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| Full name | Lee Paul Briers[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1978-06-14)14 June 1978 (age 46) St Helens, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 13 st 1 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Scrum-half, Stand-off | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lee Paul Briers (born 14 June 1978) is a professionalrugby league coach who is currently a development coach atSt Helens in theEnglish Super League and assistant coach of theEngland national team.[5]
A formerGreat Britain andWales international, he played the majority of his career atWarrington Wolves in theSuper League as astand-off orscrum-half. He won threeChallenge Cup finals during his time at the club.[3][4]
Widnes vikings (1996)Played with Stuart Johnson
Briers' first experience of first team rugby was on loan atAS Carcassonne for the 1996–97French Rugby League Championship season. While at home for Christmas leave, he played a friendly for St Helens in theirBoxing Day Challenge Match againstWigan Warriors.[6]
Briers made his competitiveSt. Helens on 8 February 1997 in the fourth round match of the1997 Challenge Cup game against Wigan at the age of 18, standing in for suspended captainBobbie Goulding after an emergency player recal from his loan at Carcassonne.[7] Saints won the game 28–12.
From his debut to April of the 1997 season, Briers made six appearances for St Helens, scoring one try and 24 goals. He was dropped from the starting line-up following the return of Goulding.[8]
Briers signed forWarrington Wolves in April 1997 for a fee of £65,000,[9] declining a three-year deal fromAS Carcassonne in the process.[6] He was named Young Player of the Year in his first season atWilderspool Stadium.
Briers was named as captain in 2003 and became known for his excellent kicking skills and his ability to successfully convert drop goals. He currently holds the Super League record, and jointly Warrington all-time record (with Paul Bishop), for the most drop goals in a game (5 againstHalifax atthe Shay in 2002).[10]
Briers'testimonial match atWarrington took place in 2007. He stepped down as captain at the end of the 2007 season.[11]
Briers played in the2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over theLeeds Rhinos atWembley Stadium.[12][13]
The 2011 Super League season was Briers' 14th. During this season he broke a number of club records including top all-time points scorer, having overtaken club greatsBrian Bevan, andSteve Hesford. He broke the record during a Challenge Cup home 112–0 demolition ofSwinton.[14] This match also saw Briers break his own club record for points in a match (set 11 years earlier against York), with 44 points, from 16 goals and three tries.
He played in the2012 Challenge Cup Final victory over theLeeds Rhinos atWembley Stadium.[15][16]
He played in the2012 Super League Grand Final defeat by theLeeds Rhinos atOld Trafford.[17][18]
In 2013, during the second match of the season against Wigan Warriors, Lee suffered a neck injury which saw him sidelined for 13 games. He returned for Warrington's Challenge Cup fifth round tie against Salford City Reds in which he made scored one try and kicked his 1,000th career goal.[citation needed]
He played in the2013 Super League Grand Final defeat by theWigan Warriors atOld Trafford.[19][20]
In November 2013, although Briers had a year remaining on his contract, he announced his retirement due to a neck injury. He played 425 games for Warrington, scoring a club record 2,586 points.[21] Shortly before announcing his retirement, Briers released his autobiography,Off the Cuff.
In 2018, Briers was inducted into Warrington's Hall of Fame.[22]
Having made hisWales début in 1998, Briers went on to make 23 appearances for his country and featured in the2000 Rugby League World Cup. Briers was capped by Great Britain against France in their 42–12 win on 26 October 2001.
Following the Wales team's failure to qualify for the2008 Rugby League World Cup, Briers announced his international retirement.[23]
Briers came out of international retirement to represent Wales in the2010 European Cup, and captained the side to victory in the tournament. He went on to captain Wales in the2011 Four Nations, before once again retiring from international rugby league at the tournament's end.[24]
Following his retirement as a player, Briers became a youth coach atWarrington Wolves before being promoted to Assistant First Team Head Coach in 2018.[25] In 2021 he was signed byWigan Warriors as an Assistant Coach following the sacking ofAdrian Lam. Briers stayed for one season in which Wigan won the2022 Challenge Cup.[26] He was signed byBrisbane Broncos as a Development Coach ahead of the 2023 season.[27] Following the2023 NRL Grand Final, in which Brisbane finished runners-up, Briers was appointed Assistant Coach of theEngland national team ahead of the2023 Tonga tour of England in addition to his role at Brisbane.[28] Briers was not released by Brisbane for England's 2024 mid-season friendly againstFrance.[29]
