24 Facts About Gary Connolly

Gary John Connolly was born on 22 June 1971 and is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s as a fullback and centre for St Helens, Canterbury Bulldogs, Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos and for the Great Britain national side.

Gary Connolly played rugby union for Harlequins, Orrell and Irish side Munster.

Gary Connolly started his professional career with his hometown club, St Helens, making his debut in January 1989 against Hull Kingston Rovers.

Gary Connolly was initially signed to play at fullback, but was used as a centre by Saints coach Mike McClennan, a position he would continue to play for the majority of his career.

Gary Connolly then played 15 games of the 1993 NSWRL season with Sydney club Canterbury-Bankstown, helping them become minor premiers that year.

Gary Connolly's move was a controversial one, and many St Helens followers labelled him 'Judas'.

Gary Connolly was a member of the successful Wigan team of the mid-1990s.

In May 1996, Gary Connolly was one of a number of Wigan's players to appear in both games of the two-match cross-code challenge series against Bath.

Gary Connolly was named in the Super League Dream Team of the 1996 at fullback.

Gary Connolly played for Wigan at centre in their 1998 Super League Grand Final victory against Leeds Rhinos.

Gary Connolly signed a new three-year contract with the club at the end of the season.

Gary Connolly was named in the 1999 season's Super League Dream Team at centre.

Gary Connolly played for the Wigan Warriors at centre in their 2001 Super League Grand Final loss against the Bradford Bulls.

Gary Connolly played in the 2003 Challenge Cup Final against Bradford Bulls, and was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy despite being on the losing side.

In 2004, Gary Connolly was released by Leeds, and returned for a short spell at Wigan for whom he played 17 games during the 2004 season.

Gary Connolly made his international rugby league debut for Great Britain against the touring Papua New Guinea team on 9 November 1991 at Central Park in Wigan.

Gary Connolly was later selected to go on the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand where he played from the bench in the final two Ashes Tests against Australia before moving to the centres for the tests against New Zealand.

Gary Connolly was selected to play for England in their 1995 World Cup campaign, but missed most of the tournament after contracting pneumonia.

Gary Connolly was regarded as one of the premier British centres of his generation and appeared 31 times for the national side excelling in the defensive side of the game, although his try scoring record was very modest at this level.

Gary Connolly scored his only try for Great Britain during the second Test of the 2003 Ashes Series, his 31st and final cap.

Gary Connolly was one of a number of players from Wigan to sign such a deal, which he did with London club Harlequins.

Gary Connolly played 13 games for Harlequins, scoring eight tries, and was regarded as the best of the short-term converts at the time.

In 2000, Gary Connolly signed a new deal with Wigan that included the opportunity to play union for Orrell during the off-season.

Gary Connolly remained at the club for two years until he was released by Wigan and signed for Leeds Rhinos in 2002.