Barrie McDermott
Encyclopedia
Barrie McDermott is an English former professional rugby league
footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A Great Britain international representative , he played his club football at Oldham, Wigan Warriors
, Leeds Rhinos
(with whom he won both a Super League Championship and Challenge Cup
final), Bramley and Widnes.
McDermott later became the Head of Youth Development with his former club, Leeds Rhinos
, and appears as a pundit on Sky Sports
. In 2006 Barrie McDermott was included in the Southstander.com Hall of Fame
.http://leeds.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=12
, McDermott started out with his hometown club oldham before transferring to Wigan
where he won a championship and was first picked to play for Great Britain
. He had originally wished to join the army, but was unable to do so after an accident with an air rifle that caused him to lose an eye. His early career wasn't short of controversy and he has been described as notorious, mostly due to his aggressive style of play. He joined Leeds
in 1995. He missed the Rhinos' 1998 Super League Grand Final
defeat against Wigan. He played in Leeds' first Challenge Cup
final win for 21 years when he played against the London Broncos in 1999. He scored a try at a crucial time in the game in Leeds' 52-16 win which was a record scoreline. In this game Leroy Rivett
set a Challenge Cup record by scoring 4 tries, eclipsing Robbie Paul
's achievement of 3 tries at a Wembley final.barry also use to play foe waterhead rugby
Although Barrie missed the 1998 Grand Final defeat to his old club Wigan he did manage to become only the 22nd Leeds player to win the league championship and the challenge cup in 2004 when he got his hands on the trophy after a bruising encounter between the Rhinos and the Bradford Bulls
. Leeds won the 2004 grand final 16-8 thanks to tries from Matt Diskin
and Danny McGuire
.
In 2005, Barrie's last season with Leeds, he won the World Club Challenge
. The Rhinos won the World Club Challenge against the then National Rugby League
champions the Canterbury Bulldogs
. They won the trophy in front of a record crowd for a World Club Challenge held in Britain. There was a 37,028 strong crowd at Elland road. The Rhinos looked like they were going to go onto more success in 2005 as they reached the Challenge Cup final for the 4th time in 6 years. They were leading 24-19 with a couple of minutes to go when disaster struck as they conceded a Paul Cooke try which Danny Brough
converted to give the men from the east coast the trophy, winning by a point 25-24, The Rhinos' season went from bad to worse as they slipped up in the league allowing Saint Helens to finish top of the table. The Rhinos finished 2nd and so played Saint Helens at Knowsley Road
for the right to go to old trafford and play in the Grand Final. The Rhinos won and so reached their second consecutive Grand Final. They had to wait and see who they would play in the final. Saints played Bradford in the Grand Final Eliminator to see who would play the Rhinos at Old Trafford. The Bulls won so it was a repeat of the 2004 Grand Final - however it wasn't to be a fairytale for the Rhinos and Barrie as the Bulls won the match 15-6.
Barrie played in 2 Grand Finals, 3 Challenge Cup Finals and a World Club Challenge. He won 1 Grand Final winners ring, a Challenge Cup winners medal and a World Club Challenge winners medal. Barrie played 283 games for Leeds scoring 40 tries including 1 hat-trick.
Although he announced his retirement from the game at the end of the 2005 season, McDermott played another year with Widnes
in NL1
. After a season playing with his good friend Terry O'Connor he finally retired in 2006.
Barrie McDermott was a Great Britain
international with 17 caps. McDermott also earned a solitary cap for England
. McDermott went on to represent Ireland
at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup
and went on to earn 15 caps over the years. McDermott has also represented Lancashire in the Origin Series.
His autobiography, Made for Rugby was published in 2004.
at Leeds
took place in 2005.
Even after his playing career was over, McDermott remained involved with the Challenge Cup
, one of the most prestigious knock-out tournaments in the world of rugby league
. Leeds Metropolitan University
, who were the main sponsors of the event in 2009, announced him as their official "Carnegie Ambassador" for the 2009 Challenge Cup
.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A Great Britain international representative , he played his club football at Oldham, Wigan Warriors
Wigan 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....
, Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
(with whom he won both a Super League Championship and 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....
final), Bramley and Widnes.
McDermott later became the Head of Youth Development with his former club, Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
, and appears as a pundit on Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
. In 2006 Barrie McDermott was included in the Southstander.com Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
.http://leeds.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=12
Playing career
A native of OldhamOldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, McDermott started out with his hometown club oldham before transferring to Wigan
Wigan 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....
where he won a championship and was first picked to play for 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"....
. He had originally wished to join the army, but was unable to do so after an accident with an air rifle that caused him to lose an eye. His early career wasn't short of controversy and he has been described as notorious, mostly due to his aggressive style of play. He joined Leeds
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
in 1995. He missed the Rhinos' 1998 Super League Grand Final
Super League Grand Final
The Super League Grand Final is the championship-deciding game of the Super League rugby league football competition...
defeat against Wigan. He played in Leeds' first 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....
final win for 21 years when he played against the London Broncos in 1999. He scored a try at a crucial time in the game in Leeds' 52-16 win which was a record scoreline. In this game Leroy Rivett
Leroy Rivett
Leroy Rivett is an English rugby league player who currently plays for the English National League Two side, Rochdale Hornets as a winger....
set a Challenge Cup record by scoring 4 tries, eclipsing Robbie Paul
Robbie Paul
Robert Rawiri 'Robbie' Hunter-Paul is a New Zealand rugby league player. He currently plays for Leigh Centurions in England. He played for the New Zealand national team 27 times. He is the younger brother of Leeds Carnegie player Henry Paul.-Early years:Born in Tokoroa, New Zealand, his junior...
's achievement of 3 tries at a Wembley final.barry also use to play foe waterhead rugby
Although Barrie missed the 1998 Grand Final defeat to his old club Wigan he did manage to become only the 22nd Leeds player to win the league championship and the challenge cup in 2004 when he got his hands on the trophy after a bruising encounter between the Rhinos and the Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
. Leeds won the 2004 grand final 16-8 thanks to tries from Matt Diskin
Matt Diskin
Matt Diskin is an English professional rugby league footballer for the Bradford Bulls of Super League. A Great Britain and England international representative hooker, he played ten years with Leeds Rhinos, having won four Super League championships with the club, before moving to the Bulls for the...
and Danny McGuire
Danny McGuire
Danny McGuire is an English professional rugby league player who currently plays for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. His preferred position is at /. He has played his entire career to date with the Rhinos, having come through the club's Academy....
.
In 2005, Barrie's last season with Leeds, he won 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...
. The Rhinos won the World Club Challenge against the then National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
champions the Canterbury Bulldogs
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
. They won the trophy in front of a record crowd for a World Club Challenge held in Britain. There was a 37,028 strong crowd at Elland road. The Rhinos looked like they were going to go onto more success in 2005 as they reached the Challenge Cup final for the 4th time in 6 years. They were leading 24-19 with a couple of minutes to go when disaster struck as they conceded a Paul Cooke try which Danny Brough
Danny Brough
Danny Brough is a Dewsbury born English international rugby league footballer.Danny Brough plays for the Huddersfield Giants in Super League. He has also played for the Scotland...
converted to give the men from the east coast the trophy, winning by a point 25-24, The Rhinos' season went from bad to worse as they slipped up in the league allowing Saint Helens to finish top of the table. The Rhinos finished 2nd and so played Saint Helens at Knowsley Road
Knowsley Road
Knowsley Road was a stadium located in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home of St Helens RLFC from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted Liverpool FC Reserves...
for the right to go to old trafford and play in the Grand Final. The Rhinos won and so reached their second consecutive Grand Final. They had to wait and see who they would play in the final. Saints played Bradford in the Grand Final Eliminator to see who would play the Rhinos at Old Trafford. The Bulls won so it was a repeat of the 2004 Grand Final - however it wasn't to be a fairytale for the Rhinos and Barrie as the Bulls won the match 15-6.
Barrie played in 2 Grand Finals, 3 Challenge Cup Finals and a World Club Challenge. He won 1 Grand Final winners ring, a Challenge Cup winners medal and a World Club Challenge winners medal. Barrie played 283 games for Leeds scoring 40 tries including 1 hat-trick.
Although he announced his retirement from the game at the end of the 2005 season, McDermott played another year with Widnes
Widnes Vikings
Widnes Vikings RLFC are an English professional rugby league club based in Widnes, Cheshire. They currently play in the Engage Super League, the top tier of European rugby league, after being awarded a license to compete in the top-flight Super League from 2012 onward...
in NL1
Rugby League National Leagues
The Championship, known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group, is a professional rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. It is currently contested by ten teams from England. It acts as Europe's second-tier competition below the Super League, and has...
. After a season playing with his good friend Terry O'Connor he finally retired in 2006.
Barrie McDermott was a 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"....
international with 17 caps. McDermott also earned a solitary cap 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...
. McDermott went on to represent Ireland
Ireland national rugby league team
The Ireland national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, represent the island of Ireland in rugby league football. The team is organized by Rugby League Ireland and are accredited as an affiliate member of the Rugby League International Federation...
at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup
2000 Rugby League World Cup
The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was the twelfth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was held during October and November of that year in Great Britain, Ireland and France...
and went on to earn 15 caps over the years. McDermott has also represented Lancashire in the Origin Series.
His autobiography, Made for Rugby was published in 2004.
Testimonial match
Barrie McDermott's Testimonial matchTestimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....
at Leeds
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
took place in 2005.
Post-playing
Since retirement, Barrie initially worked in a community role at Leeds Rhinos before joining the Leeds coaching setup where he is currently the Head of Youth Development. He regularly works for Sky Sports, both as a pundit at live games and as an off-field character where he regularly appears in light-hearted features with long-time friend Terry O'Connor. He is also involved in Leeds' corporate entertainment division on match days.Even after his playing career was over, McDermott remained involved with 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....
, one of the most prestigious knock-out tournaments in the world of rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
. Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
, who were the main sponsors of the event in 2009, announced him as their official "Carnegie Ambassador" for the 2009 Challenge Cup
2009 Challenge Cup
The 2009 Carnegie Challenge Cup began in January 2009. The Challenge Cup is the most prestigious knock-out competition in European rugby league. Teams from England, Scotland, Wales, France and Russia are included in the tournament....
.