Matthew Russell (born 6 June 1993) is a Scottish 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 plays as a or er 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

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 ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

at international level. He previously played 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 ...

in the Super League, and on loan from

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the 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 north-east and Warrington t ...

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

in the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

. Russell spent a season with the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

in the NRL. He later played for the

in the Super League, and spent time 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 Swinton Lions 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 ...

. Russell also played for the

Toronto Wolfpack The Toronto Wolfpack are a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario, who compete in the North American Rugby League. The club originally competed in the British rugby league system but withdrew in the 2020 Super Leagu ...

in the

Betfred Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football League, the governing body for the sport in England, ...

and the top flight.

Background

Russell was born in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland.

Career

Russell's Super League career started with

, playing some games on loan to

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

. He then agreed a two-year deal with Australian NRL team, the

, but returned to England a season later. On 16 April 2014, the entertaining, fast running Scottish fullback, signed a new three-year deal that would keep him at

until November 2017. He played in the 2016 Challenge Cup Final defeat by

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

2016 Super League Grand Final The 2016 Super League Grand Final was the 19th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XXI season. It was held on Saturday 8 October 2016, at Old Trafford, Manchester, with a 6pm kick-off time. Bri ...

defeat by

at Old Trafford. He later signed a two-year deal with Championship club

. On 9 November 2020 it was announced that Russell would join Leigh for the 2021 season. On 6 November 2021, it was reported that he had signed for

Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The ...

in the Super League In round 1 of the 2022 Super League season, Russell scored Toulouse Olympique's first ever try in the competition, however it was not enough as they were defeated 42-14 by

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 ...

International career

Russell was named in the

squad for the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's Festival of World ...

. He was one of the star players in the tournament. In 2016, Russell was part of Scotland's Four Nations campaign, where he scored a try in their second game against England. He also played in the historic game against New Zealand, where Scotland's 18-18 draw saw them become the first 'fourth nation' to earn a point since the Four Nations series inaugurated in 2009.

References

External links

Toronto Wolfpack profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
Profile at warringtonwolves.comStatistics at rugby-league.com
Statistics at rugby-league.com
-> *(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at rugby-league.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at rlwc2017.comScotland profileScotland RL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Matty 1993 births Living people Hull F.C. players Leigh Centurions players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Irvine, North Ayrshire Scotland national rugby league team players Scottish rugby league players Swinton Lions players Toronto Wolfpack players Toulouse Olympique players Warrington Wolves players Wigan Warriors players