Brian McDermott (rugby league)

Brian G. McDermott (born 16 March 1970) is an English professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Toronto Wolfpack in the Super League, and a former professional player.[1][4]

Brian McDermott
Personal information
Full nameBrian G. McDermott
Born (1970-03-16) 16 March 1970
Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1994–2003 Bradford Bulls 251 33 0 0 132
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1996–1998 Great Britain 4 0 0 0 0
2001 England 1 0 0 0 0
Yorkshire
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2006–2010 Harlequins RL 115 42 3 70 37
2011–2018 Leeds Rhinos 265 162 6 97 61
2019– Toronto Wolfpack 29 28 0 1 97
Total 409 232 9 168 57
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2015–2018 USA 3 2 0 1 67
As of 15 May 2018
Source: [1][2][3][4]

He was previously the head coach of the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League and of the USA national team.[5] Nicknamed 'Big Mac', McDermott was a Great Britain international forward who played his entire career at club level for Bradford Bulls, winning Super League Grand Finals and Challenge Cups with them.

He began his coaching career in 2003 as an assistant at Huddersfield Giants, taking his first senior coaching role with Harlequins RL in 2006, before joining Leeds as head coach in 2010. McDermott coached Leeds to several major trophies including the 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017 Super League titles, the 2012 World Club Challenge, and the 2014 and 2015 Challenge Cups.

Background

McDermott was born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He played amateur rugby league as a junior for Eastmoor RLFC and was a Royal Marine for five years before becoming a professional player.

Playing career

1990s

McDermott joined Bradford Northern (later Bradford Bulls) in 1994, where he stayed for 10 years. He played for Bradford at prop forward in their 1996 Challenge Cup final loss to St. Helens.[6] He played for Bradford Bulls from the interchange bench in the 1999 Super League Grand Final which was lost to St Helens.

McDermott won a cap for England in 2001 against Wales,[2] and won caps for Great Britain in 1996 against Fiji, and 3 in 1997 against Australia (Super League).[3]

2000s

McDermott played for the Bradford Bulls at prop in their 2001 Super League Grand Final victory against the Wigan Warriors. As Super League VI champions, the Bradford Bulls played against 2001 NRL Premiers, the Newcastle Knights in the 2002 World Club Challenge. McDermott played as a prop forward in Bradford's victory. He also played for Bradford from the interchange bench in their 2002 Super League Grand Final loss against St Helens. After ending his playing career in 2003, McDermott moved into coaching.

McDermott in charge of Harlequins Rugby League

Coaching career

Harlequins RL

McDermott had spells on the coaching staff at Super League clubs Huddersfield Giants and Leeds before accepting his first top-flight head coaching role at Harlequins in July 2006, replacing Tony Rea. McDermott won his first match as a head coach against Castleford Tigers. He went on to claim 5 wins and 4 losses in the remainder of 2006.

McDermott remained at Harlequins for a further four seasons but the team decreased in performance, dropping from 7th to 9th then 9th again then 11th and finally to 13th and did notmake the play-offs in any of those years, with most seasons seeing a second half collapse; the 7th-place finish in 2006 being his highest with Harlequins.

Leeds Rhinos

McDermott left Harlequins and returned to Leeds at the end of the 2010 season. On 25 October 2010, following the resignation of incumbent coach Brian McClennan, it was announced that McDermott would take over as head coach at Headingley on a three-year contract.

McDermott coached Leeds to the 2011 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Wigan Warriors at Wembley Stadium.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

However, McDermott guided Leeds to 2011 Super League Grand Final victory over St. Helens at Old Trafford,[22][23] after finishing in 5th place in the league.

McDermott replicated the same feat in 2012, where Leeds won the World Club Challenge against Manly Sea Eagles.

He coached the Rhinos to their 2012 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.[24][25][26][27]

Two months later, the two sides met again in the 2012 Super League Grand Final which Leeds won for the sixth time in nine years with the victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford[28][25] and making it two out of two for McDermott in his first two years as head coach.

By coincidence, on 12 April 2013 Leeds United announced their new manager as Brian McDermott, meaning that both the rugby league and football teams in the city of Leeds had managers with the same name. Both sides also had players by the name of Ryan Hall at the same time, one a 25-year-old winger for the rugby league side, the other a 25-year-old winger for Leeds United.

In 2014 McDermott coached Leeds in the 2014 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Castleford Tigers at Wembley Stadium,[29] their first Challenge Cup win since 1999.

They were knocked out of the playoffs against Catalans Dragons after finishing 6th in the league, their worst position since 1996.

In 2015 McDermott coached Leeds to a historic treble, winning the Challenge Cup 50-0,[30][31][32] scoring a last second try against Huddersfield Giants to win the League Leaders' Shield, and beating Wigan Warriors in a major final for the first time by 22-20 in the 2015 Super League Grand Final victory at Old Trafford.[33]

McDermott was a nominee for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award at the end of the season.

The Rhinos endured a difficult season in 2016 as they were flooded out of their training ground for the first half of the season and suffered a run of injuries that left them having to fight against relegation in the Qualifiers.

At the start of 2017, with only the addition of Matt Parcell to the Rhinos' squad from the previous year, they finished runners up to Castleford Tigers in the table. They then beat the Castleford Tigers in the 2017 Grand Final at Old Trafford, with long-serving players Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire leaving the club as champions.[34][35][36]

After a run of seven losses in a row, the club sacked McDermott as head coach in July 2018.

USA

In 2015, McDermott was named head coach of the United States national team, combining the job with his role at Leeds.[37] His first outing as coach of the USA Hawks was in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers, in which he guided the United States to victories over Jamaica and Canada, and subsequently qualified for the 2017 World Cup. After qualifying for the tournament he announced he was to stay on as the US coach until at least the end of the 2017 World Cup.[38]

Honours

Player

Coach

References
  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. Brian McDermott: Leeds Rhinos coach takes on USA role
  6. "steveprescottfoundation.co.uk". Steve Prescott Stats. Steve Prescott Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  7. "Wigan edge thrilling cup final". uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. 27 August 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  8. Scott, Ged (27 August 2011). "Wigan's Challenge Cup win a team effort - Joel Tomkins". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  9. skysports.com (27 August 2011). "Maguire salutes Wembley heroes". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  10. ESPN staff (27 August 2011). "Challenge Cup glory for Wigan Warriors". espn.co.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  11. wiganwarriors.com (28 August 2011). "Wigan are 2011 Cup Champions". rleague.com. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  12. Scott, Ged (27 August 2011). "Leeds 18-28 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  13. Wilson, Andy (27 August 2011). "Leeds Rhinos 18-28 Wigan Warriors – Challenge Cup final match report". The Guardian. London.
  14. therfl.co.uk (28 August 2011). "Challenge Cup: Lima inspires Wigan win". rleague.com. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  15. Brown, Oliver (27 August 2011). "Challenge Cup final: Leeds Rhinos 18 Wigan Warriors 28". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  16. Chisnall, Craig (28 August 2011). "Lima double inspires Wigan to Cup win". Wide World of Sports. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  17. Henson, Mike (27 August 2011). "Challenge Cup final - as it happened". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  18. Brown, Oliver (28 August 2011). "Challenge Cup final 2011: Wigan's warrior spirit shades controversy in emphatic win over Leeds Rhinos". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  19. Press Association (27 August 2011). "Wigan edge thrilling cup final". Free Press. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  20. "O'Loughlin savours special cup win". uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  21. bbc.co.uk (30 August 2011). "Wigan's Sam Tomkins punished for gesture at Leeds fans". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  22. "Leeds claim Grand Final glory as inspired Rob Burrow sinks St Helens". Guardian. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  23. "St Helens 16 Leeds 32". Daily Telegraph. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  24. "Warrington's battered Brett Hodgson recovers to see off Leeds in final". Guardian UK. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  25. "Leeds' Kevin Sinfield stars in Grand Final triumph against Warrington". Guardian. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  26. "Leeds Rhinos 18–35 Warrington Wolves". BBC Sport. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  27. "Warrington Wolves Are Challenge Cup Winners 2012!". Warrington Wolves Official Site. 25 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  28. "Grand Final: Warrington 18-26 Leeds". BBC Sport. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  29. "Leeds lift Challenge Cup after Ryan Hall's double stuns Castleford". Guardian. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  30. "Leeds emphatically shut out Hull KR to lift Challenge Cup". Guardian. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  31. "Scoreboard". Rugby Leaguer & League Express (2982). 31 August 2015. p. 31.
  32. "Challenge Cup final: Hull KR 0-50 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  33. "Leeds pip Wigan to seal treble after brilliant, breathless Grand Final". Guardian. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  34. "Castleford 6-24 Leeds: Grand Final 2017 – as it happened". Guardian. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  35. "Grand Final 2017: Castleford 6-24 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  36. "Danny McGuire guides Leeds to Grand Final success over Castleford". Guardian. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  37. McDermott lands USA head coach role
  38. McDermott to coach USA at World Cup
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