Mike Eccles (born 5 August 1985) is an English professional rugby league coach who is the lead coach and Director of Rugby & Performance at the London Broncos in the Betfred Super League.
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Eccles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 August 1985 Wigan, Greater Manchester, England | |||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [1] As of 22 Sep 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editEccles was born in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
He attended Low Hall primary school in Wigan and then Gilded Hollins in Leigh. He was in the Wigan Athletic football Academy as a youth. Eccles later graduated from Edge Hill University in 2007.[2]
Coaching career
editEccles joined the Salford City Reds in 2007 as Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach. He held that position with the Super League side for three years before being promoted to the Head of Strength & Conditioning in 2011.[2]
He joined the London Broncos in 2012 as Strength and Conditioning Coach, before heading up the department a year later. In 2016 he was promoted to the Head of Performance at the Broncos.[2]
Eccles replaced Jermaine Coleman in an interim capacity in May 2022, with London languishing towards the bottom of the Betfred Championship following their move to Plough Lane ahead of their 2022 season.[3][4]
At the conclusion of the 2022 campaign he was given the role full time, and the title of Director of Rugby and Performance.[5][6]
Eccles led the Broncos to the play-offs and was named Championship coach of the year in 2023.[7][8]
In October 2023 he coached London back to the Super League, after victory in the Championship Grand Final against Toulouse Olympique in France.[9][10]
References
edit- ^ "Mike Eccles - Coaching Career - RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
- ^ a b c Media, Broncos (20 May 2021). "Getting To Know: London Broncos' Head Of Performance Mike Eccles".
- ^ Shaw, Matthew (24 May 2022). "London Broncos sack coach Jermaine Coleman after torrid start to the season". Yorkshire Live.
- ^ Thomson, Doug (29 May 2022). "London Broncos interim coach looking to steer club towards Championship safety".
- ^ Media, Broncos (11 September 2022). "Eccles to lead London Broncos' coaching operation as Director of Rugby and Performance".
- ^ "London Broncos: the rise, fall and journey back to the Super League". 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Rugby League Awards Night 2023 – the winners". www.rugby-league.com.
- ^ Bower, Aaron (16 September 2023). "London Broncos making capital gains as they target Super League return". The Observer – via The Guardian.
- ^ "'We said we were going to do it': Mike Eccles revels in London Broncos' Super League return".
- ^ "Championship Grand Final: Toulouse 14-18 London Broncos - Capital club back in Super League". BBC Sport.