Keith John Fielding (born 8 July 1949) is an English dual-code international

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 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a winger. He played representative level rugby union for

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 at club level for

Moseley Rugby Football Club Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club is an English rugby union club, based in Birmingham, that compete in the third tier of English rugby. They were historically the premier rugby club in Birmingham, reaching the final of the John Player Cup three ti ...

before switching to rugby league in 1973, and went on to play representative level rugby league for

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 ...

and

, and at club level for

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 ...

Rugby union career

Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, Fielding attended

King Edward VI Five Ways King Edward VI Five Ways (KEFW) is a highly selective co-educational state grammar school for ages 11–18 in Bartley Green, Birmingham, England. One of the seven establishments of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI, it is a volu ...

school, where he began playing

. In 1967, Fielding represented England Schools 19 Group. After leaving school, Fielding went on to play for Loughborough Colleges and

Moseley Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...

. Fielding won his first

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 ...

for

on 8 February 1969, playing against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Later that month, he scored a try in his second appearance for England in a match against

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 December 1969, he played in England's 11–8 win against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, which was the team's first ever victory against the Springboks. In 1970, Fielding played a key role in Loughborough College's

Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 Th ...

victory, scoring 11 tries during the tournament, including four in the final against

Edinburgh Wanderers Edinburgh Wanderers is a former rugby union club, founded in 1868. It was latterly a tenant of the Scottish Rugby Union, playing home fixtures at Murrayfield Stadium for nearly 75 years. In 1997 it merged with Murrayfield RFC to form Murrayfie ...

. In 1971, Fielding was signed by Leicester Tigers, but returned to Moseley after playing only one first team game for the club. Fielding returned to the England squad in 1972, playing in all four matches of the 1972 Five Nations. He made the last of his 10 appearances for England in March 1972 against

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 ...

. Fielding scored 39 tries for Moseley in his final season at the club, the second highest total in Britain that year. In April 1973, Fielding represented

in the first ever international rugby sevens tournament.

Rugby league career

Salford

In May 1973, Fielding was signed by

club

for a fee of £8,500. Fielding played in

's 9–19 defeat by

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 ...

in the 1973 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1973–74 season 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 ...

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 ...

on Saturday 13 October 1973, played , and scored a

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

in the 2–6 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 1974 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1974–75 season 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 ...

on Saturday 2 November 1974, and played in the 7–16 defeat by

in the

1975 Lancashire Cup It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. Ha ...

Final during the 1975–76 season at

on Saturday 4 October 1975. Fielding played in

's 0–0 draw with

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 during the 1974–75 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named after the abunda ...

on Tuesday 17 December 1974, and played , 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 ...

in the 10–5 victory over

in the

Final replay during the 1974–75 season at

on Tuesday 28 January 1975.

International honours

Fielding won

s for

while at Salford in 1975 against France, in the

1975 Rugby League World Cup The 1975 Rugby League World Championship (also referred to as the World Series) was the seventh tournament for the Rugby League World Cup. The format differed from that employed in previous competitions; no single country hosted the matches, whi ...

against France, Wales, New Zealand, Australia, Wales and France, in 1975 against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

(non-

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

). He equalled the England national team's record for most tries by an individual in a match when he scored four against

Parc Lescure Stade Chaban-Delmas is a sporting stadium located in the city of Bordeaux, France. It was the home ground of FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Since 2011, it has also hosted matches of Top 14 rugby team Union Bordeaux Bègles. Until 2001, the stadium' ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

on Saturday 11 October 1975. Fielding also won

s for

(RL) while at Salford in 1974 against France (2 matches), and in the

1977 Rugby League World Cup The 1977 Rugby League World Cup was the eighth Rugby League World Cup tournament and was held in Australasia, with games played during May and June in both Australia and New Zealand. It featured four teams: Great Britain and France in addition t ...

against France, and Australia.

Superstars

Keith Fielding achieved fame by participating in the televised all-around sports competition Superstars, winning the 1977 French European Superstars Heat, the 1981 British Final and the 1981 Challenge of Champions. He also finished second in the 1977 European Final, fifth in the 1978 World Final, third in the 1981 International Final, fifth in the 1981 World Final and third in the 1982 British Final.

Superstars record

Outside of rugby

Fielding was a teacher at

Marple Hall School Marple Hall School is a secondary school located in Marple, Greater Manchester. Admissions The headteacher is Joseph Barker. The school is situated just off the Stockport Road (A626) on the outskirts of Greater Manchester, near the River Goyt ...

and

Bramhall High School Bramhall High School is a larger than average, nine form entry, comprehensive high school for 11 to 16 year olds in Bramhall, Stockport, England. The school is a teacher training school in connection with Manchester Metropolitan University ...

in Stockport. Fielding quit his role at the latter school in 2008 after declaring the job was too stressful. Keith Fielding also taught a
Alderman Newton's Grammar school
in Leicester in the early 1970s before turning professional. He also taught at Shenley Court Comprehensive in the 1970s.

References

External links

Superstars roll of honourField of memoriesKeith Fielding – England Rugby Player – Rugby-Heroes.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielding, Keith 1949 births Living people Dual-code rugby internationals England international rugby sevens players England international rugby union players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players English rugby union players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Loughborough Students RUFC players Moseley Rugby Football Club players Other Nationalities rugby league team players People educated at Bramhall High School People educated at King Edward VI Five Ways Rugby league players from Birmingham, West Midlands Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Birmingham, West Midlands Rugby union wings Salford Red Devils players