle Knights, Hanley was appointed coach of the Great Britain Lions during the Ashes series against Australia during the1994 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France. His appointment meant he had become the first black person to coach or manage a major national team in Great Britain.[citation needed] After a 12-man Lions team pulled off a gutsy 8–4 win in the first test at Wembley (following the first half send-off of captainShaun Edwards for a high tackle), they lost the series when Australia won the second test 34–8 atOld Trafford, and 23–4 atElland Road in Leeds.
The 1994 Ashes series would prove to be Hanley's only time as Great Britain coach. For the1995 Rugby League World Cup held in England and Wales, Great Britain was not playing, withEngland andWales competing instead. Also, Hanley had signed with theAustralian Rugby League during theSuper League war which began in 1995 while the RFL were aligned with theSuper League.[3]
In 1999, he was appointed as the coach ofSt. Helens as the successor toShaun McRae. In his first season as coach, he led St. Helens to the1999 Super League Grand Final. His side defeated theBradford Bulls, the club he began his professional playing career at, by 8–6 in October of that year. Whilst he harboured a strong desire to win, he could appear aloof and had several acrimonious disagreements with the St. Helens board of directors, which led to his suspension[18] and eventual sacking as the manager of St Helens in 2000.Ian Millward was appointed as his successor.
He switched to rugby union coaching and took up posts withBristol Rugby, and in the England national set-up. He also got involved in the sport ofsquash before returning to rugby league as a coaching consultant withCastleford Tigers in 2004. He worked with Cas for just two months before leaving.
On 14 December 2007 Hanley was unveiled as the coach of National League Two ClubDoncaster.[19] He resigned from that role on 28 September 2008, following Doncaster's successful promotion play-off campaign.
In a return to coaching after a 14-year gap, Hanley was named, in March 2022 as head coach of theCombined Nations All Stars for their 2022 match against England.[20]
In January 1990 he was honoured with an MBE by the Queen for his services to rugby league. In October 2005, he was inducted into theRugby Football League Hall of Fame.[21] He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history.[22][23][24]
Whilst playing for Wigan, Hanley had a try out in theWorld League of American Football with theLondon Monarchs in March 1991.[25] It was reported that Hanley would play for the team, but this never materialised.
In 2009, Hanley was one of thirteen celebrities taking part inDancing on Ice, partnered withFrankie Poultney. He was the sixth person to be eliminated from the show.[26]
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| Preceded by | Rugby league transfer record Bradford Northern to Wigan 1985–1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Rugby league transfer record Wigan to Leeds 1991–1992 | Succeeded by |
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