Keegan Hirst (born 13 February 1988) is an English professional rugby league player who played most recently as a prop for the Batley Bulldogs in the Championship.
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| Born | 13 February 1988 Batley, West Yorkshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 19 st 3 lb (122 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Prop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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He played for the Hunslet Hawks in 2008 National League Two, and the Dewsbury Rams in 2009 Championship 1 and the Championship. Hirst also played for the Batley Bulldogs in two separate spells and for Featherstone Rovers in the Championship. He played for Wakefield Trinity in the Super League, and spent time on loan from Wakefield at Dewsbury and Halifax in the second tier. After the abandonment of the 2020 Championship season, Hirst signed for a third spell with Batley but in October 2020 announced his retirement from the game.[3]
In 2015, he became the first British professional rugby league player to come out as gay.[4]
Background
editHirst was born in Batley, West Yorkshire, England.[5]
Playing career
editHirst began his career as an academy player at Bradford Bulls before joining Hunslet Hawks in 2008.[6] After a season with the Hunslet Hawks, Hirst moved to Dewsbury Rams for two seasons and then moved to Batley Bulldogs for the 2012 season.[7] In 2013 he moved to Featherstone Rovers but returned to Batley, first on loan and then on a permanent move in 2014.[8]
In August 2016, Hirst signed a deal with Wakefield Trinity to play for the Super League side from 2017.[9][10] Hirst made his Super League début in the round six match of Super League XXII against Leigh Centurions.[11]
In popular culture
editIn 2016, Hirst was a dater on Channel 4's dating show First Dates,[12] also in 2016 Hirst took part in W's Celebrity Haunted Hotel.[13]
Personal life
editHirst is divorced with two children.[14] In an interview with the Sunday Mirror in August 2015 he came out as gay,[14] becoming the first British professional rugby league player to do so.[15][16]
Since May 2022, Hirst has been in a relationship with British YouTuber Joel Wood.[17]
See also
edit- Ian Roberts – first openly gay rugby league player
- Gareth Thomas – first openly gay rugby union player
References
edit- ^ loverugbyleague
- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ Darbyshire, Drew (8 October 2020). "Keegan Hirst announces retirement". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ "Spotlight: Keegan Hirst". Queer Insider. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ Flanagan, Aaron (16 August 2015). "Who is Keegan Hirst?". The Mirror. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "How rugby star Keegan Hirst's coming out statement helps to challenge gay stereotypes". Telegraph & Argus. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ^ "Roughyeds 2009". Oldham Evening Chronicle. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ^ "Rovers prop Hirst is back at Batley". Pontefract and Castleford Express. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ^ "Keegan Hirst: Batley Bulldogs prop agrees move to Wakefield Wildcats". BBC Sport. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Keegan Hirst extends Wakefield Trinity contract until 2019". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Wakefield Trinity 28 Leigh Centurions 24: Bish' clocks up a ton as Trinity hit back to win". Yorkshire Evening Post. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ McCormick, Joseph (23 July 2016). "Gay rugby star Keegan Hirst accused of having a boyfriend despite appearing on First Dates". PinkNews. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Celebrity guests check-in to W's Haunted Hotel". corporate.uktv.co.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Rugby League star Keegan Hirst becomes first Brit player to come out as gay". Sunday Mirror. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ^ "Keegan Hirst steps on to field as Britain's first rugby league star to come out as gay". The Guardian. 16 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ^ Maskell, Emily (2 August 2022). "First openly gay rugby league player Keegan Hirst comes out of retirement". Attitude. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Joel Wood on Instagram: "So you might've seen him on a few insta stories here and there but tonight I've just released our first vlog on my YouTube channel of our time in Edinburgh (Actually this is just Episode 1, there's more to come!) if you're a VIP member on my channel then you'll already have met @keeganhirst in a couple of videos but to everyone else… here ya go! Be nice to him please 😂"".
External links
edit- Wakefield Trinity profile Archived 27 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- Batley Bulldogs profile[permanent dead link]
- SL profile