Rugby League Heroes: Kelvin Skerrett (Part One)

[josie andrews]

Kelvin Skerrett was one of the most fearsome Rugby League players in the 1980s and ‘90s.

Having played for Hunslet, he forced his way into the Great Britain team as a Bradford Northern player before Wigan came calling in the summer of 1990.

He was the cornerstone of a tremendous pack that didn’t just win multiple medals, but they represented Great Britain en masse in 1992 when the Lions thrashed Australia in Melbourne.


‘SuperKel’ was the first professional player to insist on having a clause in his contract that would make him a free agent when it expired, meaning his next club didn’t have to pay a transfer fee – and could therefore pay him more.

How influential on your career were your dad Ernie and your uncle Trevor?

I watched my dad play when I was a kid and I watched Trevor a lot when he played professionally. He was a big influence. I followed them into rugby, but if they’d played football, I’d have made a lot more money! Trevor and I never played against each other. I was at Hunslet in Division Two when he was in Division One. Then he went from Leeds to Keighley around the time I signed for Bradford Northern. It would have been frightening to play against him. As I’d seen him tackle, I’d have played on the other side of the pitch! He was a world-record signing for Hull, and he was due to captain the Great Britain tour in 1984 before he got injured, so he was clearly one of the top players.

Why did you sign for Hunslet?


When I signed, I could have gone to Hull. They offered me the same contract as Garry Schofield, but my uncle and dad advised me to sign for Hunslet and be a free agent after three years. I was the first player to do that. I played in a pre-season friendly for Hunslet against Halifax. Arthur Bunting came to watch me play, which resulted in Hull offering me a £36,000 contract. But I wanted to be a free agent and control my future. Hull were not interested in this as it could have opened the door for every player to want a similar contract. Hunslet were unable to match Hull’s money, but I accepted a three-year deal at £2,000 a season, as long as I could be a free agent when it expired. It was a gamble. You don’t know if you’re going to make it, but I had belief in myself along with some sleepless nights with injuries and doubt, but what a ride! £36,000 was a lot to turn down in 1984.

You made your Hunslet debut on 2nd September 1984 in a 32-10 defeat at Oldham. Why did you only play the first 13 matches of the season?

I broke my back in two places. I chipped two of the vertebrates in a scrum. I played the week after and it just wasn’t right. Back then, you had to go to hospital on your own, so I went to A & E, told the doctor I’d played another game with it, and he couldn’t believe it.

I did three seasons with Hunslet, and they ended up getting promoted [in 1987], although I was in dispute with them and missed a lot of the run-in. Hunslet wanted to re-sign me after the three years, but I was getting interest from other clubs, and Hunslet didn’t want to pay as much as Bradford. I missed the back end of the season because they wouldn’t pick me over the dispute, but we had a good side and they still got promoted. When I first signed, they had Graham King who played all his career there, even though he had other clubs after him. He was always on the fringes of Great Britain, but he probably played for the wrong club. He was a cracking scrum-half. Johnny Wolford was the loose forward. He was like Harry Pinner but slower! He was a great ball handler.


What happened when you became a free agent?

After three seasons at Hunslet, it paid off, and I was able to negotiate my own contract with no transfer fee, but only after Hunslet tried to stitch me up, which resulted in a tribunal. I moved to Bradford Northern and did the same again. Then it really paid off because I had performed well for Bradford and Great Britain, so when I became a free agent again, clubs went nuts because they could sign a Great Britain prop with no transfer fee to pay. They just had to pay my contract, and I chose Wigan.

You played in an excellent Bradford side that was unlucky not to win more than it did.

I joined them in the summer of 1987. We won the Yorkshire Cup in a replay against Castleford. We also lost 2-0 to Wigan in the first round of the Challenge Cup. That was the start of their run of wins in the cup that lasted eight years. It was muddy. Wigan had a great side. Joe Lydon kicked a penalty. While everyone was arguing over the penalty, Joe nicked five or ten metres to make the kick easier. We were gutted to lose that.


Tell us about your brief sojourn with Western Suburbs in 1989 along with Ellery Hanley and Garry Schofield.

I was on the fringes of Great Britain selection and wanted to experience playing in the Australian league. John Bailey, the Wests coach, didn’t seem to want me there though. Three players coming in meant three local lads going out. I was an unknown compared to Ellery and Garry, but I had a good time and made friends. Graham Mackay later came to Bradford. Brendan Tuuta came to Featherstone and Castleford.

I didn’t impress myself at Western Suburbs. My style was to play together as a pack, but I remember a fight at South Sydney one day when one of my team-mates grabbed my arms and chest, and I got hit in the face! ‘Shouldn’t you be grabbing the opposition?’ I thought. We weren’t winning, and I felt like I was getting pushed out by the coach. I decided to leave because I wasn’t playing. He asked what I would be doing when I went back. I’d hopefully have a good season and play for Great Britain, I replied. I don’t think he rated my chances of that, but I saw him when I was on the Great Britain tour in 1992, and he said I’d obviously done okay. If we’d worked together, things would have been much better for both of us.

What are your memories of Great Britain’s series victory over the Kiwis in 1989?


Things fell into place for me when I came back to England and I was called up by Great Britain. We lost the first Test to the Kiwis. It was so much quicker than a league game. If you got tired, you just had to keep going. The Kiwis were on form that day. We played a basic game, one-up rugby, and we didn’t test them enough. Malcolm Reilly thought I’d done okay and picked me for the second Test. That’s when Steve Hampson was sent off at the start for headbutting Gary Freeman. I remember Steve being so gutted at half-time. He was crying, saying how much he had let everyone down. I was so impressed by him being so honest. I never did that when I got sent off! We had to play 79 minutes with 12 men, but if you stick together, you can still do okay. Teams shouldn’t fall apart when they have someone sent off. Central Park was the best place to play the third Test. It felt like we had a 14th man with the crowd behind us. The team got stronger through the series. We were probably shellshocked in the first Test, but the more we trained together, the better we got, and we won the series. It was a brilliant experience.

You were then selected to tour New Zealand at the end of the season.

I was injured and missed the start of the tour. I was sent to Australia for a few weeks to have a knee operation in Sydney. I came back in for the Test series in New Zealand. I don’t think I played very well though. We were getting beaten in the second Test, and I remember saying, ‘We’ve got ‘em here’, and I made a break, found Garry Schofield, and Martin Offiah scored. Mike Gregory was a great captain and a great guy. I followed him like a sheep on and off the pitch! He was a good friend.

Did Maurice Lindsay tap you up on that tour, as you were soon wearing Wigan colours?


No, it was more or less sorted beforehand. I had an agreement for another deal with Bradford when I returned from Australia, but when they went back on their word over something, that gave me the chance to walk away because Wigan had made me such a good offer. Maurice had spoken to me during the 1989 series with New Zealand and said Wigan were very interested in me. They offered me extortionate money, so I was delighted when Bradford changed their minds. Who wouldn’t want to go and play for Wigan, especially for a lot more money?

*In part two next week, Skerrett discusses why it took him a while to settle in at Wigan, his notorious disciplinary record and whether or not he actually qualified for Wales, who he captained.

*This interview has recently been published in Richard de la Rivière’s new book, ’50 Wigan Legends in their Own Words’, which is available at totalrl.com/shop.


https://www.totalrl.com/rugby-league-he ... -part-one/

[morley pie eater]

My son was working in Oulton, between Leeds, Cas and Wakefield, probably 1999 or 2000. He got a taxi and Kelvin was the driver.
Great player, great character. Was at the match at Knowsley Road when he earned the "Flying Kel" tag, and bought the t-shirt

[buttmonkey2]

Was at the match at Knowsley Road when he earned the "Flying Kel" tag, and bought the t-shirt

You wouldn't have been because that happened at Central Park against Fev (Brendan Tuuta if memory serves)

[the pieman]

and he features in the most watched piece of rugby league commentary ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2cmMUrwRKs

[Firestarter]

Was at the match at Knowsley Road when he earned the "Flying Kel" tag, and bought the t-shirt

You wouldn't have been because that happened at Central Park against Fev (Brendan Tuuta if memory serves)

I thought it started when roebuck tackled the try scorer late.Could be mistaken but he was notorious for it

[DaveO]

Was at the match at Knowsley Road when he earned the "Flying Kel" tag, and bought the t-shirt

You wouldn't have been because that happened at Central Park against Fev (Brendan Tuuta if memory serves)

I thought the nickname was SuperKel not flying Kel (as in superman)?

[endoman]

Was at the match at Knowsley Road when he earned the "Flying Kel" tag, and bought the t-shirt

You wouldn't have been because that happened at Central Park against Fev (Brendan Tuuta if memory serves)

I thought the nickname was SuperKel not flying Kel (as in superman)?

Yes it was SuperKel. It's described in the book by Kelvin himself.

[josie andrews]

Rugby League heroes Kelvin Skerrett - Part 2

HAVING impressed at Hunslet and Bradford Northern, Kelvin Skerrett earned a Great Britain call-up in 1989 and toured with the Lions in 1990. He signed for Wigan after that tour and went on to establish a reputation with home fans as one of their all-time great forwards and with away fans as a pantomime villain. He played for Wales in 1995 and signed for Halifax in 1997.

What were your early days at Central Park like?

It took me a while to find my feet after I signed for Wigan. I struggled for six weeks or so. I couldn’t get my breath. Dr Zaman wasn’t at a game at home to Sheffield. The guy standing in for him was Roger Wolstenholme, a chest specialist. I came off after 20 minutes. I hadn’t impressed the crowd. ‘Come and see me in the morning,’ he said. He told me I had asthma. I’d never had a problem with that in my life. He tested my lungs, and I was running on a fraction of my lung capacity. I had to have ventilators at every game during my career, and I had to take them in the right order, but I don’t suffer with it now. It was just when I played.

Why were you absent from the 1991 Challenge Cup Final?

I’d missed the semi-final through suspension and then I missed the final too. I was due to go before the disciplinary, but the hearing was put back a couple of times. By the time my case was heard, my ban meant I missed Wembley. I thought that was unfair. I was distraught. I didn’t go down to the game because they didn’t need me sulking when everyone else was focusing on the game and John Monie agreed. My first Wembley was in 1992. We were told it was just another game – ‘It’s just a normal rugby pitch, don’t look up at the crowd.’ I kept my head down and played my normal game, and we beat Castleford 28-12.

You toured with the Lions again in 1992.

We scored more points than Australia in the 1992 series – just not in the right games! I got a dead leg in the first game. My leg went black, but the physio Dave Fevre got me right, and I played at Melbourne. That second Test was fantastic. The full starting pack were Wigan players. We knew how to play together, and it gave us an edge. Things went right for us that night. We couldn’t have played any better, but we lost the series and then in the World Cup Final at Wembley a few months later. I was upset to be on the bench for that, but you have to just do as you’re told. It was so close, but it went the wrong way. You sit in the dressing-room afterwards, thinking what we should have done differently, but it’s too late by then.

Twenty years on, what do you think of Mick Morgan’s infamous commentary of the 1994 Regal Trophy Final? Did you appreciate being called a “dirty get”?

Ha! Mick used to do commentaries like that for Castleford every week and they were hilarious. He’s a funny character. You could pick any game and the commentary would be similar. I thought it was funny, but on the BBC version, Ray French said there wasn’t much wrong with what I did and that it was just a bit late. None of the Castleford players ran in upset, which is a sign they didn’t think there was much wrong with it either. [Andy Hay] had said something, and we were getting beaten quite well. It looked worse than it was!

That defeat had been building from the start of the season. John Dorahy had taken over from John Monie in the summer of 1993. He had some great ideas, but coaching Wigan is more about man-management. Some people need picking up and some need putting down. John Monie had been exceptional at man management. John Dorahy just didn’t get the players. ‘Everything is going to change – forget what you’ve been taught,’ he said when he got the job. Fair enough if it’s broken, but it wasn’t. He lost the dressing room. You don’t get the best out of your team if they’re not happy.

You earned the nickname ‘SuperKel’ after an extraordinary incident in a game against Featherstone in 1994. Tell us about it.

It was quite a niggly game. I was taking a breather near the halfway line when the action was going on. I’d seen Andy Platt going down. I ran as fast as I could, and the adrenaline was going! I didn’t hit anyone. Even when I got up, I didn’t hit anyone. I meant to run into the group of players rather than over the top of them. We all got a fine for that. Then the RFL looked at it later and wanted to really punish me, but we came up with the response that if they’d already fined me, then I’d already been punished, and they couldn’t punish me twice. It worked. I never hit anyone; I just made a fool of myself!

What happened with Dean Sampson at Old Trafford in the 1994 Premiership Final, when you appeared to be elbowed in the face and were injured?

Sampson took the ball in, and it was just one of those things. If you could do that on purpose, you’d do it every week. I never moaned about it, and I told Wigan not to do anything, so I was disappointed when the club complained, because I didn’t want them to. I watched the Brisbane game on the TV. It was so upsetting to miss out. I couldn’t make the trip because they flew the next day, but I was absolutely chuffed to see them win, especially after Brisbane had beaten us in 1992 at Central Park.

Another incident we keep seeing on social media is your sin-binning at Knowsley Road in 1995.

We’d drawn with them at Central Park and got a bit lucky. We could easily have gone out of the cup. I wasn’t playing well back then. The team was a bit up and down. We’d got away with it. I knew we had to get back to what we did best, and just get stuck in. The incident was just me getting beaten up by Saints players! There wasn’t much wrong with the tackle. Those games were huge. We were in the mood that night and we won convincingly. Our style was to do the hard work in the first 20 minutes and then it’s down to who blinks first. After 20 minutes, you find out who wants to keep coming hard.

Why did you decide to play for Wales?

When it was first announced that Great Britain wouldn’t enter the 1995 World Cup, and it would be England and Wales instead, I was gutted because we had much more chance of winning as GB. That’s obvious to me because we’d have had players like Jonathan Davies. It was a mistake to dilute Great Britain. I didn’t see the point in being part of an England team that thrashed Wales, so I spoke to Neil Cowie and Martin Hall, who I was big mates with. I said I might play for Wales, although to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure if it was my grandmother or great-grandmother who was Welsh, but nobody actually checked!* Anyway, Neil, Martin and I all made the decision to go for it. We won the European Championship in early 1995. We did well in the World Cup, although I remember being absolutely gutted after we lost to England in the semi-final at Old Trafford.

Why did you leave Wigan in 1996?

Even though I’m a Yorkshire lad, I couldn’t have given any more for Wigan. I still had a season and a half to go on my contract, but Jack Robinson said the club was skint and they couldn’t afford to pay me. I said I’d see the 1996 season out and then I’d leave. Warrington made an offer, and I was interested, but Alex Murphy had a managerial role there. He didn’t seem to rate me based on things he’d written about me, so I thought that would be a nightmare with him there. I lived in Yorkshire still, and I signed for Halifax, although that turned out to be a mistake. I wish I’d gone back to Bradford. Halifax offered less, but I felt they wanted me more. I broke my arm in my first year there and so I missed the World Club Championship with the Australian teams.

Graeme West is a fantastic guy. He coached me in my last few seasons at Wigan. I’ve never been under a better coach than John Monie, but I really wanted to play for Graeme. He dragged the best out of everybody, but the style changed more to ballplaying and away from the physical side of things. Maybe they felt they didn’t need me so much, but teams like that can sometimes struggle against a tough side because you still need to do the hard work first. Wigan against Sheffield at Wembley in 1998 showed that, especially in the first 20 minutes. Wigan only had one genuine prop at the start of that game.

Do you deserve your reputation?

No! The reputation is built on a few videos on YouTube that people like to watch and comment on. I didn’t get sent off that many times. What you have to remember is that Wigan had to get stuck in because everybody wanted to beat us. Our backs were absolutely world class and nobody could match them, so when Wigan got beaten, it tended to be the opposition forwards who did the damage. The best prop I played with or against was Andy Platt, who was absolutely outstanding. His strength and conditioning were perfect. He was the best player to play alongside. I also loved Neil Cowie when he played for Wigan. He was similar to me – ‘Get it sorted early!’ Another of the greatest was Karl Fairbank at Bradford Northern. He was one of the hardest guys and he never took a backward step. That’s why our jobs were so important. The real reason props like me and Andy Platt were successful was the punishment we could take, not what we dished out.

* After this interview, I checked with Trevor Skerrett, and it was Kelvin’s great-grandmother who was Welsh, meaning he was never eligible to play for Wales.

*This interview has recently been published in Richard de la Rivière’s new book, ’50 Wigan Legends in their Own Words’, which is available at totalrl.com/shop.

https://www.totalrl.com/rugby-league-he ... -part-two/

[up the junction]

Fantastic reading
Thanks for posting Josie . Im wishing Father Christmas has this book in hit sack for me

[morley pie eater]

Was at the match at Knowsley Road when he earned the "Flying Kel" tag, and bought the t-shirt

You wouldn't have been because that happened at Central Park against Fev (Brendan Tuuta if memory serves)

My apologies for my terrible memory. I think I'm confusing 2 incidents against Saints and Fev. Strangely enough I could take you to the very spot on the terraces at Knowsley Road where Kel flew in against Brendan Tuuta , who was wearing the red V