Following the club's merger with Huddersfield Giants in 1999, he co-founded a new Sheffield Eagles club, and was named player-coach. He retired from playing in 2004, and briefly stepped down as head coach in 2005 before resuming coaching duties in 2007.[2] In addition to coaching, he was held various positions in the Eagles boardroom, including CEO and Director of Rugby. From 2011 to 2017, he was also the head coach of the Ireland national team. In 2012, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sheffield Hallam University for his services to sport in Sheffield, and received the Rugby League Writers' Association Merit Award for services to rugby league.
He started playing rugby union at the age of eight in his home town of Castleford. He played one or two games but decided to switch to rugby league. He moved on to Stanley Rangers, in Wakefield, then after a couple of years until the age of fifteen at Oulton Raiders, where his father; Brian Aston had played as an amateur. He then moved to Lock Lane for one season, then started playing at Under-17 level for Castleford. Despite an offer of a professional contract with his home town club, he decided to accept an offer from Sheffield Eagles. At that point he had been playing open age rugby for Selby Gaffers, coached by his father Brian, and had made his first Eagles appearance as an unnamed trialist on Easter Day 1985.
Contemporaneous article extractedit
"Mark AstonScrum-half. Alongside Daryl Powell, has become very much the standard bearer for League in Sheffield. A prolific points scorer and fine tactician, Aston became Sheffield Eagles' second Test player when he appeared as a substitute for Great Britain against France in 1991. A graduate of the Oulton amateur club near Leeds." [5]
Winning the Man-of-the-Match in the 1998 Rugby League Challenge Cup Final was the highlight of Aston's playing career. He controlled the game and drove the team to execute the game plan devised by Eagles' coach John Kear.
^Merlin (01/08/1991). The Official Rugby league Collection (Card 156 of 160). Merlin. ISBN n/a
January 01, 1970
mark, aston, born, september, 1967, head, coach, sheffield, eagles, betfred, championship, english, rugby, league, coach, former, rugby, league, scrum, half, spent, majority, playing, career, with, sheffield, eagles, also, short, spells, with, featherstone, ro. Mark Aston born 27 September 1967 is the head coach of Sheffield Eagles in the Betfred Championship He is an English rugby league coach and former rugby league scrum half who spent the majority of his playing career with Sheffield Eagles He also had short spells with Featherstone Rovers and Bramley and won one cap for Great Britain in 1991 1 In 1998 he was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy after helping Sheffield win the Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium with a 17 8 victory against Wigan Warriors Mark AstonPersonal informationFull nameMark AstonBorn 1967 09 27 27 September 1967 age 56 Castleford West Riding of Yorkshire EnglandPlaying informationHeight5 ft 9 in 1 75 m PositionScrum halfClub Years Team Pld T G FG P 1986 94 Sheffield Eagles 228 4 40 588 34 1370 1987 88 Bramley loan 2 0 0 0 0 1994 95 Featherstone Rovers 34 1 6 85 2 196 1995 03 Sheffield Eagles Total 269 46 673 36 1566 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1991 Great Britain 0 1 0 0 0 0 1992 GB tour games 1 3 0 0 0 0Coaching informationClub Years Team Gms W D L W 1999 05 Sheffield Eagles 2007 Sheffield Eagles 430 231 9 190 54 Total 430 231 9 190 54 Representative Years Team Gms W D L W 2011 17 Ireland 22 10 0 12 45Source 1 2 3 4 Following the club s merger with Huddersfield Giants in 1999 he co founded a new Sheffield Eagles club and was named player coach He retired from playing in 2004 and briefly stepped down as head coach in 2005 before resuming coaching duties in 2007 2 In addition to coaching he was held various positions in the Eagles boardroom including CEO and Director of Rugby From 2011 to 2017 he was also the head coach of the Ireland national team In 2012 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sheffield Hallam University for his services to sport in Sheffield and received the Rugby League Writers Association Merit Award for services to rugby league He is the father of the rugby league stand off or scrum half Cory Aston Contents 1 Early years 2 Contemporaneous article extract 3 Challenge Cup Final appearances 4 Eagles career 5 Career highlights 6 ReferencesEarly years editAston was born in Castleford West Riding of Yorkshire England He started playing rugby union at the age of eight in his home town of Castleford He played one or two games but decided to switch to rugby league He moved on to Stanley Rangers in Wakefield then after a couple of years until the age of fifteen at Oulton Raiders where his father Brian Aston had played as an amateur He then moved to Lock Lane for one season then started playing at Under 17 level for Castleford Despite an offer of a professional contract with his home town club he decided to accept an offer from Sheffield Eagles At that point he had been playing open age rugby for Selby Gaffers coached by his father Brian and had made his first Eagles appearance as an unnamed trialist on Easter Day 1985 Contemporaneous article extract edit Mark Aston Scrum half Alongside Daryl Powell has become very much the standard bearer for League in Sheffield A prolific points scorer and fine tactician Aston became Sheffield Eagles second Test player when he appeared as a substitute for Great Britain against France in 1991 A graduate of the Oulton amateur club near Leeds 5 Challenge Cup Final appearances editMark Aston played scrum half was man of the match winning the Lance Todd Trophy and scored 2 conversions and a drop goal in Sheffield Eagles 17 8 victory over Wigan in the 1998 Challenge Cup Final during Super League III at Wembley Stadium London on Saturday 2 May 1998 Eagles career editTotal matches 389 Eagles record Total points 2142 Eagles record Total goals 940 46 drop goals Eagles record Total tries 54Career highlights editWinning the Man of the Match in the 1998 Rugby League Challenge Cup Final was the highlight of Aston s playing career He controlled the game and drove the team to execute the game plan devised by Eagles coach John Kear He also played for Great Britain against France in 1991 and was selected to go on the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand References edit a b Statistics at rugbyleagueproject org rugbyleagueproject org 31 December 2017 Retrieved 1 January 2018 a b Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject org rugbyleagueproject org 31 December 2017 Retrieved 1 January 2018 Fletcher Raymond 1999 Rothmans Rugby League yearbook 1999 London Headline p 147 ISBN 978 0 7472 7572 5 RL Record Keepers Club Merlin 01 08 1991 The Official Rugby league Collection Card 156 of 160 Merlin ISBN n a Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mark Aston amp oldid 1213560676, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
