Paul Clough (born 27 September 1987), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "Cloughy", is an 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 112 ...

footballer who plays as a or forward for

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 rug ...

in the

RFL Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the Rugby Football League Championship Second Division, second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football Lea ...

and the

England Knights England Knights (previously known as Emerging England and England A) is considered the feeder team for the England rugby league team. The Knights play a key role in the development of emerging talent, allowing players to gain experience in an i ...

at international level. He has previously played in the

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 wh ...

for St Helens, and on loan from St Helens at the

. Clough played for the

Bradford Bulls 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 predom ...

in the

Kingstone Press 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, a ...

Background

He was born in St Helens,

Merseyside, England Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

. He is the younger brother of the rugby league footballer

John Clough John Clough (born 13 September 1984 in St. Helens) is a former rugby league footballer playing over 250 games for Salford City Reds (2001–06), London Broncos, Halifax (2006), Leigh Centurions (2007), Blackpool Panthers (2007-10), Oldham (2 ...

St Helens

In November 2006 Paul Clough was promoted to train full-time with the St Helens' first team squad. He had also been training with the squad in 2005's

Super League X Super League X is the official name of 2005's Super League season. It was the 10th season of the Super League and saw twelve teams from across England compete for the premiership. The season kicked off in early February, culminating in a six t ...

, but his performances saw him included in St Helens elite 25-man squad for the upcoming season. Clough was expected to compete for a regular first team spot over the next few years and was given the number 22 jersey for 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 stagger ...

. Clough was a powerful second rower, a driving force in the tackle, and a player who was already physically

imposing Imposing was a notable Australian thoroughbred racehorse. He was a chestnut son of Todman from the Arctic Explorer mare Hialeah. Some of his major race victories included the 1979 AJC Epsom Handicap, AJC George Main Stakes and the STC Hill S ...

, especially considering his age. The backrower made his

début in July 2005 against

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 ...

. Clough played in the

2008 Super League Grand Final The 2008 Super League Grand Final was the 11th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XIII season. Held on Saturday 4 October 2008, at Old Trafford, Manchester, the match was between League Leaders ...

defeat by the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

. Clough was awarded the number 17 jersey for 2009's

Super League XIV The 2009 Super League season (known as the Engage Super League XIV for sponsorship reasons) is the 14th season of rugby league since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the Minor Premiership over 27 rounds ...

. Clough played in the

2009 Super League Grand Final The 2009 Super League Grand Final was the 12th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XIV season. It was held on Saturday 10 October 2009, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by defend ...

defeat by

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 ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. Clough played in the

2011 Super League Grand Final The 2011 Super League Grand Final was the 14th official Grand Final and the championship-deciding game of the Super League XVI season. It was held on Saturday, 8 October at Manchester, England's Old Trafford stadium. The match was contested by ...

defeat against Leeds at

Bradford Bulls

2015 - 2015 Season Clough signed for the Bradford Bulls on a two-year deal. He featured in the pre-season friendlies against

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

and Leeds. He featured in Round 1 against

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, Staf ...

to Round 20

Hunslet R.L.F.C. Hunslet R.L.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in Hunslet, South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, who play in Betfred League 1. The club was founded in 1973 as New Hunslet, they became Hunslet in 1979 and the club were the Hunslet Hawks ...

then in Round 22 against Leigh to Round 23 Halifax. Clough played in Qualifier 1 against the

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...

to Qualifier 7 Halifax R.L.F.C., Halifax. Clough played in the £1 Million Game 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 Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

. He also featured in the

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 ...

in Round 4

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 and ...

to Round 5

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 ...

. 2016 - 2016 Season Clough did not feature in any of the pre-season friendlies. He featured in Round 6

Batley Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of the ...

to Round 14

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

then in Round 17 Workington Town to Round 19 Halifax R.L.F.C., Halifax. Clough played in the

in the 4th Round

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 ...

Huddersfield Giants

In November 2016 Clough signed for 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 sh ...

on a two-year deal beginning at the start of the 2017

season. He had only played 45 times, scoring one try for Bradford.

Widnes Vikings

On 24 August 2020 it was announced that Clough would join

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 ...

for the 2021 season on a one-year deal

References

External links

Huddersfield Giants profileSt Helens profileSL profileSaints Heritage Society profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clough, Paul 1987 births Living people Bradford Bulls players England Knights national rugby league team players English rugby league players Huddersfield Giants players Rugby articles needing expert attention Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows St Helens R.F.C. players Widnes Vikings players