1. James William Mark Roby was born on 22 November 1985 and is an English former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a hooker for St Helens, who he captained, in the Super League.
29 Facts About James Roby
1. 2.
James Roby represented Great Britain and England at international level.
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James Roby has won the World Club Challenge twice in 2007 and 2023 respectively.
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James Roby currently holds the record for the most appearances in the Super League era.
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James Roby went to Legh Vale Primary School, Haydock and later attended Cowley Language College from 1997 to 2002 then went on to study at the Sixth Form.
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Furthermore, James Roby went on to Liverpool John Moores University studying sports science but dropped out in his first year to concentrate on his rugby.
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James Roby made his debut in 2004 against Widnes after progressing through the academy ranks at St Helens.
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James Roby's position is hooker and had plenty of experience already, playing alongside some of the greats of the game including Keiron Cunningham.
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James Roby played for St Helens from the interchange bench in their 2006 Challenge Cup Final victory against Huddersfield.
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James Roby holds the honour of scoring the first try at the new Wembley Stadium, scored during St Helens' victory over the Catalans Dragons in the Challenge Cup Final on 25 August 2007.
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James Roby won the 'Man of Steel' award in October 2007 after being judged to have had the most impact on 2008's Super League XIII season, being the youngest player to ever win the award, and becoming the third St Helens player in a row to win the accolade from 2005 to 2007, with Jamie Lyon and Paul Wellens winning the award previously.
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James Roby played in the 2008's Super League XIII Grand Final defeat by Leeds.
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James Roby played in the 2009 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.
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James Roby played in the 2011 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.
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On 23 January 2018, James Roby was appointed captain for 2018.
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James Roby played in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.
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James Roby played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final victory over Salford at Old Trafford.
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James Roby won the Harry Sunderland Trophy as man of the match.
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On 9 October 2021, James Roby played in his tenth grand final for St Helens which was the club's 2021 Super League Grand Final victory over Catalans Dragons.
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In round 15 of the 2022 Super League season, James Roby broke the Super League appearance record with his 455th match in the competition.
21.
On 18 February 2023, James Roby captained St Helens to a one-point win over Penrith in the World Club Challenge at BlueBet Stadium in Penrith.
22.
On 13 May 2023, James Roby broke the all-time St Helens appearance record with his 532nd match for the club against Salford.
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James Roby played 27 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished third on the table.
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James Roby played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which stopped them reaching a fifth successive grand final.
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James Roby made his international debut for Great Britain the 2006 Tri Nations during the tour against Australia and New Zealand.
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James Roby was selected for the England squad to compete in the 2008 World Cup in Australia.
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James Roby returned to international rugby league when he was selected to play for England against France in the one-off test.
28.
In 2011, James Roby played in the 2011 Rugby League Four Nations and was part of the team that lost the final to Australia.
29.
In 2013 James Roby was named in England 2013 World Cup squad but lost in the semi-final in the dying seconds to New Zealand.