Mickey Higham
Encyclopedia
Mickey Higham is an English
rugby league
player who currently plays for English club Warrington Wolves
in the Super League
competition. His usual position is .
in November 2000 after scoring 22 tries in Division One and a man-of-the-match display in the Grand Final.
He made his Great Britain
debut in the 2004 Gillette Tri-Nations against New Zealand
, after recovering from an ankle injury which ruled him out of most of Super League IX
.
He made over 100 appearances for St Helens, scoring 33 tries.
Higham joined Wigan Warriors
in October 2005 after a transfer deal involving three clubs and fellow hooker Terry Newton
. Higham was unable to join Wigan directly as his club, St Helens, would not sell. However, Bradford Bulls
stepped in and bought Higham from Saints for £70,000 and then immediately released him to Wigan. In exchange, Wigan allowed Terry Newton to join the Bradford Bulls.
Higham signed a three-year deal with the Warriors and commented: "It looked at one stage as though I would be playing next season at Bradford but when the opportunity to join Wigan came up at the last minute I jumped at it." At Wigan, Higham again teamed up with coach Ian Millward
who he had played under at both Leigh and St Helens. Ian was however sacked by Wigan in April 2006 and Mickey is now coached ironically by Brian Noble
who was Bradford coach at the time of the "three-club transfer".
Higham's contract at Wigan was not renewed, and he subsequently signed for Warrington Wolves
on a two year deal.
In September 2008 he was named in the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
, and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man England squad.
He was named in the England
team to face Wales
at the Keepmoat Stadium prior to England's departure for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
.
He made his England
début in the victory over Wales
on 10 October 2008.
Higham played for Warrington
in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player who currently plays for English club Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
in the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
competition. His usual position is .
Playing career
Higham joined St Helens from Leigh CenturionsLeigh Centurions
Leigh Centurions is an English professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester who play in the Co-operative Championship.The club was founded in 1878 as Leigh Rugby Football Club and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in...
in November 2000 after scoring 22 tries in Division One and a man-of-the-match display in the Grand Final.
He made his Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
debut in the 2004 Gillette Tri-Nations against New Zealand
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
, after recovering from an ankle injury which ruled him out of most of Super League IX
Super League IX
-Television:Live Super League IX matches were broadcast in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports in the first year of a new five-year television deal. The contract was signed less than three weeks before the start of the season. The deal, worth £53 million, represented a 15 percent, or £7 million,...
.
He made over 100 appearances for St Helens, scoring 33 tries.
Higham joined Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
in October 2005 after a transfer deal involving three clubs and fellow hooker Terry Newton
Terry Newton
Terry Newton was an English international rugby league player. He played for Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Bradford Bulls and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, and was one of a handful of players to feature in each of the first 15 seasons of Super League...
. Higham was unable to join Wigan directly as his club, St Helens, would not sell. However, Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
stepped in and bought Higham from Saints for £70,000 and then immediately released him to Wigan. In exchange, Wigan allowed Terry Newton to join the Bradford Bulls.
Higham signed a three-year deal with the Warriors and commented: "It looked at one stage as though I would be playing next season at Bradford but when the opportunity to join Wigan came up at the last minute I jumped at it." At Wigan, Higham again teamed up with coach Ian Millward
Ian Millward
Ian Millward is an Australian rugby league coach and former player. Millward is currently the head coach at Super League side Castleford....
who he had played under at both Leigh and St Helens. Ian was however sacked by Wigan in April 2006 and Mickey is now coached ironically by Brian Noble
Brian Noble (rugby league)
Brian 'Nobby' D. Noble is an English former rugby league footballer. Noble is also the former coach of the Great Britain National Rugby League team. He was also the captain of the 1984 Great Britain touring team to Australia...
who was Bradford coach at the time of the "three-club transfer".
Higham's contract at Wigan was not renewed, and he subsequently signed for Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
on a two year deal.
In September 2008 he was named in the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
, and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man England squad.
He was named in the England
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
team to face Wales
Wales national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...
at the Keepmoat Stadium prior to England's departure for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
.
He made his England
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
début in the victory over Wales
Wales national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...
on 10 October 2008.
Higham played for Warrington
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
.
External links
- Warrington Wolves profile
- Mick Higham St Helens Career Page on the Saints Heritage Society Website.
- Mick Higham Wigan Career Page on the Wigan RL Fansite.
- Mickey Higham Profile
- Higham and Calderwood Meet The Media (11 November 2005)
- International Statistics at englandrl.co.uk
- Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org