Luke Gale

Luke Gale (born 22 June 1988 in Leeds, England) is a professional rugby league player for Castleford Tigers in the Super League. He previously played for Bradford Bulls and Harlequins RL in Super League and for Doncaster in the Championships. He plays as a stand-off or scrum-half.

Club career

A Leeds academy graduate, Gale joined joined Doncaster in 2007 and established himself as a first-choice player, winning the National League Two Young Player of the Year award in 2008, in which he became the club's record points scorer in a season. Gale's form at Doncaster attracted interest from Super League clubs and he moved to Harlequins Rugby League, spending three years at the club before joining Bradford Bulls.

Bradford Bulls

Gale immediately became first-choice scrum-half for Bradford, scoring 143 points for the club in his debut season. He signed a three-year extension to his contract at the start of 2013, however he missed the first three months of the season due to injury and only made 16 appearances in total during the year. Gale missed only one match for Bradford in 2014, however the team struggled on the field and the club was relegated from Super League at the end of the season, following which Gale left the club.

Castleford Tigers

Gale joined Castleford in 2015 as a replacement for the departing Marc Sneyd, and scored a try on his debut for the club against Wakefield. Gale enjoyed a productive season, scoring 205 points and becoming an integral part of the team that narrowly missed out on the Super League semi-finals. His form was recognised as he won the Albert Goldthorpe Medal at the end of the season.

Gale was made acting captain for the 2016 due to injury to Michael Shenton. Another strong season in which he topped the league for try assists saw him retain his Albert Goldthorpe medal.

Representative career

In 2011 and 2012, Gale played for the England Knights team. He kicked 8 goals, as well as scoring 1 try, in the Knights' 56–4 victory over Ireland in the 2012 European Cup.

After an outstanding 2015 Super League season, Gale was selected in the senior England team for their end-of-year internationals against France and New Zealand. He was selected again in England's squad for the 2016 Four Nations. He finally made his international debut in a test match against France.

Statistics

As of 28 March 2016