Factfile
Position: Prop forward
Date of birth: 26/10/2000
Heritage number: 1097
Previous club: Wigan Academy (Wigan St. Patricks ARLFC)
Representative honours: England Knights
Wigan Debut: vs Wakefield Trinity (H), prop forward (sub), won 46-16 at DW Stadium, 18/07/19
Honours
Challenge Cup: 2022
League Leaders’ Shield: 2020
Profile
A 21-year-old prop forward who was born in Sofia, Bulgaria before growing up in Wigan to later join the Club’s Academy where he would progress to the first team.
- Havard was born in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, as his parents worked there at the time – his mother was a nurse and his father worked in telecommunications.
- Born as Joseph Ethan Havard, his name is part of a family tradition, as his father is called Joseph Kieron Havard and his grandad is called Joseph Brian Havard.
- When Ethan was six-months-old, his family moved back to England in Bath, before moving to Wigan a few years later – where his father, Kieron, is from.
- He first got into Rugby League at the age of five as his father was a coach at Wigan St. Patricks ARLFC – Ethan started playing for the Under-7s team when he was six-years-old.
- After being approached by Wigan, Havard joined the Club’s Scholarship system half-way through 2016.
- He played the full second year in 2017 and was awarded The Riversiders (Wigan Warriors Supporters Club) Under-16s Player of the Year.
- In 2018, he moved up to the Under-19s level in Wigan’s Academy and played a part in the Grand Final winning squad that beat Leeds Rhinos 14-6 at the DW Stadium in September.
- After stand-out performances in 2019, the 6ft 3 forward made his professional debut for the Club in the 46-16 win over Wakefield Trinity in July.
- Havard became a double Academy Grand Final winner when he started at prop in the 22-10 triumph over St Helens at the DW Stadium in September.
- In two years playing for the Under-19s, he made 42 appearances and scored 16 tries.
- After a fine half of the 2020 campaign playing for the first team, Havard signed a new deal with the Club in September 2020, committing his future to Wigan until the end of the 2022 season, with an option for a further year in 2023.
- Havard impressed in his debut season as a full professional, making 11 appearances before having his season cut short with an ankle injury. He picked up the first silverware of his career with Wigan’s League Leaders’ Shield success in November.
- The 2020 season ended with personal success too, with the young forward being named Wigan’s Young Player of the Year at the Club’s End of Season Awards Night.
- Havard was another young player who excelled in 2021, making 25 appearances and also scoring first try in Cherry & White against Warrington Wolves at the Dacia Magic Weekend in Newcastle.
- In the 2022 Challenge Cup Final, Havard came off the bench to join the winning side against the Huddersfield Giants at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
- Havard made 22 appearances in 2022, scoring 5 tries in his best scoring return for the Club to date.
Player Sponsor - Fisher German Priestner
