Barrie-Jon Mather
Encyclopedia
Barrie-Jon Mather is a former Great Britain national rugby league team
and England Rugby Union
International player. He is best known for being the first Great Britain Rugby League International Player to be capped by England at Rugby Union. He is currently employed by the Rugby Football League
as Head of Player Development.
coast in Lancashire
Barrie-Jon Mather attended Arnold School in Blackpool where he quickly developed as a Rugby Union player. In 1991 he was selected in the England Schools Rugby Union Team which lost a Grand Slam against Wales. Other notable players in that side were future World Cup Winners Matt Dawson
and Richard Hill
.
in 1992. He saw domestic success with Wigan and was a member of the Challenge Cup
Winning side of 1994 as well as a member of the side that defeated the Brisbane Broncos
in the 1994 World Club Challenge
held at Brisbane's ANZ Stadium
. However relations between the two turned sour when Mather claimed his contract was null and void because of the circumstances in which it was signed. Mather eventually took Wigan to Court when they refused to release his registration without a transfer fee following him signing a contract with Western Reds in Australia. However he was unsuccessful in his challenge.
Barrie-Jon Mather is the only player to win Great Britain
caps whilst at the Western Reds.
in October 1997 following the financial problems of the Western Reds. He stated that Stuart Raper
had spoken to him whilst out in Perth for the World Club Challenge
match and convinced him Castleford was the club for him. He played for Castleford for just one season before making a big money switch to rugby union.
in 1998 on a two year deal mainly funded by the RFU
. It was the beginning of a period of recruitment from Rugby League in which the RFU sought to bring some of the best talents to play for England. Mather did not have the best of times with Sale and played for the club until his contract release in 2000. During that time Sale struggled to make an impact in the Premiership
and Mather never lived up to the hype that surrounded his transfer.
in 2000 and in his first season back in Super League he made 16 appearances, scoring 7 tries. An injury hit 2001 restricted him to just 8 appearances in which he scored 2 tries following a full shoulder reconstruction. In 2002 Mather made 21 appearances for the Tigers and scored 7 tries for them. However towards the end of the 2002 season Mather announced that he would retire from Rugby League at the end of the season.
in National One. However his season was cut short when he broke his wrist in a game against Orrell and he was released at the end of the year.
in Japan. Following his time there Mather retired from professional rugby.
between 1994 and 1996 making 3 appearances. He was also selected for England
for the 1995 World Cup where he made 3(2?) appearances including playing in the opening game against Australia.
's England Team
to face Wales
in a Grand Slam
decider on 11 April 1999 at Wembley Stadium. England looked to have the game and the Grand Slam won, but a sensational individual effort from Scott Gibbs
sent England crashing to a 32-31 defeat and the Five Nations Championship went to Scotland
. Mather did not play again for England.
side London Irish. On 11 June 2009 it was announced Mather will become the RFLs
Head of Player Development on 1 July 2009.
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
and England Rugby Union
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
International player. He is best known for being the first Great Britain Rugby League International Player to be capped by England at Rugby Union. He is currently employed by the Rugby Football League
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
as Head of Player Development.
Early years
Being born on the FyldeThe Fylde
The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...
coast in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
Barrie-Jon Mather attended Arnold School in Blackpool where he quickly developed as a Rugby Union player. In 1991 he was selected in the England Schools Rugby Union Team which lost a Grand Slam against Wales. Other notable players in that side were future World Cup Winners Matt Dawson
Matt Dawson
Matthew James Sutherland "Daws" Dawson, MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played scrum half for Wasps and Northampton Saints. During his international career he toured with the British and Irish Lions three times and was part of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side...
and Richard Hill
Richard Hill (flanker)
Richard Hill MBE is a former rugby union footballer who played flanker for Saracens and England.Often portrayed as the 'silent assassin' at both club and international level, his effective and abrasive style of forward play has made him legendary in rugby union circles...
.
Wigan
Despite his school boy success Barrie-Jon Mather decided that his future lay in Rugby League and eventually signed for the Wigan WarriorsWigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
in 1992. He saw domestic success with Wigan and was a member of the Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
Winning side of 1994 as well as a member of the side that defeated the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
in the 1994 World Club Challenge
1994 World Club Challenge
The 1994 MMI World Club Challenge was a replay of the 1992 World Club Challenge, with 1993–94 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan facing the 1993 NSWRL season premiers, the Brisbane Broncos, this time in Australia. Wigan were clearly the dominant club in the English game, having won the...
held at Brisbane's ANZ Stadium
Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
The Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre , more commonly known by its former names ANZ Stadium or QE II, is a major sporting facility on the south side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
. However relations between the two turned sour when Mather claimed his contract was null and void because of the circumstances in which it was signed. Mather eventually took Wigan to Court when they refused to release his registration without a transfer fee following him signing a contract with Western Reds in Australia. However he was unsuccessful in his challenge.
Western Reds
Mather played a summer stint for the Western Reds in 1995 while at Wigan and fell in love with the Australian way of life. He eventually signed a three year deal with the club but was unable to complete the move as he claimed to be a free agent but Wigan retained his registration. After a bitter Court battle he was eventually transferred from Wigan to Perth for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £100,000. After two mixed seasons in the NRL in which he scored 5 tries for the Club, the Western Reds suffered financial difficulties and Mather was released.Barrie-Jon Mather is the only player to win Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
caps whilst at the Western Reds.
Castleford Tigers
Mather signed for Castleford TigersCastleford Tigers
Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club based in Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. They participate in the professional European competition Super League. They are sometimes known as 'Cas', 'Cas Tigers', 'Classy Cas' or the 'Black & Amber'...
in October 1997 following the financial problems of the Western Reds. He stated that Stuart Raper
Stuart Raper
Stuart Raper is an Australian former professional rugby league player and coach. He has since become a sideline commentator for the NRL with Foxsports...
had spoken to him whilst out in Perth for the World Club Challenge
World Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league football match held between the champions of the Australasian National Rugby League and the European Super League competitions to determine the world's best rugby league club...
match and convinced him Castleford was the club for him. He played for Castleford for just one season before making a big money switch to rugby union.
Sale
Mather joined Sale SharksSale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
in 1998 on a two year deal mainly funded by the RFU
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
. It was the beginning of a period of recruitment from Rugby League in which the RFU sought to bring some of the best talents to play for England. Mather did not have the best of times with Sale and played for the club until his contract release in 2000. During that time Sale struggled to make an impact in the Premiership
Guinness Premiership
The English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...
and Mather never lived up to the hype that surrounded his transfer.
Back At Castleford
Mather returned to Castleford TigersCastleford Tigers
Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club based in Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. They participate in the professional European competition Super League. They are sometimes known as 'Cas', 'Cas Tigers', 'Classy Cas' or the 'Black & Amber'...
in 2000 and in his first season back in Super League he made 16 appearances, scoring 7 tries. An injury hit 2001 restricted him to just 8 appearances in which he scored 2 tries following a full shoulder reconstruction. In 2002 Mather made 21 appearances for the Tigers and scored 7 tries for them. However towards the end of the 2002 season Mather announced that he would retire from Rugby League at the end of the season.
Return to Union
Following his retirement from Rugby League, Mather returned to Rugby Union signing a one year deal with CoventryCoventry R.F.C.
Coventry Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, England. The club enjoyed national success during the 1960s and the 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries....
in National One. However his season was cut short when he broke his wrist in a game against Orrell and he was released at the end of the year.
Japan
In 2003 it was announced Mather had signed a 12 month deal to play for KubotaKubota Spears
Kubota Spears is a Japanese rugby union team which is based in Funabashi, Chiba and they play in the Top League.Their slogan for the 2006 season was FIGHT ON.-2011-12 Squad:...
in Japan. Following his time there Mather retired from professional rugby.
International Rugby League
Mather represented Great BritainGreat Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
between 1994 and 1996 making 3 appearances. He was also selected for England
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
for the 1995 World Cup where he made 3(2?) appearances including playing in the opening game against Australia.
International Rugby Union
Despite struggling for form with his club Sale, Mather was a surprise call into Clive WoodwardClive Woodward
Sir Clive Ronald Woodward OBE is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is currently the British Olympic Association's Director of Elite Performance.-Early life:Woodward was born in Ely...
's England Team
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
to face Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
in a Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
decider on 11 April 1999 at Wembley Stadium. England looked to have the game and the Grand Slam won, but a sensational individual effort from Scott Gibbs
Scott Gibbs
Scott Gibbs is a former rugby footballer who represented Wales and the Lions in rugby union and Wales and Great Britain in rugby league...
sent England crashing to a 32-31 defeat and the Five Nations Championship went to Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
. Mather did not play again for England.
Coaching
Following his retirement after a 12 months spell in Japan, Mather was appointed coach of Blackpool RFC in the North Lancs One, following this he became Head Coach at Heaton Moor Rugby. In 2006 Mather was appointed Academy Coach at Guinness PremiershipGuinness Premiership
The English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...
side London Irish. On 11 June 2009 it was announced Mather will become the RFLs
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
Head of Player Development on 1 July 2009.