Sculthorpe was born on 22 September 1977 in Burnley, Lancashire, England. He grew up in Oldham, and was educated at Thorp County Primary School, Royton until the age of 10, completing his primary education at Watersheddings Primary School and then Counthill School. He played junior rugby league initially for Royton Tigers,[5] then Oldham Juniors, Mayfield and Waterhead.[6][7] He moved to Ince Rosebridge after a disagreement with his teammates regarding a Southern Hemisphere tour. He played for the Wigan club for two years leading up to his contract with Warrington. He started his professional career with Warrington, making his debut in 1995.[8]
Sculthorpe moved to St Helens in 1997 for £375,000,[10] at the time a record transfer fee for a forward (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £516,500 in 2013).[11]
Sculthorpe was named St Helens captain in 2004, and led the team to victory over Wigan in the 2004 Challenge Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. That year he also joined a select band of players to have scored 100 tries and 100 goals in Super League. In the end of season 2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament, in the final against Australia he played at loose forward in the Lions' 44–4 loss.[12]
In 2005 Sculthorpe scored his 1,000th point for Saints.[citation needed]He was named as Great Britain captain in 2005, although injury ruled out for the most of 2005's Super League X and prevented him from leading the side in the 2005 Tri-Nations tournament.
As one of the stars of the world game, Sculthorpe secured a lucrative sponsorship deal as the face of Gillette, which at the time was the most lucrative sponsorship deal made by any rugby league player worldwide.[citation needed] In March 2006, Sculthorpe signed a deal with Random House to publish his autobiography, Man of Steel, which was published in August 2007.[citation needed] Sculthorpe captained St Helens as a second-row in their 2006 Challenge Cup Final victory against Huddersfield. However his time as Great Britain captain was less successful, as he only ever captained the side for 18 minutes. This came in the one-off test game at Knowsley Road in 2006 between Great Britain and New Zealand, in which he was forced off after injuring his knee. Sculthorpe returned from the injury and was named man-of-the-match in St Helens' win over Brisbane Broncos in the 2007 World Club Challenge. In September 2007 he signed a new 12-month contract with St Helens which saw him celebrate his testimonial season at the club.
Sculthorpe's final game for St Helens was in the 2008 Challenge Cup Final, where he injured his shoulder in the opening minutes. After being injury hit in 2008's Super League XIII with only a handful of games played, St. Helens announced they would release Sculthorpe at the end of the season. He was touted as a potential signing for Salford, or joining up with brother Danny at Wakefield Trinity in time for the 2009 Super League season.[13] However, Sculthorpe announced his retirement from the game on 19 September 2008.[14]
He was awarded the honour of MBE in the 2013 New Year's Honours List, for "services to Rugby League and to charity".[1]
On 9 September 2024, Sculthorpe was inducted into the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame.[15]
References
^ ab"No. 60367"(PDF). The London Gazette. 29 December 2012. p. 22.
