Steve Hackney

Stephen Thomas Hackney (born 13 June 1968)[1] is an English former rugby union player. A wing he played in England's top division of domestic rugby union for Nottingham and Leicester Tigers, and also played in the second division for Moseley and Waterloo.[2][3][4]

Steve Hackney

Birth name	Stephen Thomas Hackney
Date of birth	13 June 1968
Place of birth	Stockton-on-Tees, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	192 lb (87 kg)
School	Stockton VI Form
University	Loughborough University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1988–1991 Nottingham 67 (108) 1991–1997 Leicester Tigers 152 (404) 1997 Moseley 5 (5) 1998–1999 Waterloo 23 (25) 1988–1999 Total 247 (542) National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1993 England A

He played for England A in 1993, scoring four tries in a match against Spain and played for England in the 1995 Hong Kong Sevens tournament. He started in the 1997 Heineken Cup Final for Leicester Tigers.

Career

Hackney joined Nottingham in 1988 after developing a good reputation in university rugby playing for Loughborough Students. He played three seasons in England's top division before moving to fellow midlands side Leicester.

Hackney made his Leicester debut on 14 August 1991 against Edmonton during the club's 1991 pre-season tour to Canada. A productive first season saw Hackney top try scorer with 18 tries in 23 appearances,[5] despite competition from Rory Underwood (England's record scorer) and his brother Tony Underwood. Hackney was top try scorer again in the 1992–93 season with 14 tries in 18 games, though the Underwood brothers were preferred for the 1993 Pilkington Cup Final,[6] and again in the 1994–95 season with 8 tries in 16 games.[7] He played in 11 of 18 league games, scoring 5 tries as Leicester won the 1994-95 Courage League title.

In 1995-96 Hackney played 33 of 37 games for Leicester, the most of any player that season, and was again top try scorer with 18. He played in his first Twickenham cup final as Leicester lost the 1996 Pilkington Cup Final to Bath, 16–15.[8] During the 1996–97 season Leicester participated in the Heineken Cup, a European competition, for the first time. Hackney scored against the Scottish Borders in pool play and then opened the scoring in the semi final with a 7th minute try against Stade Toulousain. He started in the 1997 Heineken Cup Final against CA Brive, though Tigers lost 28–9. Hackney played 36 of 46 games during the season, the most of any player, and scored 15 tries second only to Rory Underwood.[9] Despite his regular appearances and scoring record his final Tigers appearance was on 26 April 1997 in a 13–12 defeat to Harlequins at Welford Road.

He moved to Moseley in the second division (styled Premiership 2 that season) for the 1997–98 season but featured in only 5 games before moving mid-season to fellow second division side Waterloo for the remained of the season and the following campaign.

Sources

• Farmer, Stuart; Hands, David (2014). Tigers - Official history of Leicester Football Club. The Rugby Development Foundation. ISBN 978-0-9930213-0-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References

1. "Steve Hackney". ESPNscrum. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
2. "Steve Hackney Stats stats". Retrieved 18 April 2020.
3. "Nottingham Rugby History player roll "H"". Retrieved 18 April 2020.
4. Farmer & Hands 2014, p. =371.
5. Farmer & Hands 2014, p. 243.
6. Farmer & Hands 2014, p. 244.
7. Farmer & Hands 2014, p. 249.
8. Farmer & Hands 2014, p. 253.
9. Farmer & Hands 2014, p. 257.