Kevin Brown (born 2 October 1984) is a former English 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 11 ...
footballer who last played as a for the
Salford Red Devils
The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been t ...
in the
Betfred Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of w ...
. He has played 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 ...
at international level.
He played as a for the
Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League.
Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union followin ...
, and captained both the
Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, the birthplace of rugby league, who play in the Super League competition. They play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium which is sha ...
and the
Widnes Vikings
The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two r ...
in the
Super League. He played for the
Warrington Wolves
The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004.
Founded as Warrington ...
in the top flight, and on loan from
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 ...
at the
Leigh Centurions in the
2019 Betfred Championship.
Club career
Early career
Born in
St Helens, Brown played junior rugby for several teams, including
Thatto Heath Crusaders, Haydock Warriors,
Pilkington Recs and
Blackbrook. Although he initially struggled to impress scouts, he was signed by
Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League.
Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union followin ...
at the age of 16. Brown played for Wigan's academy side in 2002 and 2003.
Brown was called up into the 2002 England Academy squad that beat the Australian Schoolboys in winter 2002. He had originally been included in the stand-by squad, but got his chance following the failure of Hull centre
Kirk Yeaman to recover from a shoulder injury.
Brown was also selected for the Super League U21s squad to face the National League U21s in June 2003. Shortly afterwards, Wigan acknowledged the player's tremendous potential by extending his contract until the end of 2005. Wigan coach
Stuart Raper
Stuart may refer to:
Names
*Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile
* Stuart (automobile)
Places
Australia Generally
*Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory
Northe ...
commented: "I am delighted Kevin has re-signed as he is a big part of my future plans."
Wigan Warriors
In April 2003, due to a significant number of first team injuries, Brown was one of several academy players to make their senior début against his hometown team
St. Helens, appearing as a substitute in a 24–22 victory over St Helens. He scored his first tries later in the season with a hat-trick against
Halifax.
Brown became a first team regular during the 2004's
Super League IX
Tetley's Super League IX was the name of the 2004 Super League championship season due to sponsorship by Tetley's Bitter. This was the 110th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the ninth championship decided by Super ...
, playing almost every game until he fractured his
fibula
The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity i ...
(leg bone) in a match against the
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, betw ...
. Despite injury and shaky form, he signed a new deal in July 2005 keeping him at the Wigan Warriors until the end of the 2007's
Super League XII
Engage Super League XII is the official name for the year 2007's Super League season in the sport of rugby league.
The 2007 season kicked off on the weekend of 2 February 2007 at the Galpharm Stadium. For the first time, the league had a stagge ...
.
Newly appointed
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Ian Millward
Ian "Basil"/"Minibus" Millward (born 22 August 1960) is an Australian rugby league coach, occasional pundit and former player. Millward is now the assistant coach of St George Illawarra in the NRL
Millward is the former head coach of Wigan, S ...
commented: "Kevin is still only 20 and a very exciting player. He is still improving and as he gets better, which I am sure he will, he will be an important part of our attack."
Huddersfield Giants
In June 2006, Brown joined
Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, the birthplace of rugby league, who play in the Super League competition. They play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium which is sha ...
on loan until the end of the season.
On 19 August 2006, Brown made the deal permanent, signing a three-year contract with the club. In 2009, Brown signed a new three-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2012.
Widnes Vikings
In May 2012, it was announced that Brown had signed a four-year contract with
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...
from the 2013 season for an undisclosed fee. He was named at stand-off in the 2014
Super League Dream Team The Super League Dream Team is an annually-selected rugby league All Star Team consisting of the players deemed to have been the best in their respective positions in the Super League competition. The team is selected by a panel of journalists an ...
, and was the first ever Widnes player to be selected in the team. Brown was also named as captain for the 2015 season following the retirement of previous captain
Jon Clarke.
Warrington Wolves
In December 2016 it was announced that Brown had signed a two-year contract with
Warrington Wolves
The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004.
Founded as Warrington ...
for an undisclosed fee.
He played in the
2018 Challenge Cup Final
The 2018 Challenge Cup Final was the 117th cup-deciding game of the rugby league 2018 Challenge Cup Season. It was held at Wembley Stadium in London on 25 August 2018, kick off 15:00. The final was contested by Catalans Dragons and Warrington W ...
defeat by the
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons (French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from outs ...
at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
.
He played in the
2018 Super League Grand Final
The 2018 Super League Grand Final was the 21st official Grand Final and championship-deciding game of Super League XXIII. It was held at Old Trafford in Manchester on 13 October 2018, kick off 18.00. The final was contested by Warrington Wolves ...
defeat by the
Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League.
Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union followin ...
at
Old Trafford.
Leigh Centurions
Brown spent time on loan from Warrington at the
Leigh Centurions in 2019.
Salford
On 17 October 2020, he played in the
2020 Challenge Cup Final defeat for Salford against Leeds at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
.
In round 4 of the
2021 Super League season
Super League XXVI, known as the Betfred Super League XXVI for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the Super League and 127th season of rugby league in Great Britain.
The 2021 season was originally scheduled to begin on 11 March 2021, how ...
, he scored two tries in a 34-8 victory over Leigh. It was Salford's first win of the year after the club had lost the opening three games.
International career
In June 2007 Brown was called up to the
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 i ...
squad for the
Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
He was selected to play for England against France in the one-off test in 2010. He was also a part of England's
Four Nations campaign later in the year.
In October 2016, Brown was selected in the England squad for the
2016 Four Nations. He returned to the international scene where he featured in a
test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
against France, scoring his first international try in the process, in his country's 40-6 win.
Brown was a surprise inclusion in England's
2017 World Cup squad.
He was not selected for the first two group games, with
Gareth Widdop
Gareth Widdop (born 12 March 1989) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League, and England and Great Britain at international level.
Widdop previously played the ...
and
Luke Gale being preferred as the starting halfbacks. Brown has given his first start in the final group game against France, with Widdop moving to the position. He retained his place for the 36–6 quarter final victory over
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, but was substituted at half time after suffering a concussion. He was cleared to play in time for the semi final against
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
,
helping England win 20–18 to reach the World Cup final for the first time in 22 years. Brown started once again at
stand off in the final against
Australia, which England went on to lose 0–6.
Post-playing career
Brown has worked as a pundit for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
since hanging up his boots.