MANU’S MOMENT
RITCHIE HAILS FAN
LUKE GALE insists his best rugby is still ahead of him on returning to his boyhood club Leeds after two injuryravaged seasons.
The half-back was Steve Prescott Man of Steel in 2017 after leading Castleford to a dominant league campaign before finishing the year in a World Cup final.
But he played just 15 times the following year due to a serious knee injury and then ruptured his Achilles in pre-season in January, wiping out his entire 2019.
Gale is now close to full fitness and the Rhinos are understood to have paid around £150,000 for a player who came through their junior system before spells at Doncaster, Harlequins and Bradford.
Now he wants to repay that faith by recapturing his best form as ailing Leeds continue a rebuild under Richard Agar.
Gale said: “Since 2017 it’s been up and down, with more downs than ups.
“I’m keen to get back fully fit and think I’ve got my best footy ahead of me.
“I’m 31 but feel 25 – I know I can have a massive impact on the team.
“Castleford have been great to me and my career has gone skywards there.
“But there’s always been an ambition to come back home and when we knew that something could be done, I wanted to pursue that. Cas helped me with that and I’m over the moon and can’t wait to get started.”
The Tigers are set to move for St Helens youngster Danny Richardson as a replacement.
Leeds boss Agar has confirmed that captain Trent Merrin could return to Australia before the start of next season.
Agar said: “His performances on-field were outstanding but with the family issues he’s got, we’ve given him the opportunity to have a look and see if he can source a deal that suits him to be a bit closer to home.” ENGLAND centre Manu Tuilagi says this will be his last Rugby World Cup and he intends to make the most of it.
At 28 Tuilagi is a full decade younger than the oldest player at the tournament – host nation Japan’s Luke Thompson.
But the maintenance his body needs after injuries that kept him out of Test rugby for so long makes him realistic over how long he can play on.
Asked if he expected to be around for France 2023, Tuilaga (inset) replied: “Probably not, I’ll be too old.
“I know that it is not going to last forever so I’ve got to enjoy the moment while it is here.
“It’s different for me now. The old me used to just go out and play and train. Now I need to warm up for 30 minutes before I start. I could never be the old me again.
“I have ice baths, massage and pilates to try and keep everything loose – sometimes you don’t want to do it but to get to the training field you’ve got to get over the bridge.
“I don’t look too far ahead, just one training session at a time and one day at a time. But I would say that I enjoy my rugby more now. “For me it’s an opportunity to just go out there and try to be the best that I can be. There is no finished or unfinished business there for me.
“I’m just really enjoying playing rugby – especially being with this England team.” TITLE-CHASING Ritchie Hawkins has revealed the secret of Ipswich’s record-breaking run to the top-flight Grand Final.
Boss Hawkins (below) sought out superfan Robert Mutimer to give a team talk before his riders went out to produce the biggest shock in the 18-year history of the play-offs.
The Witches overcame a 10-point deficit as defending Premiership champions Poole became the first team to go out at the first hurdle after topping the table at the end of the regular season.
Hawkins had spotted supporter Mutimer’s tweet after the Witches had gone down to a heavy defeat in the first leg of the semi-final, despite holding a 12-point lead at the halfway stage. He said: “Every time you lose you see fans going on social media and having a go at me, the riders and the club.
“But Robert tweeted that he hadn’t missed a meeting, home or away, all season and was still backing us to get through.
“I decided to ask Robert to come and address the team less than an hour before the start of the second leg.” And the Suffolk petrol station manager’s pep talk worked wonders as the Witches clinched their place in the play-off final against either Swindon or Wolverhampton.