Terrence Flanagan
MBE (born 27 November 1960) is an English former professional
rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, usually as a . He played at representative level for
Great Britain and
Lancashire, and at club level for
Oldham.
Early life
Born in
Oldham, Flanagan attended
St Anselm’s school in
Werneth. He played junior
rugby league for
Saddleworth Rangers.
Rugby league career
Oldham
Flanagan turned professional in 1979, signing for hometown club,
Oldham. He helped the team win promotion to the First Division, and became the club's youngest-ever captain, aged 19.
Oldham were relegated back to the Second Division in
1980–81, but Flanagan led the team to promotion again in
1981–82, with the team going on a 21 game unbeaten run and losing only twice on their way to winning the Second Division championship.
He played in
Oldham's 6–27 defeat by
Wigan in the
1986–87 Lancashire Cup Final during the
1986–87 season at
Knowsley Road,
St Helens on Sunday 19 October 1986.
In the following season, he helped Oldham win the
1987–88 Divisional Premiership, scoring a try in the 28–26 win against
Featherstone Rovers.
Flanagan's
Testimonial match at
Oldham took place in 1989. In 2005, he was inducted into Oldham's Hall of Fame.
Swinton
In January 1990, Flanagan was transferred to
Swinton in exchange for winger, Derek Bate. He retired from the sport at the age of 30 due to a neck injury.
International honours
Flanagan won four
caps for
Great Britain. He played in two matches against
France in 1983, and against New Zealand and Papua New Guinea on the
1984 Great Britain Lions tour
The 1984 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 17th tour of Australasia and took place from May to August 1984. A total of 24 matches were played against local club and representative sides during the tour, inc ...
.
Coaching
In 1995, Flanagan volunteered to coach the inaugural
Ireland rugby league team, and coached the team during the
1995 Emerging Nations tournament
The 1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations World Championship was held alongside the Centenary Rugby League World Cup. Although the competition received little build-up or promotion, the novelty value of the teams taking part encouraged relatively ...
.
Charity work
In 2014, Flanagan received the
Mike Gregory Spirit of Rugby League award in recognition of his charity work.
He was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the
2017 Birthday Honours
The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...
for services to rugby league and to charity in the North West.
Personal life
Terry Flanagan is the son of the rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s for
Oldham,
Broughton Rangers/
Belle Vue Rangers
Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one rugby clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton, Salford, but in 1933 moved to Gorton, Mancheste ...
and
Castleford;
William "Bill" Flanagan, the younger brother of rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s for
Oldham;
Kevin Flanagan, and the father of the rugby league footballer;
Mark Flanagan.
References
External links
Profile at orl-heritagetrust.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Terry
1960 births
Living people
English rugby league players
Great Britain national rugby league team players
Ireland national rugby league team coaches
Lancashire rugby league team players
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Oldham R.L.F.C. captains
Oldham R.L.F.C. players
Rugby league locks
Rugby league players from Oldham
Swinton Lions players