Dream XIII: Jason Robinson
Super League TV officials met with rugby legend Jason Robinson as he picked his dream England squad from players he played alongside during his rugby league career.
Robinson started his rugby league journey at Hunslet before joining Wigan in what would be a dream move for the winger. He went on to score 685 points in 302 games in an eight-year stint with the Cherry and Whites.
He went on to switch codes to Rugby Union, where he also enjoyed a fine career, scoring in England’s World Cup Final win over Australia in 2003.
And Robinson has listed his all-time England Rugby League team from players who he played with.
Line-Up:
1 Kris Radlinski
JR: “A guy I played with at Wigan for quite a few years, he is Mr Consistent. If you needed a high ball catching, he’d certainly do it and he’s fearless as well.”
2 Francis Cummins
JR: “I played against him quite a few times and he caused me quite a few problems. Great footwork, great speed and certainly had an eye for a try.”
3 Garry Connolly
JR: “Played with him for a few years at Wigan, not the biggest centre but pound for pound, the strongest player I’ve probably ever played with. Great footwork, got involved with everything and was a good guy as well.”
4 Paul Newlove
JR: “A big powerful runner. Great, great step and could certainly find his way to the try-line and was tough in defence as well.”
5 Martin Offiah
JR: “One of the best wingers I’ve ever played with. He scored so many tries. His record was second to none. One of the guys I looked up to when I came to Wigan. I certainly tried to be as good as him throughout my career.”
6 Andy Farrell (C)
JR: “I could’ve picked Andy in the pack but he is one of those players who you just want on the pitch. He was a great leader, always lead by example, great tackler, could kick goals, great ball handler and all-round fantastic guy. Great player.
“It is quite hard picking a captain because there are so many great leaders in this team but I’m going to go for Andy Farrell. I’m going for him because I played under him for so many years and you want a captain to lead by example. In every way, on and off the field, he lead by example and definitely gets my vote.”
7 Shaun Edwards
JR: “One of the most decorated players in rugby league history. Just going to training with him, he was all over the place, he had so much energy. On the field, he was one of the best support players in world rugby and was certainly one of the key men throughout Wigan’s success during the ‘90s.”
8 Andy Platt
JR: “Andy Platt was just a physical specimen! When you needed someone to punch a hole in teams, he was certainly the man to do it. He was very, very physical, loved the contact and probably looked after me quite a few times as well so I’d definitely have him in my team.”
9 Lee Jackson
JR: “Lee was a great player. He had a good turn of speed for a hooker but he was always in the thick of things. He was happy getting stuck in, making tackles. He was a fantastic hooker.”
10 Barrie McDermott
JR: “Another enforcer for me. A great, great ball carrier, always took two or three people to bring him down. Defensively, nobody really wanted to run at him otherwise they’d get the forearm! But Barrie was a real character as well and a great player.”
11 Denis Betts
JR: “Denis always loved to have the ball in his hands. He was always calling for the ball, he scored quite a lot of tries over the years but he was just a great player. A workhorse, he always got stuck in, never afraid of a challenge and always a good man to have in your team.”
12 Phil Clarke
JR: “Phil unfortunately had to have his career cut short through injury but week in week out, Phil is probably one of the most consistent players I’ve played with.”
13 Paul Sculthorpe
JR: “Paul was a fantastic player. He was very similar in many ways to Andy Farrell, you could’ve put him at 13 or at six. Play against him, he’d always cause you problems. You play with him, he’d always find you solutions. He was a great ball handler, great leader and had great skills.
You can watch the full video below.
