Stephen "Steve" Rule (born 5 June 1952) is an English-born 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 its m ...

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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and current rugby union

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 ...

. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for English Universities Rugby Union and Cheshire Rugby Football Union, and at club level for

Loughborough Students RUFC Loughborough Students Rugby Union Football Club represents Loughborough University in rugby union competition. Of the British universities, Loughborough has unparalleled success, having won the BUCS championship (in its former guises as the B ...

and Sale, as a fly-half, i.e. number 10, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and at club level for Salford and St. Helens ( Heritage No. 961), as a , i.e. number 1, and coached representative level rugby union (RU) for Cheshire Rugby Football Union, and at club level for Sale,

Lymm RFC Lymm Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Lymm, Cheshire. The club runs six senior sides (including two colts teams) and a full range of junior sides, with the first XV currently playing in Regional 1 North West, a fifth ...

New Brighton New Brighton is the name of several places, sports teams etc.: Australia * New Brighton, New South Wales, a town near Ocean Shores Canada * New Brighton, Calgary, Alberta, a neighborhood * New Brighton (Gambier Island), a settlement in British ...

and Macclesfield RUFC.

Background

Steve Rule was born in

Bebington Bebington () is a town and unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula. Ne ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Steve Rule won a cap for

(RL) while at Salford in 1981, qualifying through his grandparents who were born in

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

Rugby union achievements

Steve Rule won the

Universities Athletic Union British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

, Old Belvedere,

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Rugby sevens tournaments with

in 1973, and represented

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 ...

in the Bermuda Classic Tournament in 1989.

Career records

Until extended to 14-goals by

Steve Blakeley Steve Blakeley (born 17 October 1972) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level for England, and at club level for Wigan ( Heritage № 860), Salford/Salford R ...

in 2003, Steve Rule jointly held Salford's "Most goals in a game" record with 13-goals scored against

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

on 4 September 1981, with

Gus Risman Augustus "Gus" John Ferdinand Risman (21 March 1911 – 17 October 1994) was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s through to the 1950s, and coached in the 1940s through to the 1970s. A devastating three-quarter ...

and David Watkins.

Coaching career

In 1991, Rule returned to Sale as a coach. At the time, anyone who had played rugby league professionally were normally banned from any involvement in rugby union, but Rule became one of the first English players to be re-instated by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

. He also went on to coach at Lymm RU,

, and

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

. In 2011, he returned to Lymm as director of rugby.

Outside of rugby

Steve Rule retired from playing rugby in 1985 following a neck injury, and currently works as Head of the Pupil Referral Service at

Wigan Council The Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in the United Kingdom. It consists of 75 Councillors with one-third being elected every three years in four. The borough is separated into 25 war ...

References

External links

Prolfile at saints.org.ukPhotograph 'Steve Rule – Centenary Match 14–10–79 Salford 14 – 14 Widnes' at flickr.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rule, Stephen 1952 births Living people English rugby league players English rugby union coaches English rugby union players Footballers who switched code Loughborough Students RUFC players Lymm RFC players New Brighton F.C. players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Wirral Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Merseyside Sale Sharks coaches Sale Sharks players Salford Red Devils players St Helens R.F.C. players Wales national rugby league team players