Henderson Gill (born 16 January 1961) is an English former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer. He played for

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

and

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

and

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...

in the

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

competition. Gill primarily played on the during his career. He was capped 15 times for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

between 1981 and 1988.

Background

Henderson Gill was born in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England. Gill's parents were originally from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

, and moved to England in the 1950s. He attended Royds Hall High School, where he began playing

Career

Early career

Gill made his senior debut for

in September 1978 against Barrow. Gill made only occasional appearances for the first team, as

David Barends David "Dave" Barends (birth unknown) is a South African professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and Other Nationalities, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity ...

and

David Redfearn David Redfearn (born 1951) is an English former professional World Cup winning rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Bradford Northern, as a , ...

were firmly established as the club's first choice wingers. In 1979, Gill suffered a serious knee injury, which further hampered his progress. In 1980, he was sold to Second Division club

for a fee of £9,000. Gill quickly established himself in the first team at Rochdale, scoring 15 tries for the club during the 1980–81 season. His performances caught the attention of Wigan, who signed him in October 1981 for a fee of £30,000.

Wigan

Gill's first honours for the club came in the 1982–83 season, scoring a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in Wigan's 15–4 victory over

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in the 1982–83 John Player Trophy Final at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

on Saturday 22 January 1983. In the following season, he played at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

for the first time in the

1983–84 Challenge Cup The 1983–84 Challenge Cup was the 83rd staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. Known as the State Express Challenge Cup due to sponsorship by State Express 555, the final was contested by Widnes and Wigan at Wem ...

final, but Wigan lost 6–19 against

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

. Gill scored a

's 18–26 defeat by St. Helens in the 1984 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1984–85 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

, on Sunday 28 October 1984. He played in his second Challenge Cup final in 1984–85, and this time was on the winning side, scoring a memorable try in the 28–24 victory against Hull. Gill played in the 11–8 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...

in the 1985–86 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1985–86 season at

on Saturday 11 January 1986, Gill played , and scored 5-

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

s in

's 27–6 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

in the

1986 Lancashire Cup The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Final during the 1986–87 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens 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 ...

, St. Helens, on Sunday 19 October 1986, and scored two tries and a

in the 18–4 victory over

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

in the 1986–87 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1986–87 season at

Burnden Park Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup Final replay, it was the scene in 1946 of one of the greatest disasters in English footba ...

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

on Saturday 10 January 1987. Gill played on the wing for Wigan in their

1987 World Club Challenge The 1987 World Club Challenge (also known as the 1987 Foster's World Club Challenge due to sponsorship by brewers, Foster's) was the second game of its kind to be played between Britain's and Australia's domestic rugby league champion clubs. Ch ...

victory against the visiting

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

, won 8–2 by the home side in a try-less game. He scored a

in the 28–16 victory

in the

1987 Lancashire Cup File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Final during the 1987–88 season at

, St. Helens, on Sunday 11 October 1987. Henderson finished his Wigan career with 145 tries, and was also an occasional goal-kicker for the club, scoring over 100 goals.

International honours

Gill first international honours came shortly after signing for Wigan in 1981, when he was called up for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as a replacement for

John Joyner John D. Joyner (), also known by the nickname of "JJ", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England a ...

. He scored a try in the 20–15 win against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. He also represented

15 times between 1981 and 1988, and was selected to go on the

1988 Great Britain Lions tour The 1988 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 18th tour of Australasia and took place from May to July 1988. It started with a Test match against Papua New Guinea before the best-of-three series against Austr ...

of Australasia. He scored two tries in a 26–12 win against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the Third Test of the series, with the game being most remembered for Gill's dancing celebration after scoring his second try, described as "a bit of a boogie" by the Australian TV commentator. His last Test was against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

References

External links

Henderson Gill Statistics at wigan.rlfans.comHenderson Gill at wiganwarriors.comWigan profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Henderson 1961 births Living people Black British sportsmen English expatriate sportspeople in Australia Bradford Bulls players Bramley RLFC players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league players from Huddersfield Rugby league wingers South Sydney Rabbitohs players Wigan Warriors players Yorkshire rugby league team players English sportspeople of Barbadian descent Expatriate rugby league players in Australia English expatriate rugby league players