Craig Kopczak (born 20 December 1986) is a Wales international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for Oldham RLFC in the RFL League 1.
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| Full name | Craig Kopczak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 December 1986 Bradford, West Yorkshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 17 st 0 lb (108 kg)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 28 January 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He previously played for the Bradford Bulls in the Super League, and on loan from Bradford at Halifax in 2008's National League One. Kopczak has also played for the Huddersfield Giants, Wakefield Trinity and the Salford Red Devils in the Super League.[2][3]
Background
Craig Kopczak was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
Craig is married to Victoria and they have two children, Poppy and Harvey.[4]
Playing career
Bradford
Kopczak made his Bradford début in 2006. He spent at period in 2008 on loan at Halifax, and later established himself as an important first-team player for Bradford. He scored his first try for the club against St Helens in 2008, and scored his first career hat-trick against Wakefield Trinity.[citation needed]
Huddersfield
Kopczak signed a three-year deal with Huddersfield after he left the Bradford club. He played for the club for three years and was a member of the team that won the League Leaders' Shield in 2013.[citation needed]
Salford
Kopczak joined Salford ahead of the 2016 Super League season.[citation needed]
Featherstone Rovers
On 5 December 2020, it was announced that he would join Featherstone Rovers for the 2021 season.[5]On 28 May 2022, he played for Featherstone in their 2022 RFL 1895 Cup final loss against Leigh.[6]
Oldham RLFC
On 23 October 2023, it was reported that he had joined Oldham RLFC for the 2024 season on a two-year deal[7]
Statistics
| Season | Team | Apps | Tries | Goals | D/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 |  Bradford Bulls | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2010 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2011 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |
| 2012 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Sub-total: | 123 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 | |
| 2008 |  Halifax R.L.F.C. (loan) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 |  Huddersfield Giants | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 2014 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2015 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Sub-total: | 89 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |
| 2016 |  Salford Red Devils | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 2017 | 32 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | |
| 2018 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Sub-total: | 84 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 | |
| 2019 |  Wakefield Trinity | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2020 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Sub-total: | 43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 2021 |  Featherstone Rovers | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 2022 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2023 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Sub-total: | 49 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 | |
| 2024 |  Oldham RLFC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 392 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 172 |
Wales
Although born in England, Craig represents Wales at international level due to his heritage. He made his Wales début in 2007, and scored his first Wales try in a match against England in 2009.[8][9]
He featured for Wales in the 2011 Four Nations.He was Wales player of the tournament during the Four Nations, whilst also winning Bradford's Player of the Year 2011.
He captained Wales[10] in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and 2015 European Cup. He captained the team again in the following year's 2017 World Cup qualifiers.
Craig retired from International Rugby League in 2018.[11]
References
External links
- Wakefield Trinity profile
- Salford Red Devils profile
- (archived by web.archive.org) Bradford Bulls profile
- SL profile
- (archived by web.archive.org) Statistics at rlwc2017.com