Death of a star Cumbrian
By RICHARD de la RIVIERE
STEPHEN HOLGATE 15 December 1971 - 16 November 2021
THE West Cumbrian Rugby League community was plunged into mourning last Tuesday when news emerged that Stephen Holgate, the former England international, had died at the age of 49.
Holgate’s career was remarkable in many ways.
He was one of only a handful of players in the modern era to move straight from amateur football into the top division of the professional game.
He made his full international debut after just six months as a professional.
And then, having scaled such heights, his career went full circle as he finished his playing days with Hensingham.
Holgate’s rugby journey began as an 11-year-old when he played for Arlecdon and then Hensingham, a club with a wonderful record of producing professionals in the early 1990s.