Mark Percival (born 29 April 1994) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for St Helens in the Super League and England at international level.
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| Born | 29 April 1994 Widnes, Cheshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 13 st 12 lb (88 kg) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 2 March 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He made his début for Saints in 2013, winning the Super League Grand Final with the club in 2014.
Background
editPercival was born in Widnes, Cheshire, England.
Percival played junior rugby for Halton Hornets before joining St Helens' academy side.[4]
Club career
editPercival made his first team début against Leeds on 1 March 2013.[5] In June 2014, he made one appearance for Rochdale Hornets.[6]
St Helens reached the 2014 Super League Grand Final, and Percival was selected to play at centre in their 14–6 victory over the Wigan side at Old Trafford.[7][8] In April 2017, Percival signed a new four-year contract with Saints.[4] He was named in the Super League Dream Team for the first time at the end of the 2017 season.[9] He played in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Warrington at Wembley Stadium.[10]
He played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final victory over Salford at Old Trafford.[11][12][13] Percival missed most of the 2020 Super League season with a shoulder injury.[14] On 17 July 2021, he played for St. Helens in their 26-12 2021 Challenge Cup Final victory over Castleford.[15] Percival played for St Helens in their 2021 Super League Grand Final victory over Catalans Dragons.[16] On 24 September 2022, Percival scored the winning try for St Helens in their 2022 Super League Grand Final victory over Leeds.[17] On 18 February 2023, Percival played in St Helens 13-12 upset victory over Penrith in the 2023 World Club Challenge.[18] Percival played 21 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished third on the table. He played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which ended St Helens four-year dominance of the competition.[19] On 8 March 2024, Percival was controversially sent off during St Helens 24-20 loss against Salford for a tackle on Jack Ormondroyd.[20][21] On 11 March 2024, Percival was suspended for two matches in relation to the tackle.[22] Percival played 21 matches for St Helens in the 2024 Super League season. Percival played in St Helens golden point extra-time playoff loss against Warrington.[23]
International career
editIn 2012, Percival was selected in the England Academy squad for their tour to Australia.[24]
Percival was selected in England's 24-man squad for the 2016 Four Nations, and made his international début in a pre-tournament warm-up game against France.[25]
In October 2017 he was selected in the England squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.[26] He made his only appearance of the tournament in the final group game against France, scoring a try in a 36–6 win.[27]
In 2018 he was selected for England against France at the Leigh Sports Village.[28]
References
edit- ^ "Mark Percival". St Helens RLFC. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "Player Summary: Mark Percival". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ a b Badshah, Nadeem (13 April 2017). "Mark Percival signs four year St Helens contract extension". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Leeds Rhinos on the charge again as Ryan Hall double sinks St Helens". The Guardian. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "Barrow Raiders 38 - 18 Rochdale Hornets". Rochdale Online. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "St Helens win Grand Final after Wigan's Ben Flower is sent off". The Guardian. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
- ^ "St Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
- ^ Critchley, Mike (25 September 2017). "Mark Percival in Super League Dream Team". St Helens Star. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "St Helens 4-18 Warrington RESULT: Challenge Cup Final as it happened from Wembley". Mirror. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ "St Helens give Justin Holbrook the perfect send-off with commanding Grand Final victory over Salford". Telegraph. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- ^ Unwin, Will (12 October 2019). "St Helens 23-6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian.
- ^ "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Mark Percival: St Helens centre out for 'several months' with shoulder injury". BBC Sport.
- ^ "How St Helens players have celebrated their first Challenge Cup win in 13 years". www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
- ^ "Super League Grand Final: Catalans Dragons 10-12 St Helens: Saints win three in a row". BBC Sport.
- ^ Bower, Aaron (24 September 2022). "St Helens sink Leeds to win record fourth consecutive Grand Final". The Observer.
- ^ "St Helens stun Penrith to win World Club Challenge". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Paul Wellens Q&A: Saints review of year and a look to 2024". www.sthelensstar.co.uk. 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Ex-St Helens stalwart slams "total and utter embarrassment" following controversial red card in Salford Red Devils loss". www.totalrl.com.
- ^ "Wellens' reaction to Saints defeat, Mark Percival's red card". www.sthelensstar.co.uk.
- ^ "St Helens' Mark Percival learns disciplinary fate with two players banned". www.examinerlive.co.uk.
- ^ "'Soul destroying': Warrington eliminate St Helens in golden drop goal thriller". www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "England academy calls up John Bateman and Stevie Ward". BBC Sport. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Four Nations warm-up: France 6-40 England". BBC Sport. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "England rugby league World Cup squad revealed - and James Roby is back in the fold". Mirror. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- ^ Irvine, Christopher (13 November 2017). "England have work to do as they book place in Rugby League World Cup quarter-finals". The Times. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Tom Johnstone marks debut with England hat-trick against France". Guardian. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.