Keith Hepworth (born c. 1942), also known by the nickname of 'Heppy', is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed in the 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, Yorkshire and Commonwealth XIII, and at club level for Castleford, Leeds and Hull FC, as a , and coached at club level for Bramley and Hull FC.

Playing career

Castleford

Hepworth played in Castleford's victory in the Yorkshire County League during the 1964–65 season. Hepworth played , and scored a goal in Castleford's 7-2 victory over Swinton in the

1966 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

final during the 1966–67 season on Tuesday 20 December 1966, and played in the 8-5 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Sta ...

in the 1967 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy final during the 1967–68 season on Saturday 16 January 1968. Hepworth played , and scored a try in Castleford's 11-6 victory over Salford in the

1969 Challenge Cup This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

final during the 1968–69 season on Saturday 17 May 1969, and played , in the 7-2 victory over Wigan in the

1970 Challenge Cup Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condi ...

final during the 1969–70 season on Saturday 9 May 1970. Keith Hepworth's collision with Wigan's

Colin Tyrer Colin Tyrer is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a goal-kicking for Leigh, Wigan, Barrow and Hull Kingston Rovers, and also made three representative appearances for Lancashire. Playing career Challenge Cup ...

, left Tyrer with a broken jaw.Harry Edgar ''Rugby League In The Seventies'', Rugby League Journal Publishing, 29 November 2013. . page-30. Hepworth's Testimonial match at Castleford took place in 1968. He was named as a Castleford Tigers Hall Of Fame Inductee.

Leeds

In October 1971, Leeds signed Hepworth from Castleford for a fee of £4,000. Hepworth played in Leeds' 13-16 defeat by St. Helens in the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1971–72 season on Saturday 13 May 1972. Hepworth played , and was man of the match in Leeds' 12-7 victory over Salford in the 1972–73 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1972–73 season at Fartown Ground, Huddersfield on Saturday 24 March 1973. Hepworth played in Leeds' 36-9 victory over

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

in the

1972 Yorkshire Cup Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condi ...

final during the 1972–73 season on Saturday 7 October 1972, and played , and was man of the match winning the White Rose Trophy in the 7-2 victory over Wakefield Trinity in the

1973 Yorkshire Cup Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. P ...

final during the 1973–74 season on Saturday 20 October 1973. After losing his first team place to

Peter Banner Peter Banner was an English-born architect and builder who designed the Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts, and other buildings in New England in the early 19th century. Life and career Banner trained in London, and moved to America. I ...

at the start of the 1976–77 season, Hepworth was transfer listed by Leeds, and was eventually sold to

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

Hull

Hepworth played in Hull FC's 13-3 victory over Hull Kingston Rovers in the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy The BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy (also known as the BBC 2 Television Trophy) was a competition for British rugby league clubs held between 1965 and 1980. It was designed specifically for television, and the then director of BBC2, broadcaster David Att ...

Final during the 1979-80 season on Tuesday 18 December 1979.

Representative honours

Hepworth won caps for Yorkshire playing in the 33-10 victory over Lancashire at Hull FC's stadium on 23 September 1964, the 3-19 defeat by Cumberland at Hull Kingston Rovers' stadium on 8 September 1965, the 15-9 victory over New Zealand at Castleford's stadium on 20 September 1965, the 34-23 victory over Cumberland at Castleford's stadium on 25 October 1967, the 12-14 defeat by Lancashire at Salford's stadium on 3 September 1969, and the 34-8 victory over Lancashire at Castleford's stadium on 24 February 1971. Hepworth represented Commonwealth XIII while at Castleford in 1965 against New Zealand at Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre, London on Wednesday 18 August 1965, and won caps for Great Britain while at Castleford in 1967 against France (2 matches); in 1970 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches), and in the

1970 Rugby League World Cup The fifth Rugby League World Cup was held in Great Britain in 1970. Britain, fresh from defeating Australia in the Rugby League Ashes, Ashes during their Australasian tour earlier in the year (the last time as of 2017 that they would win The Ash ...

against Australia, France, New Zealand, and Australia.

Coaching career

Hepworth coached Bramley between 1980 and 1982, and occasionally made appearances as a player for the club. At the end of the 1981–82 season, his contract was not renewed and the club appointed Maurice Bamford as his replacement. In 1988 Hepworth was joint team manager of Hull F.C. with Tony Dean (former coach of Wakefield Trinity).

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)Photograph "Mumby tackled without the ball - Keith Mumby tackled by John Holmes without the ball - Date: 20/08/1978" at rlhp.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hepworth, Keith 1940s births Living people English rugby league players Rugby league players from Castleford Rugby league halfbacks English rugby league coaches Castleford Tigers players Leeds Rhinos players Hull F.C. players Yorkshire rugby league team players Great Britain national rugby league team players Bramley R.L.F.C. coaches Hull F.C. coaches