Stuart Fielden
Personal information
Born	14 September 1979 (1979-09-14) (age 30)
	Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	17 st 0 lb (108 kg)
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1998–06	Bradford Bulls	224	43	0	0	172
2006–	Wigan Warriors	76	2	0	0	8
	Total	300	45	0	0	180
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2000–08	England	10	0	0	0	0
2001–06	Great Britain	24	2	0	0	8
As of 20 April 2009
Source: Rugby League Project

Stuart Fielden (born 14 September 1979 in Halifax, West Yorkshire) is an English professional rugby league footballer for the Wigan Warriors of Super League. A Great Britain international representative prop forward, he previously played club football for the Bradford Bulls.

[edit] Early life

Stuart grew up in the village of Old Town near Hebden Bridge. It wasn't until he was in his teens that he started playing rugby league with Halifax amateur side Illingworth. It was during his time with Illingworth that Bradford signed him.

[edit] Bradford Bulls

Stuart made his Bradford Bulls debut against his hometown club the Halifax Blue Sox in May 1998. He made rapid progress alongside experienced props Joe Vagana, Brian McDermott and Paul Anderson, and he was soon a regular in the international set up. He won numerous honours and trophies while at Bradford, with a trademark aggressive style that saw him establish a reputation as one of the best and most feared front rowers in the world. In February 2006 he was won his last trophy with the Bulls, being named Man of the Match and scoring two tries in the World Club Challenge match against Wests Tigers. Many claimed following this match that Stuart was indeed the best prop in the world. He didn't miss a game for the club in his last two seasons at Bradford and was an automatic choice for the Great Britain national rugby league team for the majority of his Bulls career.

In August 2007 he was named in Bradford's team of the Century.

[edit] Wigan Warriors

On 22 June 2006 Stuart make a shock switch from Bradford Bulls to join his old coach Brain Noble at Wigan Warriors. Wigan and Bradford agreed a transfer fee of £450,000 making it the most expensive cash only transfer of the Super League era. Stuart made his Wigan debut against Warrington Wolves on 23 June 2006 at the JJB Stadium. He was instrumental in helping his new club to avoid relegation in the remainder of the 2006 season, and he featured in the Tri-Nations tournament at the end of the season. During this tournament, in a match against Australia, he was involved in an altercation with Australian forward Willie Mason in which Mason punched Fielden, knocking him out.^[1] Since then, Fielden has experienced a considerable drop in form. He has been under pressure from Wigan fans for lack of fire and determination that made him one of the best prop forwards in the world. Many cite burnout as a reason for this - Fielden would regularly play 80 minutes in his younger days, which is unusual for prop forwards who are generally exposed to many tough physical collisions during a game. A previous regular try scorer, he has not crossed for Wigan since February 2007 and has been absent from the international picture since 2006.

Fielden took part in a boxing match, The Rumble By The Humber, against fellow rugby league player, Lee Radford which raised in excess of £60,000 for former team-mate Steve Prescott. He lost the fight after being stopped in the second round. [1]

[edit] International honours

Stuart Fielden won caps for England while at Bradford Bulls in 2000 against Australia, Russia (sub), Fiji (sub), Ireland, and New Zealand, and won caps for Great Britain while at Bradford Bulls in 2001 against Australia, Australia (sub) (2 matches), and France (sub), in 2002 against Australia, and New Zealand (3 matches), in 2003 against Australia (3 matches), in 2004 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches); in 2005 against Australia (2 matches), New Zealand (2 matches), while at Wigan Warriors in 2006 against New Zealand (3 matches), and Australia (2 matches).^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Stuart Fielden Wigan Career Page on the CherryandWhite.co.uk Wigan RL Fansite.
• Stuart Fielden International Statistics
• Stuart Fielden Wigan Warriors Profile
• 2001 Ashes profile
• International Statistics at englandrl.co.uk
• Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
• Team Of The Century