Ian Pickavance

OVERALL STATISTICS

BIRTHAGESIGNED ONFROM
20-09-1968
N/A
10-08-1993
Swinton
DEBUTLAST MATCHLEFT
12-09-1993 v Warrington
Sheffield Eagles
1998- Huddersfield Giants
CAREERAPPEARANCES (SUBS)
1993-1998
156 (86)
TRIESGOALSDGOALSPTS
24
0
1
97

Biography of Ian Pickavance



HERITAGE NO : 1043
Ian Pickavance by Dave Dooley

This strong, hard-running forward became a key part of the St Helens team that carried off the silverware in the mid 1990s. Ian was extremely difficult to tackle especially near the opponent’s tryline. He made his debut coming on as a substitute in the away match at Warrington which ended in a 17 points to 10 loss. Ian evolved as one of the new breed of impact players and as such 86 of his appearances were from the substitute’s bench. His first try for the club came in the fifth round Challenge Cup match at Whitehaven in which the Saints prevailed by 46 points to 4. Some very strong performances in the second row saw Ian drafted into the starting line-up for the last 15 matches of the season. A great highlight for Ian came in that first campaign when Ian romped over for a very impressive hat trick against a weak Leeds outfit as the Saints recorded an unanswered 68 points.

. Ian had several outings at prop forward in his first season and that was to prove his designated position for much of the remainder of his career with the Saints. In the 1994/5 campaign, Ian was rampant as he notched another hat trick in the away Regal Trophy match at Huddersfield in December 1994. He also scored an impressive brace at Workington but it was his intimidating surging runs that warmed the St Helens public to Pickavance. In this season Ian also produced his party piece, a stunning drop goal in the 16 all drawn Challenge Cup tie at Wigan, when the Saints came so close to ending Wigan’s long winning sequence in that competition.

The truncated centenary campaign of 1995/6 was very much a final training session for the full professional era. The measure of the quality of a St Helens side is how well it performs against its deadly rivals from Wigan. In the third game of the season Saints were thrashed by the Riversiders to the tune of 52 points to 20 at Knowsley Road. With the recruitment of Paul Newlove and the maturation of other personnel, by the end of the campaign Saints were running Wigan close in a tightly fought Regal Trophy Final, which featured some great marauding runs by Ian. Another brace of touchdowns against Workington Town ably demonstrated the potential of this rugged customer.

The introduction of summer rugby during Super League One was tailor made for an impact player with the aggressive, attacking qualities of Ian Pickavance. Saints preparations for the Challenge Cup run under Shaun McRae went without a hitch. In the Final the power of Ian and the rest of the Saints pack would eventually wear down the brave Bradford resistance. Ian was on hand shortly after half time when Bobbie Goulding produced his ‘three bomb trick’. The cheeky scrum half launched an enormous up and under that dropped behind the tryline and eluded the Bradford full back Nathan Graham. Ian was on the spot to leap and collect the now bouncing bomb and set the Saints on the road to recovery and eventual victory. Thus, Ian proudly collected his Challenge Cup winner’s medal that sunny Wembley afternoon. Ian seemed to revel in playing matches against the ‘Old Enemy’. The Good Friday encounter at home to Wigan was probably Ian’s most dominant performance in a Saints shirt as Saints fought back from a significant early deficit to record a vital and landmark 41 points to 26 over Wigan. He received the ball 15 metres form the Wigan line and seemed to be faced with the entire opposition pack. ‘Picky’ literally bullied, surged and spun his way over the line and the home crowd finally felt that the balance of power was finally turning to the Saints. Saints winding road to the Championship in the first Super League season was littered with some very close encounters against stern opposition. One such match was the away fixture against Warrington when the Saints were looking down the barrel of a defeat. With just a few minutes of the match remaining Saints were five points behind when Derek McVey made a beautiful break down the left centre channel. As he crossed the Warrington 20m line, he caught a glimpse of ‘Picky’ supporting magnificently on the inside. Ian accepted the ovoid with relish and romped in on an arcing run to plant the ball behind the posts, setting up for an easy match winning goal conversion. Some 16 matches and a 116 chicanes later, the Saints were crowned as Champions and Ian had won another precious winner’s medal.

The 1997 brought Ian his second Challenge Cup winner’s medal against the Bradford Bulls. In a match dominated by Saints rampant pack Ian came off the bench to subdue the Bulls second half mini revival. Ian was still being used by Shaun McRae as an impact player off the bench in this campaign. He scored tries in away fixtures against Salford, Oldham and Wigan as Saints’ season fell away following some unflattering score-lines in the World Club Championship games. Picky’s last season at Knowsley Road was the disappointing 1998 campaign when he started just one match out of 21 appearances in a season that left the Saints with an empty trophy cabinet. His only try and last score for the club came in the 32 points to 22 defeat of Castleford. His last match for the Saints came in the 50 points to nil destruction of Sheffield Eagles.

Ian played for the Saints in the golden years of the mid-nineties and his power helped drive the Saints to new heights as major trophies were collected amid a feast of fine open rugby. ‘Picky’ played an important impact role in this success and was always the scourge of Wigan. That alone would make him forever a local hero! Ian scored a grand total of 24 tries and one drop goal in 156 matches. His 86 substitute appearances put Ian in the top bracket of saintly substitutes.



SEASON STATISTICS

Season (Official Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1993~946 0 0 25
1994~95 7 0 1 33
1995~964 0 0 18
19963 0 0 25
19973 0 0 34
19981 0 0 21
TOTALS:24 0 1 156
Season (Other Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1993~940002
1994~951001
1995~960002
19960001
19970003
19980001
TOTALS:10010

ALL MATCHES

DateMatchPosOpponentsCompVenueFTFTOTGDG
8th Aug 1993 --
L
11 International XIII* Fr Testimonial H 24 54 VIEW
22nd Aug 1993 --
W
14 Widnes* Fr Charity A 30 14 VIEW
12th Sep 1993 1
L
15 Warrington L A 10 17 VIEW
19th Sep 1993 2
W
11 Leigh L H 34 16 VIEW
24th Oct 1993 3
L
15 Sheffield Eagles L H 12 19 VIEW
12th Nov 1993 4
W
12 Dewsbury RT2 A 20 6 VIEW
17th Nov 1993 --NPS
W
15 Leeds L A 21 18 VIEW
21st Nov 1993 5
W
15 Oldham L A 12 2 VIEW
26th Nov 1993 --NPS
D
15 Halifax L H 16 16 VIEW
2nd Jan 1994 6
W
14 Widnes L H 24 16 VIEW
12th Jan 1994 7
L
3 Salford L A 2 34 VIEW
16th Jan 1994 8
L
3 Warrington L H 11 21 VIEW
23rd Jan 1994 9
L
3 Leigh L A 4 21 VIEW
30th Jan 1994 10
W
10 Huddersfield CC4 A 23 16 VIEW
6th Feb 1994 11
W
11 Castleford L H 33 12 1 VIEW
13th Feb 1994 12
W
12 Whitehaven CC5 A 46 4 1 VIEW
20th Feb 1994 13
W
10 Featherstone Rovers L H 27 18 VIEW
27th Feb 1994 14
W
10 Doncaster CC6 H 40 9 VIEW
6th Mar 1994 15
W
10 Wakefield Trinity L A 35 22 VIEW
11th Mar 1994 16
L
10 Sheffield Eagles L A 6 18 VIEW
26th Mar 1994 17
L
12 Leeds CCSF N 8 20 VIEW
1st Apr 1994 18
L
12 Wigan L H 9 15 VIEW
4th Apr 1994 19
L
12 Widnes L A 17 20 VIEW
10th Apr 1994 20
W
12 Hull L H 52 10 VIEW
13th Apr 1994 21
W
12 Leeds L H 68 0 3 VIEW
17th Apr 1994 22
L
10 Oldham L H 26 30 VIEW
19th Apr 1994 23
L
12 Bradford Northern L A 16 18 VIEW
24th Apr 1994 24
L
3 Halifax L A 30 37 VIEW
8th May 1994 25
L
12 Wigan PT1 A 16 34 1 VIEW
14th Aug 1994 --
W
12 Widnes* Fr Charity H 48 4 1 VIEW
21st Aug 1994 26
L
15 Doncaster L H 20 29 VIEW
24th Aug 1994 27
L
11 Warrington L A 10 31 VIEW
28th Aug 1994 28
W
15 Halifax L A 30 22 VIEW
4th Sep 1994 29
W
15 Salford L H 34 28 VIEW
11th Sep 1994 30
W
15 Workington Town L A 30 25 2 VIEW
18th Sep 1994 31
W
11 Castleford L H 47 14 VIEW
25th Sep 1994 32
W
11 Sheffield Eagles L H 26 10 VIEW
2nd Oct 1994 33
D
11 Oldham L A 18 18 VIEW
9th Oct 1994 34
W
12 Leeds L H 25 18 VIEW
16th Oct 1994 35
W
12 Bradford Northern L A 51 12 VIEW
1st Nov 1994 36
L
11 Australia Tour H 14 32 VIEW
27th Nov 1994 37
L
15 Salford L A 12 39 VIEW
4th Dec 1994 38
W
11 Huddersfield RT2 A 52 11 3 VIEW
11th Dec 1994 39
W
11 Workington Town L H 48 10 VIEW
18th Dec 1994 40
D
11 Batley RT3 A 22 22 VIEW
20th Dec 1994 41
W
14 Batley RT3rep H 50 22 VIEW
26th Dec 1994 42
L
15 Wigan L H 25 32 VIEW
1st Jan 1995 43
W
15 Widnes L A 20 10 VIEW
8th Jan 1995 44
L
15 Wigan RT4 A 22 24 VIEW
11th Jan 1995 45
L
15 Wakefield Trinity L A 0 15 VIEW
15th Jan 1995 --NPS
W
15 Featherstone Rovers L H 26 20 VIEW
22nd Jan 1995 46
W
15 Hull L H 54 18 VIEW
29th Jan 1995 47
L
10 Castleford L A 16 18 VIEW
5th Feb 1995 48
L
11 Sheffield Eagles L A 31 35 VIEW
11th Feb 1995 49
D
10 Wigan CC4 A 16 16 1 1 VIEW
15th Feb 1995 50
L
10 Wigan CC4rep H 24 40 1 VIEW
19th Feb 1995 51
W
10 Oldham L H 32 22 VIEW
12th Mar 1995 52
W
10 Hull L A 43 32 VIEW
17th Mar 1995 53
W
10 Bradford Northern L H 36 27 VIEW
22nd Mar 1995 54
W
15 Leeds L A 31 20 VIEW
26th Mar 1995 55
L
11 Featherstone Rovers L A 27 34 VIEW
21st Apr 1995 56
W
10 Warrington L H 31 12 VIEW
7th May 1995 57
W
10 Halifax PT1 H 32 16 VIEW
14th May 1995 58
L
10 Leeds PTSF A 26 30 VIEW
6th Aug 1995 --
W
22 Hull* Fr Testimonial H 64 16 VIEW
11th Aug 1995 --
W
10 Salford* Fr A 32 22 VIEW
20th Aug 1995 59
W
17 Bradford Bulls L H 55 10 VIEW
23rd Aug 1995 60
W
17 Oldham L A 44 18 VIEW
28th Aug 1995 61
L
17 Wigan L H 20 52 VIEW
3rd Sep 1995 62
L
17 Leeds L A 24 36 VIEW
10th Sep 1995 63
W
8 Workington Town L A 66 22 2 VIEW
13th Sep 1995 64
W
10 Sheffield Eagles L H 62 20 VIEW
17th Sep 1995 65
W
8 Castleford L H 35 18 VIEW
5th Nov 1995 66
W
11 Halifax L H 58 20 1 VIEW
11th Nov 1995 67
W
11 Keighley Cougars RT2 A 42 14 VIEW
17th Nov 1995 68
W
11 Bradford Bulls L A 32 18 VIEW
3rd Dec 1995 69
W
17 Workington Town L H 58 10 VIEW
10th Dec 1995 70
W
10 Halifax RT4 H 46 18 VIEW
13th Dec 1995 71
W
10 Oldham L H 32 22 VIEW
20th Dec 1995 72
L
10 Castleford L A 18 26 VIEW
1st Jan 1996 73
L
11 Leeds L H 14 20 VIEW
4th Jan 1996 74
W
11 Warrington RTSF H 80 0 1 VIEW
7th Jan 1996 75
W
10 Warrington L H 54 14 VIEW
13th Jan 1996 76
L
10 Wigan RTF N 16 25 VIEW
31st Mar 1996 77
W
16 Workington Town SL A 62 0 VIEW
5th Apr 1996 78
W
16 Wigan Warriors SL H 41 26 1 VIEW
8th Apr 1996 79
W
16 Leeds Rhinos SL A 46 24 VIEW
14th Apr 1996 80
W
16 Bradford Bulls SL H 26 20 VIEW
21st Apr 1996 81
W
16 Halifax Blue Sox SL A 30 28 VIEW
27th Apr 1996 82
W
16 Bradford Bulls SCCCF W 40 32 1 VIEW
5th May 1996 83
W
16 Oldham Bears SL H 66 18 VIEW
12th May 1996 84
W
16 London Broncos SL H 24 22 VIEW
17th May 1996 85
W
16 Warrington Wolves SL A 25 24 1 VIEW
27th May 1996 86
W
10 Castleford Tigers SL H 62 24 VIEW
2nd Jun 1996 87
W
10 Paris St.Germain SL H 52 10 VIEW
8th Jun 1996 88
W
11 Sheffield Eagles SL A 43 32 VIEW
16th Jun 1996 89
W
17 Workington Town SL H 60 16 VIEW
21st Jun 1996 90
L
15 Wigan Warriors SL A 19 35 VIEW
30th Jun 1996 91
W
11 Leeds Rhinos SL H 42 16 VIEW
5th Jul 1996 92
L
11 Bradford Bulls SL A 22 50 VIEW
14th Jul 1996 93
W
17 Halifax Blue Sox SL H 58 20 VIEW
19th Jul 1996 94
W
17 Oldham Bears SL A 54 18 VIEW
27th Jul 1996 95
W
17 London Broncos SL A 32 28 VIEW
2nd Aug 1996 96
W
11 Castleford Tigers SL A 20 16 VIEW
10th Aug 1996 97
W
16 Paris St.Germain SL A 32 12 VIEW
18th Aug 1996 98
W
17 Sheffield Eagles SL H 68 2 VIEW
26th Aug 1996 99
W
17 Warrington Wolves SL H 66 14 VIEW
1st Sep 1996 100
W
17 London Broncos PTSF H 25 14 VIEW
8th Sep 1996 101
L
17 Wigan Warriors PTF N 14 44 VIEW
26th Dec 1996 --
L
12 Wigan* Fr Norweb Challenge A 22 32 VIEW
12th Jan 1997 --
W
12 Wigan* Fr Norweb Challenge H 44 12 VIEW
24th Jan 1997 --
L
12 Leeds Rhinos* Fr H 30 36 VIEW
8th Feb 1997 102
W
15 Wigan Warriors SCCC4 H 26 12 VIEW
23rd Feb 1997 103
W
15 Hull SCCC5 H 54 8 VIEW
9th Mar 1997 104
W
15 Keighley Cougars SCCC6 A 24 0 VIEW
16th Mar 1997 105
W
15 London Broncos SL A 28 24 VIEW
22nd Mar 1997 106
W
15 Salford Reds SCCCSF N 50 20 VIEW
28th Mar 1997 107
W
15 Wigan Warriors SL A 22 10 1 VIEW
31st Mar 1997 108
W
11 Sheffield Eagles SL H 32 12 VIEW
5th Apr 1997 109
W
14 Paris St.Germain SL A 44 6 VIEW
11th Apr 1997 110
L
14 Leeds Rhinos SL A 12 13 VIEW
27th Apr 1997 111
W
17 Castleford Tigers SL H 42 16 VIEW
3rd May 1997 112
W
17 Bradford Bulls SCCCF W 32 22 VIEW
11th May 1997 113
L
17 Bradford Bulls SL A 18 38 VIEW
16th May 1997 114
D
11 London Broncos SL H 22 22 VIEW
22nd May 1997 115
L
11 Salford Reds SL A 26 39 1 VIEW
26th May 1997 116
L
12 Wigan Warriors SL H 12 65 VIEW
6th Jun 1997 117
L
14 Auckland Warriors WCC H 14 42 VIEW
16th Jun 1997 118
L
14 Cronulla Sharks WCC H 8 48 VIEW
22nd Jun 1997 119
L
14 Penrith Panthers WCC H 30 50 VIEW
29th Jun 1997 120
W
15 Oldham Bears SL A 34 30 1 VIEW
2nd Jul 1997 121
L
15 Sheffield Eagles SL A 12 14 VIEW
6th Jul 1997 122
L
15 Bradford Bulls SL H 20 38 VIEW
13th Jul 1997 123
W
8 Halifax Blue Sox SL H 38 20 VIEW
21st Jul 1997 124
L
17 Cronulla Sharks WCC A 12 28 VIEW
25th Jul 1997 125
L
11 Auckland Warriors WCC A 6 70 VIEW
4th Aug 1997 126
L
10 Penrith Panthers WCC A 26 32 VIEW
10th Aug 1997 127
W
14 Oldham Bears SL H 36 26 VIEW
13th Aug 1997 128
W
14 Paris St.Germain WCCPO H 42 4 VIEW
17th Aug 1997 129
L
14 Castleford Tigers SL A 16 35 VIEW
22nd Aug 1997 130
W
14 Warrington Wolves SL A 22 20 VIEW
31st Aug 1997 131
W
15 Paris St.Germain SL H 26 14 VIEW
12th Sep 1997 132
W
10 Salford Reds PT H 26 12 VIEW
19th Sep 1997 133
W
15 Castleford Tigers PTSF H 32 18 VIEW
28th Sep 1997 134
L
15 Wigan Warriors PTF N 20 33 VIEW
4th Oct 1997 135
L
15 Brisbane Broncos WCCQF A 12 66 VIEW
26th Dec 1997 --
L
11 Wigan Warriors* Fr A 2 46 VIEW
25th Jan 1998 --
W
12 Swinton Lions* Fr H 50 28 VIEW
15th Feb 1998 136
W
16 Featherstone Rovers SCCC4 A 56 24 VIEW
1st Mar 1998 137
W
16 Warrington Wolves SCCC5 H 35 22 VIEW
15th Mar 1998 138
L
16 Wigan Warriors SCCC6 A 10 22 VIEW
5th Apr 1998 139
W
15 Salford Reds SL A 18 14 VIEW
10th Apr 1998 140
L
15 Wigan Warriors SL H 18 38 VIEW
19th Apr 1998 141
W
14 Huddersfield Giants SL A 26 24 VIEW
26th Apr 1998 142
W
14 Warrington Wolves SL H 36 14 VIEW
10th May 1998 143
L
14 Bradford Bulls SL A 4 18 VIEW
7th Jun 1998 144
W
15 Castleford Tigers SL A 34 12 VIEW
14th Jun 1998 145
W
16 London Broncos SL H 58 6 VIEW
20th Jun 1998 146
L
15 Sheffield Eagles SL A 17 18 VIEW
28th Jun 1998 147
W
15 Salford Reds SL H 48 12 VIEW
5th Jul 1998 148
L
15 Wigan Warriors SL A 14 38 VIEW
26th Jul 1998 149
L
15 Wigan Warriors SL N 2 36 VIEW
2nd Aug 1998 150
W
15 Huddersfield Giants SL H 68 18 VIEW
9th Aug 1998 151
W
15 Warrington Wolves SL A 48 18 VIEW
23rd Aug 1998 152
W
16 Hull Sharks SL A 20 6 VIEW
30th Aug 1998 153
W
16 Halifax Blue Sox SL H 36 6 VIEW
4th Sep 1998 154
L
16 Leeds Rhinos SL A 18 37 VIEW
13th Sep 1998 155
D
16 Castleford Tigers SL H 32 32 1 VIEW
25th Sep 1998 156
W
8 Sheffield Eagles SL H 50 0 VIEW
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub.
WINS : 104 | LOSSES : 59 | DRAWS : 6

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