Stuart Donlan Explained

Stuart Donlan
Birth Date:29 August 1978
Birth Place:Leigh, Greater Manchester, England
Retired:yes
Club1:Leigh Centurions
Year1start:1997
Year1end:99
Club2:Halifax
Year2start:2001
Year2end:03
Appearances2:68
Tries2:23
Goals2:0
Fieldgoals2:0
Points2:92
Club3:Huddersfield Giants
Year3start:2004
Year3end:06
Appearances3:64
Tries3:15
Goals3:0
Fieldgoals3:0
Points3:60
Club4:Castleford Tigers
Year4start:2007
Year4end:08
Appearances4:50
Tries4:28
Goals4:0
Fieldgoals4:0
Points4:112
Club5:Leigh Centurions
Year5start:2009
Year5end:11
Appearances5:25
Tries5:10
Goals5:0
Fieldgoals5:0
Points5:40
Teama:Lancashire
Yearastart:2002
Appearancesa:2
Coachteama:Canada
Coachyearastart:2014
Coachgamesa:1
Coachwinsa:1
Coachdrawsa:0
Coachlossesa:0
Source:[1] [2]

Stuart Donlan (born 29 August 1978) is an English professional rugby league coach and former player of the 1990s and 2000s. He is the current head coach of Canada. A Lancashire representative backline player, he previously played for Super League sides Huddersfield Giants and Castleford Tigers (Heritage No. 862).[1] [2] Donlan began his career with hometown club Leigh Centurions in 1997 before finishing his career with Leigh in 2011 and moving into a coaching role.

Stuart's father, Steve Donlan, was also a former professional rugby league footballer who played for Great Britain, and was a member of the Leigh team, that won the Championship at the end of the 1981–82 season.

Donlan played for Huddersfield in the 2006 Challenge Cup Final on the wing but the Giants lost 12–42 against St. Helens.Having spent the final three years of his career with Leigh, Donlan became the assistant coach to Ian Millward at Castleford Tigers, one of Donlan's former clubs, after the pair previously worked together at Leigh Centurions ahead of the 2012 Super League season. He departed Castleford in 2013 following Millward's sacking, and later became assistant coach under Brian Noble at Salford City Reds, where he served for a year before leaving the club along with Noble in early 2014. He was subsequently named head coach of the Canada national team.[3]

Coaching career

Stuart's first game was the only game of the 2014 Colonial Cup. He led Canada to a famous victory which made them the Colonial Cup champions for the very first time.[4] Despite his success Donlan was replaced by Aaron Zimmerle, the head coach of the Queensland Cup team Tweed Heads Seagulls, in 2015 as he took over the role to coach Canada in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying campaign.[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Statistics. Loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. 1 January 2018.
  2. Web site: Statistics. Rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. 1 January 2018.
  3. Web site: Stuart Donlan named head coach of the Canada Wolverines. 24 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140524065707/http://www.canadarugbyleague.com/site/eng/news/article.php?id=10259. 4 November 2021. 24 May 2014.
  4. Web site: Rugby League Planet - Canada 52 smack USA 14 in Rugby League international . 2 September 2014 . 11 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150411093648/http://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/rugby-league-nations/91-rugby-league-test-match-or-international-game/1853-canada-52-smack-usa-14-in-rugby-league-international . dead .
  5. News: Canada announces Aaron Zimmerle as head coach for Qualifiers. CRL. 2015-09-11. 2015-09-12. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150919080810/http://www.canadarugbyleague.com/site/eng/news/article.php?id=10287. 2015-09-19.