James "Jamie" Peacock is an English professional
rugby leagueRugby 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 for the
Leeds RhinosLeeds 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...
of the European
Super LeagueSuper League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
. A Great Britain and England representative prop forward, he has won championships with Leeds and Bradford, whom he previously played for.
Bradford Bulls
Peacock is a product of the
Bradford BullsBradford 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....
junior programme, but first began playing rugby with
Stanningley SARLC having been born and brought up in Leeds. On his way to becoming a first team regular for the Bradford Bulls Jamie spent a month on loan at
Featherstone RoversFeatherstone Rovers are a semi-professional rugby league club, based in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. They currently play in the Championship. The Rovers are one of the last vestiges of "small town teams" that were once common in rugby league during the early twentieth century...
and that season made four appearances and scored one try. He also enjoyed a spell at
University of WollongongThe University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...
in Australia as he learned his rugby trade.
He made his Super League debut in 1999 for Bradford, making two starts and 16 substitute appearances for the club, scoring six tries. However, it was the following year that he really cemented his place in the side helping the Bulls to Rugby League
Challenge CupThe 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....
success over Leeds at
MurrayfieldMurrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...
. During his time with the Bulls he won every honour available, with Grand Final, Challenge Cup and
World Club ChallengeThe 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...
honours to his credit with Peacock recognised as being one of the key ingredients of this success. He has rightly gained a reputation as one of the best forwards in world rugby and is a player who has gained respect from not just the fans but the critics as well as his peers, winning such accolades as Man of Steel, Players’ Player of the Year and Rugby League Writers’ Player of the Year.
In 2002, saw Peacock played in the Bulls World Club Challenge success over
Newcastle KnightsThe Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
and made 30 appearances as the Bulls again returned to Old Trafford only to lose out to a
Sean LongSean Long is an English former professional rugby league and current rugby union footballer with Preston Grasshoppers. He has played for Wigan, Widnes and Hull but is best known for playing for St Helens in the Super League. Internationally he has represented England and Great Britain at /...
drop goal. However, the Bulls were unstoppable as they captured the Challenge Cup, League Leaders and Grand Final trophies ahead of Leeds and Wigan respectively and Peacock was named Players Player of the Year, Rugby League Writers Player of the Year and Man of Steel.
The Bulls once again lifted the World Club Challenge trophy, defeating
Penrith PanthersThe Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
at the start of 2004 and battled all the way with the Rhinos to Old Trafford were Leeds finally got the advantage over their old nemesis. Peacock was honoured with the captaincy at Bradford in his final year at Odsal and helped the side claim the 2005 Super League Trophy when the side defeated the Rhinos in the final at Old Trafford.
He played in the 2008 Super League Grand Final victory over St Helens.
International honours
Jamie Peacock won caps for England while at Bradford Bulls in the
2000 Rugby League World CupThe 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...
against Russia, Fiji, Ireland (sub), and New Zealand (sub), in 2001 against Wales, while at Leeds Rhinos in 2008 against France, in the
2008 Rugby League World CupThe 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
against Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand (2 matches), in 2009 against France (2 matches), Australia, New Zealand, and Australia, and won caps for Great Britain while at Bradford Bulls in 2001 against Australia (2 matches), and Australia (sub), in 2002 against Australia, New Zealand, and New Zealand (sub) (2 matches), in 2003 against Australia (3 matches), in 2004 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand, in 2005 against Australia (2 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches), while at Leeds Rhinos in 2006 against New Zealand (3 matches), and Australia (2 matches), in 2007 against New Zealand (3 matches).
England
Peacock earned himself a place in
John KearJohn Kear is an English rugby league coach and former rugby league player. Kear is currently the coach of Batley Bulldogs...
’s England side for the
2000 World CupThe 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...
. He made four appearances in the World Cup that year, scoring an impressive six tries which including a hat trick against
Fiji-Competitions:Fiji have participated in:*Pacific Cup *World Cup *World Sevens *Superleague World Nines *Superleague Oceania Tournament *Pacific Rim Competition -Results:...
at
HeadingleyHeadingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
.
On 16 June 2008, Peacock was announced as the England captain for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
He has been named in the England squad for the
2008 Rugby League World CupThe 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
.
He was selected to play for England against France in the one-off test in 2010.
Great Britain
In 2001, he capped the season by making his Great Britain debut against Australia scoring a try after just 86 seconds of his debut in the first test victory at Huddersfield. He has since become a permanent presence in the Great Britain squad making 14 appearances, all but three of which have been in the starting line up. Peacock was made captain of Great Britain for the 2005 and 2006 Gillette Tri-Nations tournaments due to injuries to
Paul SculthorpePaul Sculthorpe , is an English retired rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A Great Britain international representative /, and /, he played club football for St. Helens, with whom he won a total of four Grand Finals, three Challenge Cups and two World Club Challenges...
. Peacock had a good tri nations being named the best forward in the world.
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds born Peacock joined the club he supported as a boy in 2006 from local rivals Bradford Bulls. He made his Rhinos debut against Huddersfield on the opening day of the season.
Peacock played a starring role in Leeds' 33-6 Grand Final defeat of then reigning champions' St Helens. He played a full 80 minutes to win his 4th Super League champions ring.
He has been named in the
Super League Dream TeamThe Super League Dream Team is an award given each season to the players deemed to have been the best in their position in the Super League by a panel of journalists and broadcasters....
for both the
2008Engage Super League XIII was the official name, due to sponsorship, for the 2008 Super League season by Engage Mutual. Twelve teams competed for the Minor Premiership over 27 rounds after which, the top 6 finishing teams entered the play-offs where they competed for a place in the Grand Final and...
&
2009The 2009 Super League season is the fourteenth season of rugby league since the Super League format was introduced in 1996...
season.
Jamie signed a new one year deal at
LeedsLeeds 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 July 2011.
External links