Nick Royle

Nick Royle (born 1983) is a current England Rugby Sevens International rugby union player. He plays as a winger. He is currently playing 15-aside rugby for Caldy in National League 1 (tier 3 of the English rugby union league system). As of 2018 he is the most prolific try scorer ever in National League 2 North with over 190 tries.[1][2] Nick has also had success with Lancashire in the Bill Beaumont Cup - winning the competition 3 times. As well as playing international sevens, he was selected by the England Counties XV.

Nick Royle
Date of birth (1983-09-25) 25 September 1983
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight83 kg (13 st 1 lb)
Rugby league career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2003-04 Widnes Vikings ()
2004-05 Warrington ()
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2002-03 Manchester 19 (30)
2003-04 Liverpool SH 8 (20)
2005-12 Fylde 123 (635)
2005-12 Sale Sharks 2 (0)
2012-14 Vale of Lune 50 (280)
2014- Caldy 140 (570)
Correct as of 12 May 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007, 2009 England Counties XV 6 (25)
2009-12 England Sevens 11 (145)
Correct as of 12 May 2018

Career

Rugby league

Educated at Wade Deacon High School in Widnes, Royle has a strong rugby league background emanating from the age of six at local club Halton Hornets. He went on to appear for Widnes Vikings and Warrington Wolves. Nick's best memory before joining England Sevens was a 70-metre try on his Super League debut in a 24-16 Widnes win over Warrington. Royle was noted for his speed, however his defensive frailties were exposed and he chose to move to the 15-a-side code and then onto the Sevens circuit.

Rugby union

In 2002 Nick was playing rugby union for Manchester, then in the second tier of English rugby. He made a number of league and cup appearances for the club, mostly as a substitute, and scored several tries, in a season which saw Manchester avoid relegation by finishing 12th. The next season, he dropped several divisions to tier 4 (then known as National 3 North) to spend a year playing for Liverpool St Helens, who unfortunately ended up being relegated from the league. During the summer of 2004 he switched to rugby league, playing for Super League sides Widnes Vikings and rivals Warrington Wolves.

Despite making a number of appearances in the Super League, Nick decided to return to rugby union for the 2005-06 season and was signed by Premiership side, Sale Sharks, who loaned him out to local Lancashire side, Fylde, who were playing in the fourth division. He had a great debut season, scoring 16 tries for a Fylde side that finished mid table. The following year, Nick's performances continued to improve with Fylde as he finished as the league's top try scorer with 31 tries and his club side finished in 5th place.[3] He also equaled the division's record of seven tries in one game during the 106-0 thrashing of relegated Orrell on 31 March 2007.[4] The 2007-08 season with Fylde was less prolific for Nick, although he still managed 20 tries in league and cup competitions and Fylde just missed out on a playoff spot when they finished 3rd. In September 2007 Nick's form saw him picked by the England Counties XV for the FIRA/AER Rugby Festival held in south-west France. He played in all 3 games at the festival scoring 3 tries.[5][6][7]

The next couple of seasons would see Nick continue his prolific try scoring form with Fylde – form which would also see him called up for the England Sevens team in 2009 as well as England Counties and the Barbarians.[8][9][10] Previously unknown to most, Royle emerged as a talent on the IRB Sevens World Series scene with four tries in his debut tournament in Dubai in early December 2009 that has led to 29 overall so far. They include four off the bench in the final event of 2009-10 at Murrayfield, one against France in Las Vegas in February this year and another in the USA match in Hong Kong the following month. In early April, he became the Adelaide tournament's overall leading try-scorer with eight, having bagged successive hat tricks in the opening matches against Scotland and Papua New Guinea before plundering two in the next game against Argentina. A powerful and irrepressible runner, he even scored in four consecutive matches spanning the Dubai and George tournaments in 2009, a telling tally that introduced him to opposing defences in an exalted competition.

Nick was also involved with the Lancashire country side that won the Bill Beaumont Cup in the summer of 2009 - scoring a try in the 32 - 18 win against Gloucestershire at the final at Twickenham - his 7th of a very successful competition.[11][12][13][14] A second county championship win with Lancashire would be repeated in the 2010 Bill Beaumont Cup, as Nick played in the 37-27 victory over Cheshire.[15] He would also be picked by England Counties XV for their 2009 tour of South Korea and Japan - playing all 3 games and scoring 2 tries.[16][17][18]

Success at sevens was not mimicked with his professional side, Sale Sharks, as his time there was restricted to a handful of EDF Cup games and appearances for the second team, the Sale Jets. Despite failing to make his Premiership debut, the 2010-11 season was an excellent one for both Nick and Fylde as he scored 24 tries in a side that finished as champions and were promoted to division 3 (National League 1). The 2011-12 season would see Nick be called up once more by the England Sevens team, finishing best try scorer of the Sevens Grand Prix Series with 35 tries.[19] He also mixed international sevens with Fylde, scoring 25 tries for the promoted Lancashire club as they finished 4th in National League 1.

In 2012 Nick decided to leave Fylde on what was initially thought to be a temporary (but financially lucrative) deal to play for the Vale of Lune, a local side which played three divisions below Fylde.[20][21] While at the Vale of Lune, Nick broke the club's season try scoring record of 36 set by former player Mark Nelson (got who was also Nick's coach at Fylde) with 38 league tries during the 2013-14 season.[22][23] While at Vale of Lune, Nick was also called up to the Lancashire county rugby side, with whom he helped win the 2013 Bill Beaumont Cup (his third successive cup victory for his county), scoring 2 tries as Lancashire defeated Cornwall at the final held at Twickenham, and finishing the tournaments top try scorer with 5.[24]

Ultimately, Nick's try scoring exploits could not gain promotion for the club and he returned to national rugby with Caldy for the 2014-15 season, playing in National League 2 North (tier 4). Nick finished the 2015-16 season as the division's top try scorer with 25 tries, also becoming the divisions all-time top try scorer.[25][26] The 2016-17 season was an extremely successful one for Nick and his club, as he contributed 32 tries to finish once again as the top try scorer in the division for a record breaking 3rd time, and Caldy were promoted to National League 1 as champions - the highest level the club has reached.[27][28] The next season he scored 19 tries in National League 1 as Caldy finished their first season in the new division in a respectable 11th place. Although he had a good second season individually, his tries (20 in all) were not enough to keep Caldy up and they were relegated at the end of 2018-19.

Season-by-season playing stats

Club
Season Club Competition Appearances Tries Drop Goals Conversions Penalties Total Points
2002-03 Manchester National Division One 17 4 0 0 0 20
Powergen Cup 2 2 0 0 0 10
2003-04 Liverpool St Helens National Division 3 North 8 4 0 0 0 20
2004 Widnes Vikings Super League 13 9 ? ? ? ?
2005 Warrington Wolves Super League ? ? ? ? ? ?
2005-06 Fylde National Division 3 North 18 16 0 0 0 80
EDF Energy Trophy 1 0 0 0 0 0
2006-07 National Division 3 North 22 31 0 0 0 155
EDF Energy Trophy 1 0 0 0 0 0
2007-08 National Division 3 North 23 14 0 0 0 70
EDF Energy Trophy 2 6 0 0 0 30
2008-09 National Division 3 North 17 24 0 0 0 120
Sale Sharks EDF Cup 2 0 0 0 0 0
2009-10 Fylde National League 2 North 16 11 0 0 0 55
2010-11 National League 2 North 18 24 0 0 0 120
2011-12 National League 1 4 1 0 0 0 5
2012-13 National League 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2012-13[a 1] Vale of Lune North Division 1 West 21 18 0 0 0 90
2013-14 North Division 1 West 29 38 0 0 0 190
2014-15CaldyNational League 2 North301200090
2015-16National League 2 North3025000125
2016-17National League 2 North3032000160
2017-18National League 1291900095
2018-19National League 12920000100
2019-20National League 2 North

[30]

County or representative
Season Side Competition Appearances Tries Drop Goals Conversions Penalties Total Points
2006-07LancashireBill Beaumont Cup1[a 2]?000?
2007-08England Counties XVFIRA/AER Rugby Festival, France3300015
LancashireBill Beaumont Cup1[a 3]10005
2008-09Barbarians[33]Test1200010
LancashireBill Beaumont Cup4700035
England Counties XVTour of Korea and Japan3200010
2009-10LancashireBill Beaumont Cup2[a 4]00000
2011-12LancashireBill Beaumont Cup100000
2012-13LancashireBill Beaumont Cup4500025
2014-15CheshireBill Beaumont Cup310005

Honours and records

National League 2 North

  • Tier 4 (North) all-time top try scorer (161 tries)[26]
  • Tier 4 (North) most tries in a match: 7 (tied)

Fylde

Vale of Lune

Caldy

Lancashire

International/Representative

Notes
    • For the 2012-13 season Nick's appearance and try statistics may also include cup games (Staffordshire Trophy) as well as league.[29]
  2. Played at least 1 game (final) in 2007 Bill Beaumont Cup. Likely to have played in the other 3 games but this is not certain as little information online.[31]
  3. Played at least 1 game in 2008 Bill Beaumont Cup scoring a try.[32] Likely to have played in the other 2 group games but this is not clear due to poor press coverage of competition that year.
  4. Played at least 2 games during 2010 Bill Beaumont Cup. May have played the 2 other games but not clear from press sources. What is clear is that he did not get any tries during the tournament.[34][35][36]

References
  1. "Former England Sevens star Nick Royle makes history". The Rugby Paper. 27 February 2016.
  2. "National Two North All time try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 29 April 2017.
  3. "National Three North 06/07 Leading try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 28 April 2007.
  4. "National 3 North 06/07 Most tries in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 28 April 2007.
  5. "England Counties in 12 try French romp". Rolling Maul. 7 September 2007.
  6. "English Counties XV". Rolling Maul. 11 September 2007.
  7. "Royle's try secures draw against French Amateurs". Rolling Maul. 14 September 2007.
  8. "England 7s Squad for Dubai & George 2009 Plus Schedules". Rugby Network. 23 November 2009.
  9. "England Counties - Will they be BIG in Japan?". Rugby Network. 2 June 2009.
  10. "Baa Baas bringing internationals to Blues". Bedfordshire News. 1 April 2009.
  11. "Heartache for county at Twickenham". This is Gloucestershire. 1 June 2009.
  12. "Warwickshire 28 Lancashire 66". Coventry Telegraph. 11 May 2009.
  13. "Nutt cracker so sweet for Lancs". Blackpool Gazette. 18 May 2009.
  14. "Lancashire book place at Twickenham". Lancashire Telegraph. 27 May 2009.
  15. "Updated report on Lancs' victory over Cheshire: now with pics". Fylde Rugby. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  16. "Record win for England RU Counties XV". Rugby Network. 5 June 2009.
  17. "East Japan 31 England Counties 67". Everything Rugby. 8 June 2009.
  18. "England Counties complete clean sweep". Everything Rugby. 13 June 2009.
  19. "England Sevens name new squad". Rugby World. 30 August 2011.
  20. "Nick joins Vale of Lune". Fylde Rugby. 24 October 2012.
  21. "Royle leaves Fylde... for now". Blackpool Gazette. 25 October 2012.
  22. "LASSOED AT LEIGH". Vale of Lune RUFC (Pitchero). 8 March 2014.
  23. "A SEASON OF LIGHT AND SHADE". Vale of Lune RUFC (Pitchero). 12 April 2014.
  24. "Thomas' reign ends in disappointment as Cornwall are beaten". Western Morning News. 27 May 2013.
  25. "National Two North 15/16 Leading top scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 7 May 2016.
  26. "National Two North All time try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 7 May 2016.
  27. "National League North". The RUGBYPaper (450). Rugby Paper Ltd. 30 April 2017. pp. 30–31 & 37.
  28. "Caldy land title after stunning fightback". The RUGBYPaper (447). Rugby Paper Ltd. 9 April 2017. p. 32.
  29. "In addition to his exploits on the field, 25 league tries so far this season..." Vale of Lune RUFC (Pitchero). 12 December 2013.
  30. "Nicholas Royle Record by competition". Rugby Statbunker. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  31. "Devon win county trophy". Northampton Chronicle & Echo. 29 May 2007.
  32. "Lancashire 35 Warwickshire 25". Coventry Telegraph. 5 May 2008.
  33. "19 tries as Barbarians triumph in Mobbs match". BBC Devon. 29 May 2008.
  34. "Updated report on Lancs' victory over Cheshire: now with pics". Fylde Rugby. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  35. "Lancs progress with help of Fylde players". Fylde Rugby. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  36. "Lancashire qualify for another Twickenham Final". Fylde Rugby. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  37. "TringRugby Helps Hertfordshire to Cup Win!". Tring Rugby (Pitchero). Retrieved 5 January 2017.
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