WiganWarriorsFans.com

Furthermore Chris has sent me a video of his try off Denis Betts which I will now Tweet.

Rugby League Project is INCOMPLETE and has a disclaimer on Chris's page stating this!

steavis wrote:Here's a link to the Challenge Cup game match report with Chris' name in the team list. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2002/ ... anwarriors

Unless I've read it wrong this has him playing for Leigh?

steavis wrote:Here's a link to the Challenge Cup game match report with Chris' name in the team list. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2002/ ... anwarriors

Fixed your link.

Hi Steavis.I don't want to get into a schoolboy squabble here. As has been said, Chris Irwin did play for Leigh, though the match was a cup quarter-final not a semi.

I've done a bit of searching over the Wigan-Saints Boxing Day game:

The article says Chris is 37, so he'd be born in 1980 or 81. The last Boxing Day derby in the league was, as I understand it, in 1995 when Chris would be 15 at most. So it seems possible that he played in one of the friendlies that were played in the close season after the introduction of summer rugby.

Denis Betts played for Auckland from 1995 to 1997, and Chris was playing for Leigh in March 2002, so the only possibility that fits his claim is that he scored in a friendly on Boxing Day in 1998-2001. This could explain why he doesn't have a heritage number or recorded appearance for Wigan as, presumably, friendly games are not counted.

It's not easy to find information on teams and scorers for these games. However I still think that the quote from Chris gives an inflated impression of his playing career.

steavis wrote:Rugby League Project is INCOMPLETE and has a disclaimer on Chris's page stating this!

Like Morley states I too am not going to argue

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/stats/p ... ris-Irwin/

Another RL site that does not back up his claim to have played first team rugby for Wigan. As for the disclaimer, all websites have disclaimers in them such as these as information is always being updated/improved.

Last modified: Mon, 15 Oct 2018 17:26:53 +0000 (Sydney time)

The above bit interested me though

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... ew-1741862

Now if you read one of the worst RL journo's ever then Neil "Jackanory" Barker is another

Chris Irwin – a former Wigan full-back – is planning to form a professional rugby league club in Manchester for the 2015 Championship One season.

I am not (and originally pointed out) saying that Irwin may not have been a junior at the club at some point. However the claims do not match reality. The video you posted is such poor quality that you can hardly tell anything, never mind assume one of the scorers appears to look like someone you interviewed about 15 years after the alleged game took place with him "playing" in it.

From the newspaper report you linked I give you

Teams
Fullback 1.Neil Turley
Wing 2. Liam Bretherton
Centre 3.Paul Anderson
Centre 4.Jon Roper
Wing 5.Chris Irwin

Five-Eighth 6.Simon Svabic
Halfback 7.Willie Swann
Front Row 8.Rob Ball
Hooker 9.Paul Rowley
Front Row 10.Dave Bradbury
Second Row 11.Simon Baldwin
Second Row 12.Andrew Isherwood
Lock 13.Adam Bristow

Bench 14. Dave Whittle
Bench 15. John Hamilton
Bench 16. Mark McCully
Bench 17. Vila Mata'utia

Neil Turley WAS an ex-junior and I saw him play for the club, as did David Whittle, Andrew Isherwood, Rob Ball and I think even Liam Bretherton - hence the bad feeling between the teams mixed in with nutmegs like Mata'utia. As a fan who at that point traveled to America to watch us play Warrington in Milwaukee and the Broncos in Brisbane, it is strange I cannot remember a player as I would have as per the previous I mentioned

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vThgbzWRkaA[/youtube]

Enjoy the last ever Boxing Day match in 1995 between the two teams and not an Irwin or Betts in sight

Anyone asked Bilko? He's usually good at stats.

The last official boxing day. 1995/6

1. Gary Connolly, 2. Jason Robinson, 3. Va'aiga Tuigamala, 4. Kris Radlinski, 5. Martin Offiah, 6. Henry Paul, 7. Shaun Edwards. 8. Neil Cowie, 9. Martin Hall, 10. Terry O'Connor, 11. Scott Quinnell, 12. Mick Cassidy, 13. Simon Haughton.
Interchanges:
Rob Smyth (replaced Henry Paul - Half Time), Andy Johnson (replaced Terry O'Connor - Half Time),
Martin Dermott (replaced Simon Haughton - 60th Minute), Andy Craig (replaced Gary Connolly - 73rd Minute)

Seems pretty conclusive that the Boxing Day game was a friendly and the CC game he played for Leigh. Both fit with the quote (apart from the miss remembering that it was a semi).

Mike wrote:Seems pretty conclusive that the Boxing Day game was a friendly and the CC game he played for Leigh. Both fit with the quote (apart from the miss remembering that it was a semi).

Mike, I can't disagree with that.

However, having been referred to elsewhere as "trolling" Chris, who is apparently upset, I think it's fair to add in my own defence that:
(a) to claim in a press interview to have scored a try in a Boxing Day Wigan-Saints derby without mentioning that it was a friendly,
(b) to say that you had a "career" in RL at Wigan, Leigh, Swinton and Rochdale when, in fact, that "career" totalled 4 or 5 first team games in lower divisions, none of which were for Wigan,
all invites scrutiny, and provokes speculation.

At no point have I said the bloke was lying, but do I think he was giving a selective, massaged account? Yes, I do.
Do I think that Steve Mascord and League Weekly should check facts before publishing? (Not difficult in the internet age.) Yes I do.

I stand by my right to ask the questions and make the comments I did.