Alan Rathbone

Alan Rathbone

Personal information
Born	20 October 1958 Warrington, England
Died	4 June 2016(2016-06-04) (aged 57) Westbrook, Warrington, England
Playing information
Position	Second-row, Loose forward
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1976–78 Leigh 21+9 3 0 0 9 1978–79 Rochdale Hornets 18+7 1 0 0 3 1979–81 Leigh 44+3 7 0 0 21 1981–85 Bradford Northern 86+11 17 0 1 59 1985–87 Warrington 27+6 3 0 0 12 1987 Leeds 1 0 0 0 0 Total 233 31 0 1 104 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1982–85 Great Britain 6 0 0 0 0 1979 GB Under 24 0+1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]

Alan Rathbone (20 October 1958 – 4 June 2016),^[3] also known by the nicknames of "Action", and "Rambo", was an English amateur boxer, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for Warrington Schoolboys, Great Britain Schoolboys, British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) Under-19s, Great Britain Under-21s, Great Britain Under-24s, and Great Britain, and at club level for Leigh (two spells), Rochdale Hornets, Bradford Northern, Warrington, and Leeds, as a second-row, or loose forward.^[1][4]

Alan Rathbone was born in Warrington, Lancashire, England. He grew up in Bewsey, Warrington, and worked as a painter at K. T. Painters in Warrington, after retiring from rugby league. He suffered from arthritis in his hand, knees, and shoulders due to the injuries he had sustained while playing rugby league. He died aged 57 in Westbrook, Warrington, Cheshire, and his funeral took place at 1pm on Thursday 30 June 2016 at Walton Lea Crematorium, Walton, Warrington.^[5][6]

Alan Rathbone won caps for Great Britain while at Bradford Northern in 1982 against France, and Australia, in 1983 against France (2 matches), and in 1985 against France (2 matches).^[1]

In addition to the above Test matches, Alan Rathbone played loose forward in Great Britain's 7–8 defeat by France in the friendly at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, Venice on Saturday 31 July 1982.

Alan Rathbone played loose forward in Bradford Northern's 5–10 defeat by Castleford in the 1981 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1981–82 season at Headingley, Leeds, on Saturday 3 October 1981, and played loose forward, and was sent-off for a late-tackle on Ian Potter in Warrington's 8–34 defeat by Wigan in the 1985 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1985–86 season at Knowsley Road, St. Helens, on Sunday 13 October 1985.^[7]

Alan Rathbone appeared as a substitute (replacing hooker Kevin Tamati) in Warrington's 4–18 defeat by Wigan in 1986–87 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1986–87 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 10 January 1987.^[8]

Alan Rathbone made his début for Leigh against Castleford during September 1976. He was transferred from Leigh to Rochdale Hornets during 1978, transferred from Rochdale Hornets back to Leigh during 1979, transferred from Leigh to Bradford Northern on 16 June 1981 for £17,000 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £86,870 in 2016),^[9] and transferred from Bradford Northern to Warrington during June 1985 for £40,000 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £149,800 in 2016).^[9] He made his début for Warrington against Bradford Northern at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on Sunday 1 September 1985, and he played his last match, and scored a try for Warrington in the 24-12 victory over Hull Kingston Rovers at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on Sunday 26 April 1987. He was transferred from Warrington to Leeds during 1987 for £35,000 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £112,700 in 2016),^[9] and made his début for Leeds against Leigh at Headingley, Leeds, when he incurred a severe jaw injury in the first-half, and never played again.

• Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk Archived 11 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine
• Photograph "Peter Fox has his say - Peter fox lays down the law with Alan Rathbone and brain (sic Brian) Noble looking on - 01/01/1984" at rlhp.co.uk
• Photograph "Rathbone gets weighed in - Alan Rathbone, the recent signing from Leigh is weighed in watched by his team mates. - 01/01/1981" at rlhp.co.uk
• Photograph "Rathbone ragged at Widnes - Alan Rathbone is 'ragged' by the Widnes defence in the John Player Trophy third round at Naughton Park. - 19/12/1982" at rlhp.co.uk
• Photograph "Rathbone goes over - Alan Rathbone breaks the tackles and goes over for a try. - 14/11/1982" at rlhp.co.uk
• Photograph "Northern's Cup semi final squad 1983 - Northern's semi final squad v. Featherstone in 1983. - 26/03/1983" at rlhp.co.uk
• Photograph "Alan Rathbone held - Alan Rathbone is 'collared' by the Castleford defence. - 03/10/1981" at rlhp.co.uk
• Photograph "Rathbone offloads to Idle - Alan Rathbone offloads to Graham Idle. - 28/02/1982" at rlhp.co.uk
• Photograph "Rathbone injured - Alan Rathbone leaves the dressing room after the games v. Widnes. -13/03/1982" at rlhp.co.uk
• Photograph "Alan Redfearn signs the ball - Alan Redfearn and a group of players sign a ball. - 01/01/1983" at rlhp.co.uk
• (archived by web.archive.org) Bradford sign 'Rambo'