Hull FC legend Scott Taylor set for professional head coaching role at new club
Former Hull FC prop Scott Taylor will be the new head coach of Goole Vikings. Hull Live understands the ambitious East Yorkshire club have been accepted into rugby league's professional ranks for the 2025 season and beyond, with Black and Whites legend Taylor, who retired from playing at the end of last season, getting his first professional coaching job in the League 1 competition.
Fending off other bids from Bedford Tigers and Anglian Vipers, the Vikings will now make the step up to League 1 next season, with their president, Anthony Whiteley, describing Goole, who were the first club to declare their bid, at the time as an 'untapped area in the sport’s traditional heartlands' and the 'ideal candidate' to join the sport’s third tier next season.
Taylor, meanwhile, is a fully qualified rugby league coach, having earned his badges several years ago while playing. He previously coached community club Beverley ARLFC and took them from the Yorkshire Men's League into the National Conference League, with the club still growing to the present day.
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Hull Live also understands Taylor has done some coaching consultancy work with Warrington Wolves this season, having kept up a strong relationship with Wire head coach Sam Burgess from their days in the England international scene, and is now ready to make the step up.
The 33-year-old, a passionate rugby league man, has been assessing his options since retirement last year but spoke exclusively to Hull Live in April about his desire to get back into the sport. That desire has now come to fruition, with Taylor, who won two Challenge Cups in an eight-year stay with boyhood club Hull, now set for his first step into professional coaching.
He will take charge of an ambitious club, one that is understood to be spearheaded by former Hull FC CEO James Clark, who left the Black and Whites in May. Hull Live understands Clark has been enquiring about player availability in recent weeks, with the club set for a hefty recruitment drive.
Taylor, meanwhile, has an abundance of contacts within rugby league after an excellent 14-year playing career and will hope to build a competitive squad for Goole's first season as a professional entity. As well as spells at Hull FC, he also played for Wigan Warriors, where he won the Challenge Cup and Super League competitions, as well as Hull KR. He also had loan spells with Salford Red Devils and Leigh Leopards, and played internationally for England.
Goole have been operating as an amateur side from the town’s Victoria Pleasure Ground for the last several seasons. They also have a junior set-up that competes in the Hull & District Rugby League, with the club continuing preparations ahead of their debut 2025 season.
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