EXCLUSIVE Interview with Stephen Wild (Saturday 5th February 2022)

 Hello and welcome to my next blog post. Today, I have a very interesting interview with Stephen Wild to bring you. The ex-England international has played over 300 super league games, most notably for Wigan Warriors and Huddersfield. He scored 73 tries and 292 points over the course of his brilliant career. He ended his career with a successful spell at the North Wales Crusaders, where he played 64 games, scoring 12 tries. At Huddersfield, he was used to playing in the loose-forward position but the versatile Englishmen could also play in the wing, centre and second-row positions. Wild retired in 2016, following 15 successful years in the sport. Without further ado, let's get into the interview.

You represented Lancashire in the War of the Roses. What was that like and do you think it should be brought back?

"At the time, I think it was 2002, it was a massive honour for me. I didn't expect anything, to get selected for anything, I was just focusing on getting in that Wigan side and being consistent in that so I didn't expect to get a call up to the Origin. At the time, they were using Origin for GB squads and international squads so even the thought of getting a sniff in was massive for me. Being in that environment was probably the first time I got a sniff of what it was like in an international and being around all these players from all these other teams was massive. I was almost like, not a little kid, but a fan almost in awe of them and some of these players. So, yeah, it was a great experience and I really enjoyed it. Out of all of the camps, I think probably that first one was probably was the one I enjoyed the most because I didn't expect to play, I didn't expect to get the chance, I just wanted to enjoy the experience. Regarding bringing it back, I've always been a massive fan of it. The only problem I've seen in the past is the clubs don't fully buy into it. If you're not going to put your best players forward, I believe they should just scrap it, but if the clubs back it and put their best players forward then it would be good. I think 2002, the main bulks of the GB and international squads were there; so that's probably the main hurdle to get over."

Who was your biggest idol growing up and did you base your play around anyone in particular?

"There was quite a few. Obviously, I was a Wigan lad, a Wigan fan during that era where they won all the challenge cups. I think overall, Dennis Betts, Mick Cass and Andy Farrell were my biggest idols. I remember trying to mimic my game on Dennis Betts and Mick Cass who were real grafters and real hard workers which is what I almost tried to focus my game on. I did actually get to play with all 3 of them, which was a boyhood dream for me- obviously to play for Wigan but to play with some of your childhood idols, not many people can say that."

What was going through your mind during THAT fight with St. Helens?

"There's quite a funny story about this, well its not funny, it wasn't funny at the time. When fights broke out in games, it doesn't happen any more or not as much, if you're not a fighter like me, we were told to run it and lock up an opposition player, never lock up your own player, because you're never going to stop the fight. As I wasn't a fighter, couldn't fight for nothing, so every time there was a bit of a scuffle, I'd just run in and lock up the other player and make it look like I was trying to break it up. In the first half, I think it was Danny Sculthorpe and Sean Long and I ended up running in and locking up Sean Long and Scully ended up throwing quite a few punches at him. So what I think happened there was at half time, they've all gone in and said, if that happens again, you go for the guy that's locking them in. They must've all cottoned on. It obviously happened where I tried to lock my hands in and lock a Saints player up and so Tez Newton could get a few off, and I ended up trapping my hands in and seeing him running over from about 40 metres away and I just couldn't get my hands out. Thankfully, Faz and everyone else came in and saved my life pretty much. We spoke to Longy about it years ago and that was probably one of the reasons they all targeted me because they knew what I was doing."

Your international debut was when you were only 23. What was it like playing for your country so young?

"Again, it was a shock. I think i'd been in the train on squads quite a lot and almost lost heart of not getting selected. You know, to represent your country to put that shirt on was massive and I think, growing up, I dreamt about it but never thought it would come true. I never thought I was great player, I always thought I was an average player, but to actually get selected and represent my country a couple of times is a massive honour. I can't remember much of the actual day, because of a lot of illness at the time going through the squad, it was almost a late call up and so I didn't have too much time to think about it or worry about it in the week. It was literally get the call up, you're representing your country, you're going straight in. So, yes, great memories."

Since your retirement, you've done a lot of work around mental health. What prompted you to do this?

"I kind of fell in to this. Once I left Salford, I went down to North Wales, I opened my own gym and I just sort of fell in to that. I was qualified at Salford and thought, well, I need to start a career. I opened that and that's been going for years. Over the last 3 or 4 years, there's been this term of sort of coaching not just physically but also mentally. It was an idea that came from myself 3 or 4 years ago of being able to build some sort of welfare program that doesn't just get someone physically fit but also mentally fit. The hard bit was actually building this program and making it something that could be accessed by people. Thankfully, lockdown has probably helped me and I've become one of the first coaches. I found a great guy, Dan Ancock who set up the very first mental health and exercise qualification and so I became a coach in that, which then just helped my programme even more. And then, over the last 6 to 8 months, I wanted to kind of niche down to men who have just finished sport because I and we all have gone through those struggles. You know, when you retire, you lose that structure, you lose that team environment and everything you've been doing for the last 15 to 20 years and for those guys that have struggles from amateur to professional its something that I believe needs to be looked at even more."

Do you think more needs to be done for mental health in sport and if so, how?

"I do think rugby league is one of the best sports in trying to help people when they retire and stuff but I do still think a hell of a lot needs to be done. The programme I'm building now and working with guys who are associated with sport is sort of looking at all aspects and is a full well-being programme if it's helping guys with work or helping guys find employment or mental health, mental health issues and eventually we want to turn it in to everything. At the moment, we are looking more mentally, physically and lifestyle stuff just to get them back in to a routine. We try to give them what we all miss about playing, the same accountability, the same support and same team environment so it sounds familiar to them and sort of resonates with them. So, yes I do think a lot is being done at the moment but a lot is still falling through the net, especially at amateur and entry level."

What are your thoughts on the new broadcasting rights for rugby league ahead of the 2022 season?

"I've been listening too a lot about the new Channel 4 broadcast. There's 10 games, I think that could be massive for the sport and I think we can all agree over the last 5 to 10 years, the sport has struggled a bit to grow and if we can get on Channel 4 and get it right - I think its about getting it right on Channel 4, not just showing the games. We have to get the right presenters and get the right vibe going. Its almost a brand new audience of people who may not watch us on Sky or have ever looked at rugby league before. Also, I think it's a massive positive move for the sport but it's only 10 games and I think we need to grow from that. These 10 games will give us an idea about how Channel 4 want to show it and how they want to run it, and I think if we can all back that and see how it goes, it can only be a good thing."

Finally, who do you think will win and be relegated from Super League and who will be promoted in 2022?

"I haven't looked in too a lot of the teams at the moment but I've been in and trained at Wigan with a few of the old boys and I think Wigan look strong this year. Warrington always look strong, Saints look strong as usual but Hull KR last year surprised a few, Leeds are looking up too. Its the first year I think that an outsider could have a chance of winning- outside of Wigan, Warrington, Saints the top 3 groups., you know Catalans are up there. It should be an exciting season, there's 5 or 6 teams that could win it. Obviously, being a Wigan lad I'm looking at them coming back and claiming that title. Relegation wise, it's a difficult one to call. I haven't really looked at some of the signings of the other teams but Wakey and stuff could be struggling. I'm always saying Wakey because I've not seen any major signings from them instead of a lot of the other teams I've seen who have recruited quite well. Salford, again, I've not seen too many signings from them so they're always my top 2 but I hope they can prove me wrong and just make it an exciting season where we are getting good quality games each week instead of a few run aways. To be promoted, it's another tough one again. The Championship are recruiting very well as well. Leigh have pretty much signed a new side so I would say they are probably looking quite strong this year but I know Fev and other teams like Bradford and Widnes and quite a few teams in there that could almost put a bit of a shock up and get promoted but again the more quality games we get in that league and get it strong, the better it could be for the game itself."

That is it then. A massive thank you to Stephen for doing the interview. Thanks to you too for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. The next blog post will be a much shorter one on Monday 14th February, reflecting on Round One of the new Super League season. I wish all teams good luck for Round One, except for Wakefield as I'm an FC fan. Finally, if you haven't already, you can check out my blog post about the Army v Navy and interview with Jodie Broughton on my blog. Thanks again for reading, I hope you've enjoyed and will read my next blog when its out.