Michael Nicholas (30 July 1946) is the President of

Wales Rugby League Wales Rugby League is the national governing body for rugby league football in Wales. In 1907 The Welsh Northern Rugby Football Union was formed in Wrexham, but the English Northern Rugby Football Union refused it affiliation as they wanted th ...

. He is a Welsh former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

and 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 played in the 1970s and 1980s, and has coached or been the team manager of the

team since the 1980s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distr ...

. In rugby league (RL) he played for

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 ...

, and the

Cardiff Blue Dragons Cardiff City Blue Dragons were a rugby league team formed in 1981. Their home ground was Ninian Park, which was also used by Cardiff City F.C.. The club spent three seasons in Cardiff before relocating to Bridgend in 1984 as the Bridgend Blu ...

, and at representative Rugby League level for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

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 ...

. He played as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

or second row forward.

Playing career

Club career

Mike Nicholas was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

13-times for

. In the 1973–74 season, Nicholas played as a substitute (replacing David Chisnall), and scored 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 ...

's 27–16 victory over

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 1973–74 Player's No.6 Trophy Final at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

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 ...

on Saturday 9 February 1974, and played left- in

's 24–9 victory over

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "smal ...

in the

1974 Challenge Cup Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

Final 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 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on Saturday 11 May 1974, in front of a crowd of 77,400. During the 1974–75 season, Nicholas did not play in

's 0–0 draw with

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

in the

1974 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

Final, but did play in the replay, which Warrington lost 5–10 at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year lea ...

on Tuesday 28 January 1975. He played as a substitute (replacing right- Thomas Martyn) in the 7–14 defeat by

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 ...

in the 1975 Challenge Cup Final at

on Saturday 10 May 1975, in front of a crowd of 85,998. Nicholas played right-, in the 9–4 victory over

in the 1977–78 Players No.6 Trophy Final during the 1977–78 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 hoste ...

, St. Helens on Saturday 28 January 1978, and played right-, in the 14–16 defeat by

in the 1978–79 John Player Trophy Final during the 1978–79 season at

, St. Helens on Saturday 28 April 1979. Nicholas played as a front-rower in

's 15–12 victory over Australia at

on Wednesday 11 October 1978.

International honours

Nicholas won six

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

while at Warrington. He played in 1975 against France and England, in 1977 against

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 ...

and

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 ...

, in 1978 against France, and in 1979 against England. He was also selected for

for the 1974 Lions tour, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Coaching career

Mike Nicholas was team manager of

at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. Nicholas was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to rugby league in Wales.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Mike Nicholas at eraofthebiff.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Ray French's Wales team profile 2000 Rugby League World CupWales target Aussie shockWelsh club could win pro call-upRowley named Wales League chiefLockyer pleased with warm-up winHammond hammer blow for WalesSuper League Crusaders' move 'can help save Wrexham'New Zealand crush battling WalesHammond hammer blow for WalesNew Zealand crush battling WalesLeague set for five nationsKelly appointed Wales coachStatistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Mike 1946 births Living people Aberavon RFC players Footballers who switched code Members of the Order of the British Empire Rugby league players from Port Talbot Rugby league props Rugby union players from Port Talbot Wales national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Welsh rugby league coaches Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players