DAVID STEPHENSON (December 3, 1958 – March 14, 2022)
David Stephenson was a goal-kicking centre best known for a trophy-laden spell at Wigan and who made eleven appearances for Great Britain.
The Cherry and Whites paid a then club-record £60,000 to sign him from Salford in February 1982, and he more than repaid that investment over the course of 214 games, which brought 71 tries and 286 goals, in six years.
Stephenson, who also played for Leeds and Leigh and has died aged 63, will perhaps best be remembered for his calm and accurate kicking as Wigan beat Manly-Warringah in the first official World Club Challenge in October 1987.
With a 36,895 crowd creating a pressure-cooler atmosphere inside Central Park, his four penalty goals accounted for all his side’s points in a try-less 8-2 triumph.
Stephenson, who forged a reputation of being strong running and unselfish, giving great service to his wing partners, also featured in one of the best-remembered Challenge Cup finals, Wigan’s 28-24 victory over Hull at Wembley in May 1985, when he landed one of his side’s four conversions (Henderson Gill got the other three) in a thriller watched by 99,801.
He won eight other medals with Wigan, four of them, including the league title, in a fine 1986/87 campaign.
Kiwi Graeme Lowe’s side cruised to the club’s first title in 27 years, finishing 15 points above St Helens and Warrington, and defeated the latter to win both the John Player Trophy and the Premiership, while Oldham were beaten in the Lancashire Cup final.
Stephenson made 41 appearances and chalked up 13 tries and 64 goals that season.
He also featured as Wigan won the John Player Trophy in 1982/83 (beating Leeds in the final) and 1985/86 (Hull KR), and the Lancashire Cup in 1985/86 and 1987/88, both times against Warrington.
In January 1988, Stephenson joined Leeds for £75,000 and went on to help them beat Castleford in the following season’s Yorkshire Cup final.
He signed for Leigh in a £55,000 move in September 1989 and remained at Hilton Park until midway through the 190/91 season, when he returned to Salford for a brief stint.
His first spell at The Willows started in January 1979, after Alex Murphy signed him from rugby union club Fylde (it was the same coach who took him to Wigan).
Stephenson had won England Under 19 caps in the 15-a-side code, and in his first spell at Salford, represented both Great Britain Under 24s and Lancashire.
His full Great Britain debut came during the 1982 Ashes on home soil. He also featured in the series of 1986 (home) and 1988 (away) and played in the World Cup which ran between 1985 and 1988.
Following his retirement from Rugby League, he coached Fylde RU Club’s Under 19s, but turned down the chance to take the first-team reins because he felt unable to devote enough time to the role.
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