James Roby (born 22 November 1985 in Whiston, Merseyside) is an English professional rugby league footballer for St Helens RLFC.

[edit] Career

Roby made his debut in 2004 against the Widnes Vikings after progressing through the academy ranks at St Helens RLFC. Roby's position is usually as a hooker and has plenty of experience already, playing alongside some of the greats of the game including Keiron Cunningham. Roby has made a massive impact for St. Helens and has played over 50 games for them.

In Super League X, he was narrowly beaten to the Young Player of The Year. St Helens RLFC see James as one of the brighter prospects and he seems a perfect replacement for Keiron Cunningham when he retires, so much so that St. Helens were willing to allow Mickey Higham to leave the club and Roby was given a more active role in the team.

[edit] Major competitions

Roby was an integral part of the St. Helens side that defeated the Huddersfield Giants in the 2006 Challenge Cup and has been rewarded for his performances this season by being called up to the Tri Nations squad and making his international debut during the tour against Australia and New Zealand. He holds the honour of scoring the first try at the new Wembley Stadium, scored during St Helens' victory over Catalans Dragons in the Challenge Cup final on 25 August 2007. Roby also won the 'Man Of Steel' award in October 2007 after being judged to have had the most impact on the Super League XIII season, being the youngest player to ever win the award, and also becoming the third St Helens player in a row to win the accolade from 2005-2007, with Jamie Lyon (2005) and Paul Wellens (2006) winning the award previously.

Roby attended Cowley Language College from 1997 - 2002 then went on to the Sixth Form. He also went on to Liverpool John Moores University studying Sports Science but dropped out in his first year to concentrate on his rugby.

[edit] Honours and recognition

He played for the North West Counties Under 18's with other legends of the game such as Tim Hartley, Stuart Hide, Martin Lewis and Adam Teece. He received the Super League 2007 Man of Steel Award, beating favourite Trent Barrett and team-mate Paul Wellens^[1].

He has become somewhat of a cult hero in rugby league, due to a video of him on youtube miming the words to Mike + The Mechanics Over My Shoulder, with references being made at matches and on television.

He played in the 2008 Super League Grand Final defeat to the Leeds Rhinos.^[2]

He was named in the England squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.^[3] In the opening game of the tournament England defeated Papua New Guinea, with Roby being named the man-of-the-match.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• James Roby looking back over my shoulder video
• International Statistics at englandrl.co.uk
• Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org